NFL's 10 worst draft classes by team of the Super Bowl era

[Alan]

MrMotes loving the Snish:
Snead's roster is a lot more talented and a lot more competitive, imo, than Devaney's teams were. I mean that in comparison to their contemporaries. You gotta play the hand you're dealt. And, again imo, Snead plays his cards a whole lot better than Devaney played his...

It's really hard not to do well when you're working with a bunch of extra 1st and second round picks isn't it? But I wasn't a huge fan of Devaney's either.

 

[MrMotes]

It's really hard not to do well when you're working with a bunch of extra 1st and second round picks isn't it? But I wasn't a huge fan of Devaney's either.

I don't know, Devaney had a lot of plum picks in his day and we got not a whole lot to show for them...

 

[Alan]

MrMotes picking fruits:
I don't know, Devaney had a lot of plum picks in his day and we got not a whole lot to show for them...

I agree and that's why I said that even though he was head and shoulders above his predecessor, that only made him 2' tall.

Would Devaney have done as well? I don't think so because while it might be argued they were fairly well matched with their high picks, there is zero question that Snisher has been much much better with his low ones. I just don't think you can look at the roster like you did and make that kind of determination when the playing field that produced one of the rosters wasn't level.

 

[kurtfaulk]

I agree and that's why I said that even though he was head and shoulders above his predecessor, that only made him 2' tall.

Would Devaney have done as well? I don't think so because while it might be argued they were fairly well matched with their high picks, there is zero question that Snisher has been much much better with his low ones. I just don't think you can look at the roster like you did and make that kind of determination when the playing field that produced one of the rosters wasn't level.

I'm pretty sure in 2011 they cut every draft pick from the 4th round down before the season even started.

.

 

[Alan]

kurtfaulk reliving the ugly past:
I'm pretty sure in 2011 they cut every draft pick from the 4th round down before the season even started.

Unfortunately, Devaney's bottom four rounds remind me of the previous regime's whole drafts.

 

[MrMotes]

But I'm not sure I understand what you're saying before that. I would absolutely hope that Snead's teams are more competitive than Devaney's. Because as I pointed out earlier, he had a CBA negotiation that limited his free agent options, and had to pay considerably more for his draft picks than Snead did.

But they're not using a time machine to compete against each other.

Devaney was competing with teams that had the same salary constraints and rookie salary rules that he did.

Snead is competing against teams who also benefit from a rookie salary cap.

And Snead is doing a far better job, imo, in relation to his peers than Devaney did in relation to his...

 

[-X-]

And Snead is doing a far better job, imo, in relation to his peers than Devaney did in relation to his...

Yeah, that's what I was trying to drill down to.
I still think there was more working against Devaney than there was against his peers, but it's moot now.
I'm also still not 100% sure Snead is killing it in relation to his peers either. I mean, he started with a golden ticket and we're still getting lapped.

 

[kurtfaulk]

I'm also still not 100% sure Snead is killing it in relation to his peers either. I mean, he started with a golden ticket and we're still getting lapped.

qb. 25 games.

.

 

[-X-]

qb. 25 games.

.

Thank you.

That's why I pointed out all the qualifiers during Devaney's term. 2008 he was half the GM, 2009 the team was demolished, with a new HC, and 3 ineffective QBs. 2010 rookie QB and a __________ receiving corps. 2011, the entire team injured, more or less, free agency dead, no camp, new OC. But since he drafted Jason Smith, his fate is sealed. The only thing I can agree with regarding his criticisms is that his late round picks were awful.

 

[JackDRams]

This got me thinking. Why don't teams hire guys that are collosally shit at drafting, as consultants. For example let's say Linehan. Hire him, get him to make a list of the players he's in love with. Then Snead takes his list, and crosses off all of those players off of his own list. Essentially hiring a guy to spot the future busts. Sounds dumb, but hey why not?

 

[Warner4Prez]

Thank you.

That's why I pointed out all the qualifiers during Devaney's term. 2008 he was half the GM, 2009 the team was demolished, with a new HC, and 3 ineffective QBs. 2010 rookie QB and a __________ receiving corps. 2011, the entire team injured, more or less, free agency dead, no camp, new OC. But since he drafted Jason Smith, his fate is sealed. The only thing I can agree with regarding his criticisms is that his late round picks were awful.

The Jason Smith bit. It's so overblown it's mildly infuriating. Bad pick? Sure, but look at that Top 10. Where do you go? Jason Smith, Tyson Jackson, Aaron Curry, Sanchez, Andre Smith, Heyward-Bey, Eugene Monroe, BJ Raji and Crabtree.

Raji would be the only worthy pick as of today. And his play has been short of a top 10 selection. Let's face it. That draft was a disaster. No matter how bad the Smith pick looks in hindsight, it definitely was the safest choice. If the concussions didn't take him out of the game early on, who knows what we'd be saying right now.

I know you get that X. Just had to jump in quick since you brought it up.

 

[Alan]

JackDRams beaten to the punch:
This got me thinking. Why don't teams hire guys that are collosally crap at drafting, as consultants. For example let's say Linehan. Hire him, get him to make a list of the players he's in love with. Then Snead takes his list, and crosses off all of those players off of his own list. Essentially hiring a guy to spot the future busts. Sounds dumb, but hey why not?

I think Cleveland already does that. Except they use Haslam's wife's picks instead.

 

[MrMotes]

The Jason Smith bit. It's so overblown it's mildly infuriating. Bad pick? Sure, but look at that Top 10. Where do you go? Jason Smith, Tyson Jackson, Aaron Curry, Sanchez, Andre Smith, Heyward-Bey, Eugene Monroe, BJ Raji and Crabtree.

Raji would be the only worthy pick as of today. And his play has been short of a top 10 selection. Let's face it. That draft was a disaster. No matter how bad the Smith pick looks in hindsight, it definitely was the safest choice. If the concussions didn't take him out of the game early on, who knows what we'd be saying right now.

I know you get that X. Just had to jump in quick since you brought it up.

The RGIII trade comes to mind.

Snead is better at his job than Devaney was, imo, of course...

 

[-X-]

The RGIII trade comes to mind.

Snead is better at his job than Devaney was, imo, of course...

The RGIII trade is exactly why people are saying he had a golden ticket.
I wonder how that would have played out if the rams *didn't* have a QB at the time.
We could conceivably be in the same boat as the Redskins.

 

[sdakotaram]

Martz/Linny/Spagz -----all 3 had some painful drafts-----looking back all I can say is wow. :eek:

 

[MrMotes]

The RGIII trade is exactly why people are saying he had a golden ticket.
I wonder how that would have played out if the rams *didn't* have a QB at the time.
We could conceivably be in the same boat as the Redskins.

The RGIII trade didn't just fall into Snead's lap. It's not some kind of qualifier. Snead made that trade. He deserves credit for it.

 

[-X-]

The RGIII trade didn't just fall into Snead's lap. It's not some kind of qualifier. Snead made that trade. He deserves credit for it.

Uh, yeah. It kinda did fall into his lap. He had the #2 pick in a year where the two top picks were highly coveted QBs and the Rams had (what they then thought) was their Franchise QB already. You or I could have put out the word that the pick was on the block and we'll take the highest bid for it. It's what you do with the haul that counts, of course.

 

[MrMotes]

Also, Devaney led the coaching search that resulted in the hiring of Steve Spagnulo. That's another strike against him in my book. Check out this blast from the past:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3800752

Rams GM surrounds himself with advisers
12/30/2008 - NFL ST. LOUIS RAMS

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams general manager Billy Devaney has the final say in the search for a new coach. Along the way, he has surrounded himself with big-name advisers to help him make the right choice for a franchise that's a sorry 5-27 the past two years.

Other members of Devaney's inner circle during the search are retired personnel whiz Bobby Beathard and Rams personnel director Lawrence McCutcheon, who'll sit in on initial interviews. Hall of Fame lineman Dan Dierdorf and former star running back Marshall Faulk will serve as advisers.

"I'm not someone that I hope it ever gets to that point where there's such an ego that I can do this thing on my own or I don't need any help," Devaney said Tuesday. "I don't mind reaching out to people that I trust."

John Shaw, who resigned as team president last week as part of the front office overhaul in which Devaney was made GM, will be involved with the final interviews, along with team owners Chip Rosenbloom, Lucia Rodriguez and Stan Kroenke. Shaw and Jay Zygmunt, the former president of football operations who also resigned, have been blamed for the franchise's decline in recent years.

"John wants to sit in on that and ask questions, and I'm sure he'll have an opinion," Devaney said. "And that's fine, I think that's good.

"They told me they'll have an opinion and they want a chance to meet these guys, but when it's over they'll let me make the decision." ...

 

[Akrasian]

The RGIII trade didn't just fall into Snead's lap. It's not some kind of qualifier. Snead made that trade. He deserves credit for it.

Yes and no (I sound like Bernie). Snead did have the good fortune of having a highly coveted prospect at a position the Rams already had fall to him. However, I do think that Snead did an excellent job at maximizing the return in trade for RG3 - getting one of the best returns in draft trade history. So he had an opportunity that Devaney didn't have - and then maximized the return from the opportunity. He deserves credit, but not as much credit as some give him imo.

 

[-X-]

Also, Devaney led the coaching search that resulted in the hiring of Steve Spagnulo. That's another strike against him in my book. Check out this blast from the past:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3800752

Rams GM surrounds himself with advisers
12/30/2008 - NFL ST. LOUIS RAMS

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams general manager Billy Devaney has the final say in the search for a new coach. Along the way, he has surrounded himself with big-name advisers to help him make the right choice for a franchise that's a sorry 5-27 the past two years.

Other members of Devaney's inner circle during the search are retired personnel whiz Bobby Beathard and Rams personnel director Lawrence McCutcheon, who'll sit in on initial interviews. Hall of Fame lineman Dan Dierdorf and former star running back Marshall Faulk will serve as advisers.

"I'm not someone that I hope it ever gets to that point where there's such an ego that I can do this thing on my own or I don't need any help," Devaney said Tuesday. "I don't mind reaching out to people that I trust."

John Shaw, who resigned as team president last week as part of the front office overhaul in which Devaney was made GM, will be involved with the final interviews, along with team owners Chip Rosenbloom, Lucia Rodriguez and Stan Kroenke. Shaw and Jay Zygmunt, the former president of football operations who also resigned, have been blamed for the franchise's decline in recent years.

"John wants to sit in on that and ask questions, and I'm sure he'll have an opinion," Devaney said. "And that's fine, I think that's good.

"They told me they'll have an opinion and they want a chance to meet these guys, but when it's over they'll let me make the decision." ...

I really don't recall a single person who objected to that hire when it happened.
"ZOMG! Awesome! He was responsible for ending the Patriots' undefeated ambitions!"