Re: Adam Sch. reports : Matt Cassel to Chiefs ! [merged]
I was one of those who wanted to cut Cassel. What do I know. My bad. I guess in retrospect a #34?.....Mayock has stated that there are 37 first round graded talent in this draft. Two years ago there were only 20. Still, I would have felt better with a least a fifth rounder in the deal.
DW Toys
If you look at the talent that's been picked in the 1-10 range in the past few drafts, it's not far and away better than that picked in the 30-40 range.
Look at the legitimate players picked in each draft from those groups.
2008:
(1-10) Jake Long, Chris Long, Matt Ryan, Darren McFadden, Sedrick Ellis, Jerod Mayo
(30-40) Dustin Keller, Kenny Phillips, Donnie Avery
There's a notable difference here, though it's still early. Didn't include Dorsey because I'm not sure if he's been a disappointment or not.
2007:
(1-10) Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Gaines Adams, LaRon Landry, Adrian Peterson
(30-40) Anthony Gonzalez, Paul Posluszny, Eric Weddle, Aaron Sears, Zach Miller
2006:
(1-10) Mario Williams, Reggie Bush, AJ Hawk, Donte Whitner, Ernie Sims
(30-40) Joseph Addai, Matthias Kiwanuka, DeMeco Ryans, D'Qwell Jackson, Thomas Howard
2005:
(1-10) Ronnie Brown, Braylon Edwards, Antrel Rolle
(30-40) Heath Miller, Mike Patterson, Logan Mankins, Barrett Ruud, Josh Bullocks
To be fair the 11th, 12th, and 13th players picked have all turned out to be stars.
2004:
(1-10) Eli Manning, Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow, Roy Williams, DeAngelo Hall, Dunta Robinson
(30-40) Ben Watson, Karlos Dansby, Chris Snee, Igor Olshansky
Though the 1-10 picks produce more superstar talent, there's just as many guys who make little contributions to their squads (for more money) as there are in the 30-40 range. It's certainly possible to get a great player in that range (Dansby, Snee, Miller, Mankins, Ruud, Kiwanuka, Ryans).