NFL draft- What could have been

[Legatron4]

Troy Polamalu retiring got me thinking what we could have had. We picked Jimmy Kennedy over him. I went back and looked at our drafts from 2003-2011. This is what our team could look like.

2003: picked- Jimmy Kennedy(12)
Could have had- Troy Polamalu(16)
2004: picked- Steven Jackson(good pick)
2005: picked- Alex Barron(19)
Could have had- Aaron Rodgers(24)
2006: picked- Tye Hill(15)
Could have had- Antonio Cromartie(19)
2007: picked-Adam Carriker(13)
Could have had- Darrelle Revis(14)
2008: picked- Chris Long(good pick)
2009: picked- Jason Smith(2)
Could have had- B.J Raji(9)
2010: picked- Sam Bradford(I still think it was a good pick)
Could have had- Ndamakong Suh
2011: Picked- Robert Quinn(fucking good pick)

This is fucking painful to see what we could have had.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Well, a lot of other teams passed on those players too.

I am just glad the guys making our picks now are showing better success.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

What is encouraging to me is that Snead and Fisher are recognizing real talent. Consider the players that they were reportedly interested in drafting that they didn't get - CJ Mosley, OBJ, Zack Martin, Larry Warford, Bobby Wagner. All of them ended up being very good players.

I know there were ome misses like Justin Blackmon and Tret Richardson but tht was earlier in the process. Snead seems to look at all angles and it at least appears that he is getting better at this game....he was a rookie afterall.

 

[Memento]

Troy Polamalu retiring got me thinking what we could have had. We picked Jimmy Kennedy over him. I went back and looked at our drafts from 2003-2011. This is what our team could look like.

2003: picked- Jimmy Kennedy(12)
Could have had- Troy Polamalu(16)
2004: picked- Steven Jackson(good pick)
2005: picked- Alex Barron(19)
Could have had- Aaron Rodgers(24)
2006: picked- Tye Hill(15)
Could have had- Antonio Cromartie(19)
2007: picked-Adam Carriker(13)
Could have had- Darrelle Revis(14)
2008: picked- Chris Long(good pick)
2009: picked- Jason Smith(2)
Could have had- B.J Raji(9)
2010: picked- Sam Bradford(I still think it was a good pick)
Could have had- Ndamakong Suh
2011: Picked- Robert Quinn(freaking good pick)

This is freaking painful to see what we could have had.

The only one that I'd regret is Rodgers, Polamalu, and Revis. The others? They turned out for the better in the future. Raji isn't really good. I'd prefer Earl Thomas over Suh easily. Cromartie is talented, but he has the same problems that Jenkins does, and he has even more off-the-field issues.

 

[Legatron4]

The only one that I'd regret is Rodgers, Polamalu, and Revis. The others? They turned out for the better in the future. Raji isn't really good. I'd prefer Earl Thomas over Suh easily. Cromartie is talented, but he has the same problems that Jenkins does, and he has even more off-the-field issues.

I understand that. But I think it's insane how bad the players we picked were compared to what we could have had.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Troy Polamalu retiring got me thinking what we could have had. We picked Jimmy Kennedy over him. I went back and looked at our drafts from 2003-2011. This is what our team could look like.

2003: picked- Jimmy Kennedy(12)
Could have had- Troy Polamalu(16)
2004: picked- Steven Jackson(good pick)
2005: picked- Alex Barron(19)
Could have had- Aaron Rodgers(24)
2006: picked- Tye Hill(15)
Could have had- Antonio Cromartie(19)
2007: picked-Adam Carriker(13)
Could have had- Darrelle Revis(14)
2008: picked- Chris Long(good pick)
2009: picked- Jason Smith(2)
Could have had- B.J Raji(9)
2010: picked- Sam Bradford(I still think it was a good pick)
Could have had- Ndamakong Suh
2011: Picked- Robert Quinn(freaking good pick)

This is freaking painful to see what we could have had.

ALL pre-Fisher Admin.!

 

[Ramrasta]

What is encouraging to me is that Snead and Fisher are recognizing real talent. Consider the players that they were reportedly interested in drafting that they didn't get - CJ Mosley, OBJ, Zack Martin, Larry Warford, Bobby Wagner. All of them ended up being very good players.

I know there were ome misses like Justin Blackmon and Tret Richardson but tht was earlier in the process. Snead seems to look at all angles and it at least appears that he is getting better at this game....he was a rookie afterall.

I don't think they necessarily missed on Blackmon as far as evaluating talent. He would be a Pro Bowl player if he could manage to stay on the field and keep his head on straight.

 

[Loyal]

Not saying those missed players wouldn't have had an impact....but then again, who knows? If development matters, it's possible those better players might not have been so good...and those players we picked, might have been much better players with better coaching on other teams...So many variables that make the alternate outcome, hard to know....The "butterfly" effect, etc..

 

[iced]

i really wonder what kind of career blackmon would have had under a Coach like Fisher - someone who's known for hauling in his "trouble makers"

 

[rams24/7]

The tough one for me was Donnie Avery in round 2. First WR picked in 2008, and we passed on DJax?

 

[DCH]

2nd rounders:

2003 - Pisa Tinoisamoa over Osi Umeniyora or Anquan Boldin
2004 - No pick
2005 - Ron Bartell over Vincent Jackson, Frank Gore
2006 - Joe Klopfenstein over Marcus McNeil, Greg Jennings and Maurice Jones-Drew
2007 - Brian Leonard over Ryan Kalil
2008 - Donnie Avery over Jordy Nelson, DeSean Jackson, Matt Forte, Calais Campbell, Ray Rice
2009 - James Lauranaitis, no big complaints
2010 - Rodger Saffold, again hard to complain, but there is a Rob Gronkowski a few picks later...
2011 - Lance Kendricks over Stefen Wisniewski, Rodney Hudson, Torrey Smith, Randall Cobb
2012 - Brian Quick, was a project and turning into something special, but over Cordy Glenn...
2012 - Janoris Jenkins, cannot complain
2012 - Isaiah Pead (and the trade that got us Blubberbutt McWatkins in the 5th) over Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David... very ouch

 

[Memento]

2nd rounders:

2003 - Pisa Tinoisamoa over Osi Umeniyora or Anquan Boldin
2004 - No pick
2005 - Ron Bartell over Vincent Jackson, Frank Gore
2006 - Joe Klopfenstein over Marcus McNeil, Greg Jennings and Maurice Jones-Drew
2007 - Brian Leonard over Ryan Kalil
2008 - Donnie Avery over Jordy Nelson, DeSean Jackson, Matt Forte, Calais Campbell, Ray Rice
2009 - James Lauranaitis, no big complaints
2010 - Rodger Saffold, again hard to complain, but there is a Rob Gronkowski a few picks later...
2011 - Lance Kendricks over Stefen Wisniewski, Rodney Hudson, Torrey Smith, Randall Cobb
2012 - Brian Quick, was a project and turning into something special, but over Cordy Glenn...
2012 - Janoris Jenkins, cannot complain
2012 - Isaiah Pead (and the trade that got us Blubberbutt McWatkins in the 5th) over Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David... very ouch

Tinoisamoa and Bartell weren't bad picks. V-Jax took longer than Bartell to make an impact in the league. Tinoisamoa, with a better contract, would have been the second best pick in the Martz era, sad to say.

But it's definitely not Pead over Wagner and David. It's Pead over Russell Wilson, whom we had four chances at in the second and third rounds combined.

 

[shaunpinney]

The Pead pick is the one that still really bothers me

 

[Limey]

I know there were ome misses like Justin Blackmon and Tret Richardson but tht was earlier in the process. Snead seems to look at all angles and it at least appears that he is getting better at this game....he was a rookie afterall.

He was also relying on the existing Rams scouts, rather than being able to appoint his own, and he hadn't been in the job that long prior to the draft, so while he would have been looking at players for Atlanta, he wouldn't necessarily have been looking at the same positions, and wouldn't have known which Ram scouts he could rely on and which he couldn't.

 

[DCH]

Tinoisamoa and Bartell weren't bad picks. V-Jax took longer than Bartell to make an impact in the league. Tinoisamoa, with a better contract, would have been the second best pick in the Martz era, sad to say.

But it's definitely not Pead over Wagner and David. It's Pead over Russell Wilson, whom we had four chances at in the second and third rounds combined.

Sure, those were two picks who did impact the Rams positively, just wanted to keep it consistent. I disagree on your Pead view, though... mostly because of how badly Fisher wanted Wagner at the time, and how pissed he reportedly was after missing out. I also say that both Wagner and David are much better players than Wilson, who is a good QB helped out by a great RB.

 

[Memento]

Sure, those were two picks who did impact the Rams positively, just wanted to keep it consistent. I disagree on your Pead view, though... mostly because of how badly Fisher wanted Wagner at the time, and how pissed he reportedly was after missing out. I also say that both Wagner and David are much better players than Wilson, who is a good QB helped out by a great RB.

Disagree on that. Wilson, to me, is a franchise quarterback. He does have a great running back (who is also getting older), but he has consistently done more with less when it comes to the receiving corps and tight ends. Not one of them are studs. Now that Jimmy Graham's in the fold, Wilson has a ton of potential to do some damage.

 

[yrba1]

Disagree on that. Wilson, to me, is a franchise quarterback. He does have a great running back (who is also getting older), but he has consistently done more with less when it comes to the receiving corps and tight ends. Not one of them are studs. Now that Jimmy Graham's in the fold, Wilson has a ton of potential to do some damage.

Agreed, people would've said the same about Brady during his early years. What starts out as a game manager is capable of being a franchise QB

 

[CGI_Ram]

I go all the way back to 1996 being HACKED when we chose Eddie Kennison 1 spot before Marvin Harrison.

Then again, we probably don't select Torry Holt in 1999.

Funny when you think about it that way.

 

[Athos]

Those 2000s were some brutal shit. Few sports owners in the world, imo, were worse than what we had.

 

[LesBaker]

He was also relying on the existing Rams scouts, rather than being able to appoint his own, and he hadn't been in the job that long prior to the draft, so while he would have been looking at players for Atlanta, he wouldn't necessarily have been looking at the same positions, and wouldn't have known which Ram scouts he could rely on and which he couldn't.

Didn't he say something to that effect in an interview, about the "processes" changing. Which could easily mean different people and methods.