Please list all the posters who wanted us to draft Torry Smith at 33 as you suggest.
I had Torrey Smith in many of my mock drafts. I valued him in mid - late second.
That said, I have also touted Dowling for two+ years, and I would have been fine taking him at 17 if he had been fully healthy (hint: he probably wouldn't have been available there if he had stayed healthy his senior year).
I would have drafted different running backs at different slots in the draft. Does that make me smarter than BB? Not necessarily; I don't know anything about their actual personality or ability to play within our scheme the way BB asks. I don't mind when he misses, even though I often have a "better" alternative listed in my mock drafts. It would be nice to always hit on our picks, but as long as we win consistently, I have no complaints.
That said, I would prefer we bring rookies along more quickly. We seem content to allow lineman to jump into the fray (and DBs, but that's more injury related!), but very few skill position players seem to make an early impact. If Smith is good at posts and flags and nines and other deep routes, then have him run a few of those when he's in the game. Clearly he's been productive to some extent, and I think he could have had similar success here, with better coaching and a far, far better QB throwing the ball.
Not sure we needed Smith, though. If Price returns from his hammy injury, I'd like to see him get more snaps, and I think he can perform well.
I always thought that Wheatley flashed potential. Good burst, great agility, could run with people but wasn't shutting them down. Dowling was straight up shutting dudes down. He looked dominant.
