Draft Grades and Projections Be Damned!!!
 

I went back and looked at the last 5 drafts. Take a look at which group has better professional players right now. Those drafting 1-5 or those drafting 11-15? This tells me the term "reach" really should never be used.

2005
1 San Francisco 49ers Alex Smith Quarterback Utah
2 Miami Dolphins Ronnie Brown Running back Auburn
3 Cleveland Browns Braylon Edwards Wide Receiver Michigan
4 Chicago Bears Cedric Benson Running back Texas
5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Carnell Williams Running back Auburn

11 Dallas Cowboys DeMarcus Ware Linebacker Troy
12 San Diego Chargers (from New York Giants) Shawne "roidman" Merriman Linebacker Maryland
13 New Orleans Saints (from Houston) Jammal Brown Offensive Tackle Oklahoma
14 Carolina Panthers Thomas Davis Linebacker Georgia
15 Kansas City Chiefs Derrick Johnson Linebacker Texas


2006
1 Houston Texans Mario Williams Defensive End North Carolina State [3]
2 New Orleans Saints Reggie Bush [4] Running back USC
3 Tennessee Titans Vince Young Quarterback Texas [5]
4 New York Jets D'Brickashaw Ferguson Offensive Tackle Virginia
5 Green Bay Packers A. J. Hawk Linebacker Ohio State

11 Denver Broncos Jay Cutler Quarterback Vanderbilt
12 Baltimore Ravens Haloti Ngata Defensive Tackle Oregon
13 Cleveland Browns Kamerion Wimbley Defensive End Florida State
14 Philadelphia Eagles Brodrick Bunkley Defensive Tackle Florida State
15 St. Louis Rams Tye Hill Cornerback Clemson

2007
1 Oakland Raiders JaMarcus Russell Quarterback LSU
2 Detroit Lions Calvin Johnson Wide receiver Georgia Tech
3 Cleveland Browns Joe Thomas† Offensive tackle Wisconsin
4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Adams, GainesGaines Adams Defensive end Clemson
5 Arizona Cardinals Brown, LeviLevi Brown Offensive tackle Penn State

11 San Francisco 49ers Willis, PatrickPatrick Willis† Linebacker Ole Miss
12 Buffalo Bills Lynch, MarshawnMarshawn Lynch† Running back California
13 St. Louis Rams Carriker, AdamAdam Carriker Defensive tackle Nebraska
14 New York Jets (from Carolina) [10] Revis, DarrelleDarrelle Revis† Cornerback Pittsburgh
15 Pittsburgh Steelers Timmons, LawrenceLawrence Timmons Linebacker Florida State

2008
1[8] Miami Dolphins Jake Long † Offensive tackle Michigan
2 St. Louis Rams Chris Long Defensive end Virginia
3 Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan Quarterback Boston College
4 Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden Running back Arkansas
5 Kansas City Chiefs Glenn Dorsey Defensive tackle LSU

11 Buffalo Bills Leodis McKelvin Cornerback Troy
12 Denver Broncos Ryan Clady † Offensive tackle Boise State
13 Carolina Panthers Jonathan Stewart Running back Oregon
14 Chicago Bears Chris Williams Offensive tackle Vanderbilt
15 Kansas City Chiefs (from Detroit) Branden Albert Offensive tackle Virginia


2009
1 Detroit Lions Matthew Stafford Quarterback Georgia
2 St. Louis Rams Jason Smith Offensive tackle Baylor
3 Kansas City Chiefs Tyson Jackson Defensive end LSU
4 Seattle Seahawks Aaron Curry Linebacker Wake Forest
5 New York Jets (from Cleveland) [R1 trade 1] Mark Sanchez Quarterback USC

11 Buffalo Bills Aaron Maybin Defensive end Penn State
12 Denver Broncos Knowshon Moreno Running back Georgia
13 Washington Redskins Brian Orakpo Defensive end Texas
14 New Orleans Saints Malcolm Jenkins Cornerback Ohio State
15 Houston Texans Brian Cushing Linebacker USC

Why any research? The only pick each team should take is Eric Berry. Every team will select him in the first round and then he will give a rose to his favorite team and they will win seventy bazzion Super Bowls.

Much like the godman of last year Aaron Curry there can only be one.

I wouldn't mind Berry, but if we took someone like Graham or Williams at pick #5 when they might be projected #15-#20 range doesn't mean jack and I would love it.

I don't mind Berry either but I'm sick of people saying he's the only player in the draft. Go get me a Hall of Famer at any position. Just have them turn into a major play maker at their posistion. I don't care if its a center or a LB or anything else. There is no telling how anyone you pick will turn out for sure.

i agree generally, in the sense that only a QB is worth the money of a top 5 pick anymore...

positionally you're getting screwed just because of the out of whack $$$$

True, but I'm not even talking about the money. I'm just talking about the quality of the player in general.

but i think it goes back to $$...teams feel obligated to draft a QB or LT to justify the $$...and both positions move up the board based on need way more than actual talent...

anyways, I'm splitting hairs...I wouldn't scream if we took Spiller for example, for just these reasons

Right and I'm just showing they shouldn't. I would rather pay big money for a great rush linebacker like say Graham looks like he will be then overpay for someone because they play on the line.

agreed

X 2

You aren't going to be popular with this!

But, it is about getting a player that can most help your team win the game of football, not winning the game of "beating the draft".

As long as a player contributes, I'm happy with damn near any pick.

I kind of figured such, but nobody really disagreed.