Three years out—rate the 2010 Patriots draft

[RayClay]

what are we comparing it to? a draft which everyone turned out to be an all pro or the pats best draft to date?


b/c this just might b the best pats draft to date, so its an A+, if you compare to the best draft every by anyone, im sure its more in the B range....

Apparently, we get to compare it to an imaginary draft where we could have picked somebody else for every less than pro bowler, but get to forget who we really wanted when Gronk and Hernandez came up.

The draft where we get 13 pro bowlers i surely on the way.

 

[IllegalContact]

I gave it an A-

the amount of production coming from this draft is outstanding

subtracted a few points for cunningham, but not too much, because the later 2nd round was spottier in general in terms of choices the other teams made

it was an outstanding draft

 

[jmt57]

To me the 'coulda' had this guy instead' hindsight is meaningless, because it has no context. In my opinion it is like complaining about passes that went incomplete, while ignoring whether the QB completed 80%, 60%, or 40% of his passes that day or season.

Here is a comparison of the 2010 draft for teams that made the playoffs (slots 21-32)


Bengals
1.21 -- TE Jermaine Gresham (2 Pro Bowls, 3 years starter)
2.54 -- DE Carlos Dunlap
3.84 -- WR Jordan Shipley
3.96 -- CB Brandon Ghee
4.120 - DT Geno Atkins (1 All Pro, 2 Pro Bowls, 2 years starter)
4.131 - LB Roddrick Muckelroy (now w/Redskins)
5.152 - T Otis Hudson
6.191 - WR Dezmon Briscoe (never played w/Bengals)
7.228 - C Reggie Stephens (never played w/Bengals)

Patriots
1.27 -- DB Devin McCourty (1 Pro Bowl, 3 years starter)
2.42 -- TE Rob Gronkowski (1 All Pro, 2 Pro Bowl, 3 years starter)
2.53 -- DE Jermaine Cunningham (1 year starter)
2.62 -- LB Brandon Spikes (2 years starter)
3.90 -- WR Taylor Price (no longer on team)
4.113 - TE Aaron Hernandez (2 years starter)
5.150 - P Zoltan Mesko
6.205 - OL Ted Larsen (never played w/Pats)
7.208 - OL Thomas Welch (never played w/Pats)
7.247 - DL Brandon Deaderick
7.248 - DL Kade Weston (never played w/Pats)
7.250 - QB Zac Robinson (never played w/Pats)

Packers
1.23 -- T Bryan Bulaga (3 years starter)
2.56 -- DE Mike Neal
3.71 -- S Morgan Burnett (2 years starter)
5.154 - TE Andrew Quarless
5.169 - OL Marshall Newhouse (2 years starter)
6.193 - RB James Starks
7.230 - DE C.J. Wilson (1 year starter)

Eagles
1.13 -- DE Brandon Graham
2.37 -- S Nate Allen (3 years starter)
3.86 -- DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (lasted 1 year w/Eagles)
4.105 - CB Trevard Lindley (1 year w/Eagles)
4.121 - LB Keenan Clayton (2 years w/Eagles)
4.122 - QB Mike Kafka (2 years w/Eagles)
4.125 - TE Clay Harbor
5.134 - LB Ricky Sapp (never played w/Eagles)
5.159 - WR Riley Cooper
6.200 - RB Charles Scott (never played in NFL)
7.220 - LB Chamar Chaney (1 year starter)
7.243 - DT Jeff Owens (1 year w/Eagles)
7.244 - S Kurt Coleman (2 years starter)

Ravens
2.43 -- LB Sergio Kindle (bust)
2.57 -- DT Terrence Cody (1 year starter)
3.70 -- TE Ed ****son (2 years starter)
4.114 - TE Dennis pitta (1 year starter)
5.156 - WR David Reed (2 years as KR)
5.157 - DE Art Jones
6.194 - OT Ramon Harewood

Cardinals
1.26 -- DT Dan Williams (2 years starter)
2.47 -- LB Daryl Washington (3 years starter)
3.88 -- WR Andre Roberts (2 years starter)
4.130 - DE O'Brien Schofield (1 year starter)
5.155 - QB John Skelton
6.201 - DB Jorrick Calvin (never played w/Cardinals)
7.233 - TE Jim Dray

Cowboys
1.24 -- WR Dez Bryant (2 years starter)
2.55 -- LB Sean Lee (1 year starter)
4.126 - KR Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (1 year w/Cowboys)
6.179 - OT Sam Young (1 year w/Cowboys)
6.196 - DB Jamar Wall (never played w/Cowboys)
7.234 - DT Sean Lissemore

Chargers
1.12 -- RB Ryan Mathews (1 Pro Bowl, 3 years starter)
3.79 -- LB Donald Butler (2 years starter)
4.110 - S Darrell Stuckey
5.146 - DT Cam Thomas
5.168 - QB Jonathan Crompton (never played w/Chargers)
7.235 - TE Dedrick Epps (never played w/Chargers)

Jets
1.29 -- CB Kyle Wilson (1 year starter)
2.61 -- OT Vlad Ducasse
4.112 - RB Joe McKnight
5.139 - FB John Conner

Vikings
2.34 -- CB Chris Cook (1 year starter)
2.51 -- RB Toby Gerhart
4.100 - DE Everson Griffen
5.161 - G Chris DeGeare (2 years w/Vikings)
5.167 - LB Nathan Triplett (never played w/Vikings)
6.199 - QB Joe Webb
7.214 - TE Mickey Shuler (2 years w/Vikings)
7.237 - FB Ryan D'Imperio (1 year w/Vikings)

Colts
1.31 -- DE Jerry Hughes
2.63 -- LB Pat Angerer (2 years starter)
3.94 -- CB Kevin Thomas (1 year w/Colts)
4.129 - G Jacques McClendon (1 year w/Colts)
5.162 - TE Brody Eldridge (1 year starter)
7.238 - DL Ricardo Mathews
7.240 - LB Kavell Conner
7.246 - WR Ray Fisher (never played w/Colts)

Saints
1.32 -- CB Patrick Robinson (1 year starter)
2.64 -- OT Charles Brown
3.95 -- TE Jimmy Graham (1 Pro Bowl, 2 years starter)
4.123 - DT Al Woods (never played w/Saints)
5.158 - C Matt Tennant (2 years w/Saints)
7.239 - QB Sean Canfield (never played w/Saints)



In relation to other teams with a comparable drafting slot it sure looks to me as if the 2010 draft was a pretty good one for the Patriots.

 

[Ivan]

That's an incredible draft. It is really comical that anyone could come in and start second guessing the picks by saying "they should have taken so and so," complete and utter garbage. Some people vastly overrate themselves and the value that comes from Mel Kiper and you-Tube scouting.

 

[patsinthesnow]

How can you not give this draft an A+? Seriously, for where we picked too (22 slot), it is amazing.

-Gronkowski is the GOAT at his position if his health holds. That's not an overstatement either. He could end up #2 all time (including WRs) in TD receptions. He alone warrants an A-. In any 2010 redraft he is a top 5 pick.

-McCourty is a top 10 FS with only half a season under his belt. He most likely will mold into an all-pro FS. What else do you want from the 27th pick?

-Although this board gives Hernandez crap regarding him not being a true TE, ok, say he's not a TE. A top 20 WR in the fourth round, homerun pick.

What else do people expect out of a draft. Those three alone should warrant an A IMO. All three of those players are 1st round picks in a re-draft. Then you have Spikes, Deaderick, Mesko, Love, Fletcher, Cunningham.

EDIT: Scratch top 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_NFL_Draft

You can seriously argue Gronk would of been the #1 overall pick.

 

[BradyManny]

Gronk = Absolute Beast.
Spikes = Beast.
Hernandez = Beast.

McCourty = Potential Safety Beast.
Mesko = ST Beast.

Find me somebody with a better draft, and I'll rank it lower than A+. Until then, that draft was a friggin haul.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Just for fun and consulted The Google to find some 2010 mock drafts, see what they had the Pats taking. I looked for mocks that went well beyond the first round (Dez Bryant and Sergio Kindle were popular) and found a couple so far. This is really just to see "what could have been" vs how it played out; some interesting names, but I like how it played out:

Walter Football:
22 - Dez Bryant
44 - Gronk
47 - Koa Misi DE/OLD
53 - Tyson Aluala, DE/DT
119 - Anthony Dixon, RB
190 - Sergio Render, G
205 - Bill Stull, QB, Pitt
229 - Manase Tonga, FB
231 - Dane Fletcher (!)
248 - Trevard Lindley, CB
250 - Garrett Graham TE


Fox, Peter Schrager
22- Sergio Kindle
44 - Gronk (!)
47 - Jerry Hughes, DE
53 - Dexter McCluster, RB
119 - Taylor Price (!)
190 - Sean Lissemore, DT
205 - Dorian Brooks, G Steelers
229 - Roy Upchurch, RB
231 - Arthur Moats, OLB
247 - Chris Campbell, T
248 - Brandon Deaderick, DT (!)
250 - Kerry Meier, WR

 

[Seels]

Cunningham at 52 is a fail. Golden Tate should've been the obvious choice.

A 5th-rounder for a mediocre Punter, when SS Reshard Jones (among others) was still available? Meh.

Trading Up in the 7th round for Tom Welch? Why?

I gave the draft a B+. Some VG picks (McCourty, Gronk, Spikes, Hernandez); the rest, not so VG.

I wish I had the rest of the voters as my teachers when I attended Boston Latin.

Tate sucks and would be a #4 or 5 on this team. All he is is a name.

Mesko isn't a mediocre punter.

Who cares about 7th rounders or Thomas Welch.

The TE alone make this an A+.

Any of you not giving this at least an A- I'd really love to know what the Pats could have done better aside from something silly like taking Geno Atkins over Taylor Price. This is arguably the best Pats draft in history.

 

[Deus Irae]

To me the 'coulda' had this guy instead' hindsight is meaningless, because it has no context. In my opinion it is like complaining about passes that went incomplete, while ignoring whether the QB completed 80%, 60%, or 40% of his passes that day or season....

Choosing Tate over Wallace (I personally give the team a pass on this one, as I've always considered Tate to have been an "earned" flier pick after all the other work done earlier in that draft), or Jackson over Jennings, or Maroney over MJD, or other direct choices with the 'other' player taken not long after isn't meaningless, regardless of your other hits, jmt. Every team misses, but when you miss big, you deserve the boos, IMO.

 

[BradyFTW!]

There were some clear misses in this draft, but every team has misses in every draft. It's clearly an A, on the net.

 

[jbb9s]

1.27 Devin McCourty
Round 1 is an A or A+. I give it an A because we don't know whether McCourty's Pro Bowl rookie year was an aberration.

mildly off topic, but do you think at this point McCourty ever returns to #1 CB? He had pretty significant snaps to prove in season 2 and 3 and never made it work. He should effectively be graded as a safety.

 

[jbb9s]

Three Pro-Bowlers

who is the third?

 

[jbb9s]

Did Kyle Love lose his starting spot to Deadrick at the end of the year? Either way, can you count him while grading the draft? It seems like most are, in which case this is an A class.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

who is the third?

GRONK, McCourty, and Hernandez.

 

[Fencer]

mildly off topic, but do you think at this point McCourty ever returns to #1 CB? He had pretty significant snaps to prove in season 2 and 3 and never made it work. He should effectively be graded as a safety.

I lean to saying McCourty will excel in a DB position that involves reading the field, and won't excel in DB positions that don't (as much).

I further lean to thinking that man coverage, without a huge amount of field-reading, is the near-term future of the CB position.

I.e., I think McCourty is at safety for a while.

 

[fester]

I don't understand those "vicars of 20-20 hindsight" who demand hits on EVERY pick. This was a phenomenal draft. BTW- I think you have to include any UDFA's to the grade, and we got 2 winners there as well.

Christ, any draft that nets you the best player in the league at his position is a great draft. Five starters, (Gronk, Hernandez, McCourty, Spikes, Love) 3 contributors (Cunningham, Fletcher, Deadrick), plus a very good punter, is beyond great.

Any draft that nets you 3 starters would be a good draft. How 2010 with 5+ can be rated less than an A is incomprehensible.

Easy, there are at least three or four posters here who have never gone on a bad date, never got in a fender bender, never went on an interview where they did not get the job offer at the very least because they have perfect foresight that is only expressed in hindsight.

Everyone else is playing a probabilistic game, and figures getting two prototypical players, another proboweler, 2 additional starters plus a ST starter AND a couple of useful reserves is a damn good haul.

 

[fester]

I don't understand your expectations are to be a great draft, but it sounds like it is a draft that has never happened in NFL history where every pick was a homerun..

He expects every Patriots draft to put the 1974 Steelers draft to shame --- and he would be complaining that despite drafting a basketball team's worth of Hall of Famers, there were a couple of good players the Steelers missed on in the 6th round and his binkie was available.

 

[Steve102]

Solid A. I don't see how it can be anything but. This is right there with some of the top draft classes in NE. '95 netted Ty Law, Ted Johnson, Curtis Martin, Jimmy Hitch****, and Dave Wohlabaugh. '96 brought in Terry Glenn, Lawyer Milloy, and Tedy Bruschi. '03 Gave us Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Bethel Johnson, Dan Klecko, Anate Samuel, Dan Koppen, and later on, Tully Banta-Cain. Those are some pretty good draft classes, and this one stacks up.

edit: Jimmy Hitchc0ck.... really?

 

[jmt57]

Choosing Tate over Wallace (I personally give the team a pass on this one, as I've always considered Tate to have been an "earned" flier pick after all the other work done earlier in that draft), or Jackson over Jennings, or Maroney over MJD, or other direct choices with the 'other' player taken not long after isn't meaningless, regardless of your other hits, jmt. Every team misses, but when you miss big, you deserve the boos, IMO.

I can see your point, but on the other hand can't one do virtually the same thing for every team, nearly every year? While the Steelers get credit for Wallace, they also drafted Limas Sweed in the 2nd round when they could have had Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, Red Bryant, Carl Nicks, etc.

If one can play the 'could have had this guy' game with every single NFL team, then it just seems like a meaningless exercise that proves virtually nothing. For some reason we as NFL fans collectively accept the fact that quarterbacks will throw incompletions on 40% of their passes, but expect every draft pick made by the team that we follow to be perfect.

 

[Deus Irae]

I can see your point, but on the other hand can't one do virtually the same thing for every team, nearly every year? While the Steelers get credit for Wallace, they also drafted Limas Sweed in the 2nd round when they could have had Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, Red Bryant, Carl Nicks, etc.

Well, the Steelers drafted Mendenhall in the first round in 2008, so you could argue that they drafted the wrong RB. Sweed was a bad pick for more than one reason. Sure, all teams blow picks. I don't see how this changes the point about the Patriots picks, though. Everyone makes mistakes, but that doesn't insulate everyone from criticism.

If one can play the 'could have had this guy' game with every single NFL team, then it just seems like a meaningless exercise that proves virtually nothing. For some reason we as NFL fans collectively accept the fact that quarterbacks will throw incompletions on 40% of their passes, but expect every draft pick made by the team that we follow to be perfect.

While I think you've got a very solid point regarding fan expectations, I think you're taking it too far by saying "let's not do this". The problem with that sort of thinking is that doing "this" is exactly what owners do, and it's part of how you evaluate the job your GM is doing:

draft picks
contracts
free agents
trades
other

Ask a guy like Tannenbaum how important it is not to blow draft picks. The "could have had...." is a way of seeing blown picks in light of the available talent in that year's draft. If all the "could have had... "produces is 10 guys who aren't much better than your pick, it's not a big deal. If "could have had..." is Ray Rice, Carl Nicks, Red Bryant and Jamaal Charles following soon after you drafted Limas (it wasn't that stark a picture, as most of the players you mentioned went well after the Sweed pick), you screwed the pooch and you'd better fix your draft evaluation problems in a hurry if you want to keep your job.