Fan Draft Criticism: Your Best and Worst Moments

[gureski]

Someone mentioned that they were getting sick of hearing all the technical draft talk so I thought of an alternative topic of sorts that may attract people who love the draft and those who don't enjoy talking about it.

Here's the topic:

Every draft there are players that we, as fans, scream for the GM to pick and there are also players we scream for the GM NOT to pick. Sometimes we're right, most times we're wrong. Name some of your best and worst calls regarding the draft.

Example of what I'm talking about:

I'm not sure what year it was but I was ticked off that Ron Wolf didn't draft Leyland McLroy. I'm sure I butchered his name but he was a fast fast RB that ended up being drafted by T.B.. As the fact I can't spell his name today should indicate, he never became anything. I was way wrong on being upset that the team didn't get him.

On the other hand, as a high school kid, I was ticked off beyond all belief that the Packers didn't take Barry Sanders when they had the chance. Though many will say the same thing today, I was truly saying it back then. of course, I was talking out of my butt because I didn't know a fraction about any of the players or have enough knowledge of football and talent evaluations back then to make an educated case for anything but....just the same....I was right on that one. Not taking Barry Sanders was a mistake.

What are some hit's and misses of yours?

[Badgepack]

Last years draft

7th round pick - Hank Baskett

[SudsMcBucky]

There are 2 picks off the top of my head that really pi$$ed me off.

1. When we drafted Buckley over Vincent. I think I had to buy a new TV the next day.

2. Passing on Chris Chambers for Fergie.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Funny that nobody remembers their misses.

Hit: I wanted the Packers to draft Chris Kuper out of North Dakota last year. Kuper looks like he'll be starting for the Broncos this year.

Miss: In 2005, I was enamored with Brodney Pool out of Oklahoma. The dude hasn't done anything for the Browns yet.

[oregonpackfan]

I still remember the collective shock by Beavers coaches, fans, and sportswriters here in Oregon when Mike Sherman selected DL James Lee in the 5th round out of Oregon State.

Here was a player who could not even break the starting lineup his senior year. Oregon State had a marginal defensive unit that year and fininshed with around a .500 record.

You also need to remember that OSU is part of the Pac-10 conference--a conference known for emphasizing offense and giving minimal attention to defense.

Lee had such a marginal impact on the team that some Beavers fans could not recall him. Though I watched most of the Beavers games on TV, I could not remember Lee ever making a big play.

Knowing I am a devoted Packers fan, I had several occasions where Beavers fans walked up to me and asked, "What do the Packers see in James Lee that we don't?" I could only shrug my shoulders.

Yet Sherman, in his infinite wisdom, drafted the guy as he had big size--6'5", 320 lbs.

As you recall, Lee showed up for training camp out of shape. He injured his back on the first play from scrimmage and was put on IR for the rest of the year. For his second year, Lee made it through most of the preseason before he was cut.

I haven't heard anything about Lee since.

It was truly a case of a "Wasted" draft pick.

[wist43]

I've pretty much hated every Packers 1st round pick for the past 6-7 years... the lone exception being Walker.

Rodgers I initally gave a pass to simply b/c he's a QB - even though I hated the pick. Not thrilled with Hawk at #5, but he's a good player, and even though I don't think he's worth the #5 pick, he won't be a bust.

Hated the Franks, Carroll, and Antwan Edwards picks...

Was skeptical of the Reynolds pick, didn't like the Rodgers pick (would have taken Odell Thurman), and then there are the picks mentioned above (Buckley ahead of Vincent, Ferguson ahead of Chambers, etc).

Sander in the 3rd round was moronic, of course... with that pick in the 3rd round, I was hoping for Darien Scott, DE, OSU, who went to Minnesota with the next pick.

[Freak Out]

Rogers, Carrol and of course the debacle that was Sanders. Lee was a huge brain fart......this is a painful subject. The Franks pick was a reach I thought even though he was/is a good tough player.

[Fritz]

I can easily recall some misses: when the Packers took Javon Walker I was pissed because I thought they should've takend Napoleon Harris. Doh!

I was excited in '96 because I thought Derrick Mayes was going to be a touchdown machine - a great possession receiver who had great hands and could use his body to shield d-backs from the ball. Oops.

And, ummm, I was bummed that Ron Wolf traded away a first round pick in the early 90's for a guy that had only been drafted in the second round the year before and had a reputation as a slacker...

On the up side, I did think that Jamaal Reynolds was a bad, bad pick (he gained thirty pounds in a couple of months for the combine?). I also did not like Terrell Buckley, not did I care for Ahmad Carroll.

[woodbuck27]

I hated the Aaron Rodgers pick as it looked to me as if Odell Thurman was our man and we could certainly have used him given OUR loss's on the OL.

Then the day got worse for me, as I wasn't enamoured with the picks of Nick ( who ??) Collins nor Terrence Murphy.

No . . . I was totally pissed.

I had to get away fr. the computer as I entered the early stages of Ted Thompson shockitis. What was the Packer War Room thinking that day?

I didn't like the Ahmad Carroll pick but everyone knew we were picking Bubba Franks. . . didn't they? :)

[Bretsky]

I detested Ahmad Carroll, but wanted them to pick Ben Troupe
I detested Mandarich, and wanted them to pick Derrick Thomas
I detested Rich Campbell, and wanted them to pick Ronnie Lott

I detested Buckley, and wanted them to pick Troy Vincent
I detested Ken Ruettgers, and wanted them to pick Al Toon
I detested THE FRAUD, and wanted them to pick Chris Chambers

I detested Aaron Roders, and wanted them to pick anybody else
I just flat out detested B.J. Sanders



I was probably wrong for wanting Odell Thurman
I was wrong for wanting EJ Henderson Bailey over Nick Barnett
I was wrong for wanting Chad Jackson over Greg Jennings
I was wrong to be happy with Derrick Mayes
I was wrong to be happy with Bill Ferrario

[woodbuck27]

'' I detested Ahmad Carroll, but wanted them to pick Ben Troupe
I detested Mandarich, and wanted them to pick Derrick Thomas
I detested Rich Campbell, and wanted them to pick Ronnie Lott

I detested Buckley, and wanted them to pick Troy Vincent
I detested Ken Ruettgers, and wanted them to pick Al Toon
I detested THE FRAUD, and wanted them to pick Chris Chambers

I detested Aaron Roders, and wanted them to pick anybody else
I just flat out detested B.J. Sanders '' B.

Now there is the definition ofn frustration. :)

[b bulldog]

i REMEMBER the year ray Lewis was in the draft and I desperately wanted the Packers to pick him and one pick before we could, the Ravens snagged him :x I love LB's from the U.

[Farley Face]

i REMEMBER the year ray Lewis was in the draft and I desperately wanted the Packers to pick him and one pick before we could, the Ravens snagged him :x I love LB's from the U.

I remember that as well. We settled for a light in the pants OT from USC named Jon Michels. Ouch.

[b bulldog]

One of the greatest picks that exemplifies why you don't pick for need :x

[HarveyWallbangers]

I detested Ken Ruettgers, and wanted them to pick Al Toon

Pretty similar careers actually. Ruettgers was solid, not elite, for many years. If the team had done better, he'd be more highly regarded. Toon was good for a few years, but wasn't that great. He had two 1000 yard seasons and just four seasons with more than 757 yards. He only had one season with more than 6 TD receptions.

[b bulldog]

Rut was a solid pick.

[Bretsky]

I detested Ken Ruettgers, and wanted them to pick Al Toon

Pretty similar careers actually. Ruettgers was solid, not elite, for many years. If the team had done better, he'd be more highly regarded. Toon was good for a few years, but wasn't that great. He had two 1000 yard seasons and just four seasons with more than 757 yards. He only had one season with more than 6 TD receptions.


Injuries ruined what would have been a great career for Toon.

In retrospect GB made the right pick

[Freak Out]

I detested Ahmad Carroll, but wanted them to pick Ben Troupe
I detested Mandarich, and wanted them to pick Derrick Thomas
I detested Rich Campbell, and wanted them to pick Ronnie Lott

I detested Buckley, and wanted them to pick Troy Vincent
I detested Ken Ruettgers, and wanted them to pick Al Toon
I detested THE FRAUD, and wanted them to pick Chris Chambers

I detested Aaron Roders, and wanted them to pick anybody else
I just flat out detested B.J. Sanders



I was probably wrong for wanting Odell Thurman
I was wrong for wanting EJ Henderson Bailey over Nick Barnett
I was wrong for wanting Chad Jackson over Greg Jennings
I was wrong to be happy with Derrick Mayes
I was wrong to be happy with Bill Ferrario

Fucking Mandarich.............

[Partial]

My biggest one was Ryan Leaf over Manning.

I liked Boss Bailey's athleticism over Barnett.

Who did I like last year? I liked Hawk. I was very taken aback by both the second round picks. I wanted Kuper from Harvs recommendation as well, and was very surprised they didn't take the center from Twin-cities what is his name again?!?!?

[the_idle_threat]

Eslinger.

I was happy about the Jennings pick over Jackson, and extremely happy about Hawk over V.D.

I like the idea of getting football players who have produced in college---even at a smaller school---over athletes who haven't put up great numbers and emerge at the combine. After I read about Jennings in McGinn's pre-draft ratings, especially what the scouts were saying, compared to the info and scout opinions on Jackson, I thought Jennings was underrated and Jackson was overrated.

More distant picks I can remember feeling strongly about were Vonnie Holliday & Kenny Peterson. I was really happy we picked Holliday for some reason that year, probably because he was supposed to be gone early and it was a position of need. That, and I am a big fan of having talented defensive tackles and I think you have to pick them early. Call me the anti-Harvey in that regard. Kenny Peterson was being talked about as a possible 1st rounder, so I was happy we got him in the 3rd. Thought it was a great value. Of course, Holliday was not much better than average and then he left, and Peterson ended up as a bust. Who knew? :oops:

[Fritz]

i REMEMBER the year ray Lewis was in the draft and I desperately wanted the Packers to pick him and one pick before we could, the Ravens snagged him :x I love LB's from the U.

I remember that as well. We settled for a light in the pants OT from USC named Jon Michels. Ouch.

Ah, I remember that one as well. I kept thinking "WTF??"

When you look at Ron Wolf's body of work, he obviously was a successful GM but he did make some notorious mistakes. Michels was one. Antuan Edwards was another. Terrell Buckley. And trading up - two second rounders? - to move up to, what, the 29th spot for George Teague, too. He was a guy.

[BallHawk]

I can only really say about the last 3 drafts, because before I didn't really watch it, for I was too young.

HITS:

Jennings over Jackson (Still to be determined, but looking good)

The jury is still out on Rodgers, but in 2005 I really wanted Logan Mankins

Misses:

I wanted Carroll over Chris Gamble. Carroll's speed appealed to me.

I wanted Davis over Hawk and I remember saying to a friend last year that Hawk would be another Boss Bailey. :oops:

[Fritz]

I should say this: Terrell Buckley ended up having a good career. But not exactly the consistent, reliable, high-quality career that a guy like Vincent had. But really, Buckley wasn't a washout, like John Michels or Antwan Edwards were. And Teague- he was okay. he had a career. But not one worth giving up two second round picks for. Heck, the Pack let him slip away once his rookie contract was up, I think. So they couldn't have been that enamoured either.

I also forgot to mention the infamous 2001 Packer draft, Wolf's last. What a rotten egg he laid. And he can infer and hint all he wants about it being Shermy's draft, but dammit Wolf was the GM and if he's gonna take credit for the good drafts then he's got to take the blame for that piece-of-crap draft.

My point is that all-in-all Wolf was a very good GM, but all GM's make mistakes - even in the first round. And sometimes for round after round. But you've got to have enough successes to offset the bad picks, like getting Mike Wahle with a supplemental second round pick, snagging Rivera in the sixth, and getting guys like Henderson, Brooks, Freeman and Sharper.

[pbmax]

Wolf or Thompson recently said Teague was fine but had to go when they changed coaches, I assumed he meant from Rhodes to Shurmur as D coord and the scheme they ran in the back. Seems logical in the sense that Teague played well for the Cowboys for a while.

Which is odd, as I remember Butler always lamenting that he didn't get to move around as much with Fritz as he did with Rhodes, but apparently the new coaches needed a centerfielder/smart type; hence Eugene Robinson.


I should say this: Terrell Buckley ended up having a good career. But not exactly the consistent, reliable, high-quality career that a guy like Vincent had. But really, Buckley wasn't a washout, like John Michels or Antwan Edwards were. And Teague- he was okay. he had a career. But not one worth giving up two second round picks for. Heck, the Pack let him slip away once his rookie contract was up, I think. So they couldn't have been that enamoured either.

I also forgot to mention the infamous 2001 Packer draft, Wolf's last. What a rotten egg he laid. And he can infer and hint all he wants about it being Shermy's draft, but dammit Wolf was the GM and if he's gonna take credit for the good drafts then he's got to take the blame for that piece-of-crap draft.

My point is that all-in-all Wolf was a very good GM, but all GM's make mistakes - even in the first round. And sometimes for round after round. But you've got to have enough successes to offset the bad picks, like getting Mike Wahle with a supplemental second round pick, snagging Rivera in the sixth, and getting guys like Henderson, Brooks, Freeman and Sharper.

[pbmax]

My worst draft story was '85 or '86, I was still a Browns fan. Friends and I had gotten up earlier than we did for class to start watching ESPN at 7 AM to see the entire draft.

We had every publication, USA Today through Kiper and Buschbaum, and then the Browns, with the late top ten pick selected as WR WEBSTER SLAUGHTER. I take unending grief to this day, partially for the name, mostly for the fact that he was on no one's list. Even the pubs that listed the positions seven deep.

He played fine, near Pro Bowl level for many years, but he was a perfect example of right player, wrong slot. Pretty sure he would still have been available at pick 20. Of the second round :lol:

[Fritz]

Good point, PB, about Teague. Perhaps I am simply overly fond of draft picks. That may be why I am a fan of TT.


Wolf or Thompson recently said Teague was fine but had to go when they changed coaches, I assumed he meant from Rhodes to Shurmur as D coord and the scheme they ran in the back. Seems logical in the sense that Teague played well for the Cowboys for a while.

Which is odd, as I remember Butler always lamenting that he didn't get to move around as much with Fritz as he did with Rhodes, but apparently the new coaches needed a centerfielder/smart type; hence Eugene Robinson.


I should say this: Terrell Buckley ended up having a good career. But not exactly the consistent, reliable, high-quality career that a guy like Vincent had. But really, Buckley wasn't a washout, like John Michels or Antwan Edwards were. And Teague- he was okay. he had a career. But not one worth giving up two second round picks for. Heck, the Pack let him slip away once his rookie contract was up, I think. So they couldn't have been that enamoured either.

I also forgot to mention the infamous 2001 Packer draft, Wolf's last. What a rotten egg he laid. And he can infer and hint all he wants about it being Shermy's draft, but dammit Wolf was the GM and if he's gonna take credit for the good drafts then he's got to take the blame for that piece-of-crap draft.

My point is that all-in-all Wolf was a very good GM, but all GM's make mistakes - even in the first round. And sometimes for round after round. But you've got to have enough successes to offset the bad picks, like getting Mike Wahle with a supplemental second round pick, snagging Rivera in the sixth, and getting guys like Henderson, Brooks, Freeman and Sharper.