Covitz: How the Chiefs’ brain trust has drafted in the past
 

How the Chiefs’ brain trust has drafted in the past
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
New Chiefs general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid understand the value of taking a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Reid, as head coach at Philadelphia, and Dorsey, as director of college scouting at Green Bay, were with teams that took players who became franchise quarterbacks. But they didn’t stop drafting quarterbacks in the later rounds of subsequent drafts, even when the position wasn’t the glaring need that it is this year with the Chiefs, who own the first pick in the 2013 draft.

From 1999-2011, when Reid was head coach at Philadelphia, the Eagles drafted six quarterbacks, starting with Donovan McNabb in 1999.

Beginning in 1997, when Dorsey became director of college scouting in Green Bay, the Packers drafted nine quarterbacks, even with Brett Favre — and later Aaron Rodgers — on the roster.

By contrast, the Chiefs, preferring to go the veteran route with guys like Elvis Grbac and Trent Green, have drafted just four quarterbacks since 1997 … and only one, Brodie Croyle, a third-rounder in 2006, appeared in a game (he went 0-10 as a starter).

When Reid, a former quarterbacks coach at Green Bay, became head coach in Philadelphia, the Eagles, who finished 3-13 the year before, owned the second overall pick in what was considered a draft rich in quarterbacks.

The Eagles chose McNabb one spot behind Tim Couch of Kentucky, who went first overall to the expansion Cleveland Browns; and ahead of Akili Smith of Oregon, who went third to Cincinnati, and Daunte Culpepper of Central Florida, who went 11th to Minnesota.

McNabb became a starter midway through his rookie year and was soon one of the league’s top-tier quarterbacks, leading the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to finish a season with 30-plus touchdown passes (31) and fewer than 10 interceptions (eight) when he guided the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX following the 2004 season.

Dorsey was in his eighth season as Green Bay’s director of college scouting in 2005 when the Packers, coming off a 10-6 season, owned the 24th overall pick. Though Favre had thrown for 4,088 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2004, he would be 36 years old in 2005. When Rodgers slid down the draft board — several teams ahead of the Packers were not in the market for a quarterback — Green Bay grabbed Rodgers.

Rodgers would serve as an understudy Favre for three seasons before getting his chance to start in 2008. All he has done since then is win a Super Bowl MVP in leading the Packers to the championship following the 2010 season and garner a league MVP title in 2011 when he set an NFL record with a 122.5 passer rating and broke franchise records with 45 touchdown passes, 4,643 yards and a 68.3 completion percentage.

Even with Favre and Rodgers in Green Bay and McNabb in Philadelphia, the Packers and Eagles kept fortifying the quarterback position.

During Reid’s tenure, the Eagles drafted three quarterbacks while McNabb was still starting: A.J. Feeley of Oregon in the fifth round in 2001; Andrew Hall of Delaware in the sixth round in 2004; and Kevin Kolb out of Houston in the second round in 2007. Kolb was targeted as the heir apparent to McNabb, who was traded to Washington for a second-round pick in 2010 and fourth-round draft pick in 2011.

But Kolb suffered a concussion in the 2010 season opener, providing an opportunity for Michael Vick, who was signed as a free agent after a two-year absence from the league due to a dog-fighting conviction. Vick emerged as one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, leading the Eagles to an NFC East title.

Even with Vick and Kolb on the roster, the Eagles selected Mike Kafka of Northwestern in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, though he was released at the end the 2012 training camp and is now with New England. The Eagles traded Kolb to Arizona in 2011 for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round draft pick in 2012 and took Nick Foles in the third round of the 2012 draft. Foles started seven of the final eight games of the 2012 season while Vick was injured, and Foles could be the future of the Philadelphia franchise under new coach Chip Kelly.

The Packers’ roll call of quarterbacks who were drafted as insurance for Favre and Rodgers during 1997-2012, when Dorsey was director of college scouting for general managers Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson, brought value in trades — and some of those guys became starters around the league.

Most prominent was Matt Hasselbeck, a sixth-round pick from Boston College in 1998, who would lead Seattle to a Super Bowl in 2005, four years after he was traded to the Seahawks for draft picks in 2001.

The Packers drafted Aaron Brooks of Virginia in the fourth round in 1999 and turned that acquisition into a trade to New Orleans for a third-round pick in 2001. While Favre was still a star, the Packers drafted Craig Nall of Northwestern (La.) State in the fifth round in 2002 and Ingle Martin of Furman in the fifth round in 2006.

And after Favre retired and then unretired to go to the New York Jets in 2008, the Packers, still unsure of whether Rodgers would succeed, took Brian Brohm of Louisville in the second round and Matt Flynn of LSU in the seventh.

Flynn set franchise records with 480 yards passing and six touchdowns in a 45-41 regular-season win over Detroit in the 2011 regular-season finale while Rodgers rested for the playoffs. Flynn then parlayed that appearance into a three-year free-agent contract worth up to $19.5 million with Seattle last offseason. Flynn was beat out for the Seahawks’ starting job by rookie Russell Wilson and could be available to the Chiefs in a trade.

But the Packers made sure the cupboard wasn’t bare after Flynn departed. With their seventh-round pick in the 2012 draft, they took B.J. Coleman of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and he spent the season on the practice squad.

Just thickening

Weird. Both times these guys took a QB in the 1st he turned out to be pretty damn good.

"Chiefs Brain Trust" .. not exactly a flattering title of late

If that isnt a heartening read, i dont know what would be.

This club is finally going to give that position the focus it demands.

What do you think the implication of that is? Do you think it means teams should draft QBs in the first round because it somehow helps make the QB successful or do you think it means these guys have a good feel for when to pull the trigger on a guy in the first round and if they don't do it this year it's probably for good reason?

Exactly. Im going to trust the guys in charge because of their collective track record. If they dont choose someone in the 1st, well then there must be a good reason.

I think that A) Your chances of getting a franchise QB is significantly higher from drafting in the 1st round

B) Yes, I think both have demonstrated a good feel for QBs in the first 3 rounds that can be productive in their offensive philosophies.

IMO, when you have the #1 pick, unless you have a franchise QB or the QB class is absolutely just completely ****ing dismal (which isn't the case here), you always take the best QB available, as your chances of being able to do so in the future is extremely unlikely.

I think they will take a QB, but if they don't, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt long enough to see how things pan out.

Flynn for Cassel? /Dodges rocks

Cassel can ride the pine, for Carroll. Return to bench glory!

If they don't take a QB in the 1st and we're stuck with Dysert, Manuel, or Jones I'm going to be livid.

that's a lot of QBs, and a lot of QBs being developed and traded....

me likey

but let's not get twisted either...

mcnabb and rodgers were first round picks

Reid's success is with McNabb...a first rounder

it's not a coincidence

Hopefully they learned the lesson of Jake Long/Chad Henne as many here have pointed out. IM sure there are many more examples in history.