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Originally Posted by Dr. Van Halen
And, yes, I still contend that CP is an AVERAGE drafter. Remember that the Chiefs have drafted 10 Pro Bowlers from '89-'04 (although I picked that up from Messier who didn't say where he got the info)(that was second most in the division), Sporting News says that we have 31 drafted players still in the league since 2000 (same number as the Broncos and Patriots)(not the most telling stat, admittedly), and another publication that I can't remember the name of (one of the draft preview magazines) gave the Chiefs a C- for the past five years. ALL AVERAGE.
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When I talk about the team, or Carl,
especially regarding the draft, I talk about them in relation to the way they are now. In other words, recent history, to me, carries much, much more weight than anything from 10-15 years ago. It's history, and it's interesting to discuss, but it isn't particularly relevant to the performance of the team
today.
You point out the stat with 31 drafted players still in the league. I think that stat is misleading, first because it doesn't take into account the most meaningful thing, which is whether or not those players are still playing for the team that drafted them - that's the very point of the draft. It also doesn't deal with the quality of the players in question.
For instance, if you look at the Chiefs from 2001-2002 (2003 and 2004 I will not discuss yet; I like to leave a draft alone for 3 years), you'll see this:
2000: 8 players drafted, 2 are with the team (Bartee and Hall)
2001: 9 players drafted, 1 is with the team (Harts)
2002: 5 players drafted, 2 are with the team (Fujita and Sims)
That's 22 total draft picks, but only 5 remain with the squad, including two starters, two backups and a return specialist. Of that group, only Hall is any kind of a standout at his position. That leaves 17 draft picks from 2000-2002 that are no longer on our roster.
Go back two more years, to 1998-99, and you'll see we drafted 12 players, and of those only 2 remain with KC, Stills and Warfield.
That's a total of 35 draft picks in a 5 year period. Only 7 are on the team right now. That means that we're getting nothing out of 28 of the draft picks we made from 1998 to 2002. A few of those players are on other rosters, but not many. None are standouts or pro bowl calibre talent.
To me, that is the very definition of failure. Because the purpose of the draft is to establish a core of talent, a foundation upon which you build your franchise. We clearly have not done that.
That's why I say we draft poorly, in a nutshell. And that's why we have just two winning seasons and one playoff appearance since 1997.
Point to the early nineties all you want. Point to the legitimate hall of fame talent we've drafted. They're valid points. But, with the exception of two players, Tony Gonzalez and Will Shields, it has absolutely no bearing on the performance of Carl Peterson as the GM of the Chiefs
today.
He's succeeded in the past, at times. That doesn't change the fact that, at least where the draft is concerned, he's failing
now. All we can hope is that the results from 2003 to the present are much, much better than the preceding 5 years. Because if they're not, the future of this franchise won't be very bright.