swerve13 wrote:
In 3 years, Ireland has made 26 selections in the NFL draft.
I broke these picks down into 6 categories to get an outline of how he has done.
Great picks:
just 1. Jake Long. And that was a fairly easy pick to make when sitting at the #1 spot
Good to solid selections:
Vontae Davis
Kendell Langford
Sean Smith
Koa Misi
Brian hartline
Solid late round picks:
Lex hilliard
Chris Clemons
Nolan Carroll
Reshad Jones
Misses:
Chad Henne
Shawn Murphy
Jalen Parmele
Donald Thomas
Lionel Dotson
John Nalbone
Andrew gardner
JD Folsom
Chris McCoy
High Round Busts:
Pat White
Philip Merling
Patrick Turner
Too early to tell yet:
Jared Odrick-could become a good pick
AJ Edds
John Jerry-could become yet another busted lineman pick
Austin Spitler
Breakdown analysis:
The Good: signed Davone Bess as an undrafted free agent
signed Dan Carpenter as an undrafted free agent
signed Cameron Wake from the CFL
Ireland seems to do better outside of the common draft.
The Bad: Has missed on 3 of the 5 offensive linemen he has selected. very close to missing on 4 with John Jerry
He does not value playmakers, Often passing on true gamechangers to select offensive linemen and defensive ends.
Some interesting facts about Ireland's draft decisions:
in 2008 passed on Matt Ryan for Jake Long
passed on Desean Jackson for Philip Merling
in 2009 passed on Clay Matthews and Hakeem Nicks for Vonta Davis
passed on Lesean McCoy and Mike Wallace for Pat White
passed on Austin Collie for Patrick Turner and Brian Hartline
in 2010, with his team needing a serious upgrade at tight end, passed on every tight end in one of the strongest classes in years, yound talents Rob Gronkowski, Ed Dickson, Jimmy Graham and Aaron Hernandez
I believe that his drafts so far leave alot to be desired.
When I think of the kind of weapons we could have drafted, it wouldnt have been necessary to part with two 2nd round picks for Brandon marshall, which in turn could have also made us better.
Pretty good write up, but a few things I definitely disagree with.
I put VD in the great picks category. For where he was drafted, it's a great pick.
Merling I wouldn't label as being a high round bust. He was #32 overall, and he has done a fair job when on the field. I'd say if he doesn't provide something meaningful this year, then we can throw him in that category. Until then I have him in with Odrick and others in the "yet to be determined' category.
I also don't agree with docking a guy based on who he passed on. As if we have a crystal ball that tells us who is going to be a superstar in this league. I mean if we are going to do that, we should give everyone an F for not drafting Tom Bray the year he came out. I base drafts on how well the player did commensurate to his draft position. I think that is the only fair and true way to judge a draft.