Pioli's Draft Record

by Offense of the 70s on Jan 13, 2009 3:56 PM CST Comment 10 comments

I found this post on the Patriots section of a Red Sox message board, posted by a Pats fan named "dynomite."

It's pretty interesting, and any opinions here are not mine but those of a Patriots fan.

"Out of these 66 picks it's pretty stellar, with 2003 and 2005 (and perhaps 2008) being outstanding years. Maybe 19 or 20 true starters in the bunch. It's a very solid draft record, with few true mistakes.

Perhaps his greatest draft accomplishment (apart from the Moss and Welker deals) is that, of his 1st and 2nd round picks, the only "busts" were Chad Jackson in 06 and Bethel Johson in 03. (We'll never know about Marquise Hill in 04, sadly) Overall this list makes me feel better, though. He's a great executive and it sucks he's leaving, but it's not as if they guy had a Midas touch -- late round steals were few and far between.

4th round (120) Asante Samuel, CB, 2003
5th round (164) Dan Koppen, C, 2003
6th round (206) LeKevin Smith, DT, 2006
7th round (230) Matt Cassel, QB, 2005
7th round (239) Tully Banta-Cain, DE, 2003
7th round (244) David Givens, WR, 2002

Above average, probably, but to only draft 5 "noteworthy" players after Round 4 in 8 drafts isn't anything Canton worthy.

The drafts:

2008 draft (if Wheatley or Wilhite turn into a starter and KOC sticks as our long-term backup this was an A+ draft)

1 (10) Jerod Mayo, LB
2 (62) Terrence Wheatley, CB
3 (78) Shawn Crable, LB
3 (94) KOC, QB
4 (129) Jonathan Wilhite, CB
5 (153) Matthew Slater, WR
6 (197) Bo Ruud, LB

2007 draft (looks pretty horrible, but not once you factor in Welker and Moss. There was noting to be had at the end of that draft beyond Tyler Thigpen and Nick Folk -- I guess it was worth seeing if anyone stuck, and Lua might be decent, but... wow.)

1 (24) Brandon Meriweather, S
4 (127) Kareem Brown, DT
5 (171) Clint Oldenburg, OL
6 (180) Justin Rogers, DE
6 (202) Mike Richardson, CB
6 (208) Justise Hairston, RB
6 (209) Corey Hilliard, T
7 (211) Oscar Lua, LB
7 (247) Mike Elgin, OL

2006 draft (again, not great. The fact that LeKevin Smith is our best late round pick in the last 3 years is pretty suprising. Andrews showed promise as well.)

1 (21) Laurence Maroney, RB
2 (36) Chad Jackson, WR
3 (86) David Thomas, TE
4 (106) Garret Mills, TE
4 (118) Stephen Gostkowski, K
5 (136) Ryan O'Callaghan, T
6 (191) Jeremy Mincey, DE
6 (205) Dan Stevenson, OG
6 (206) LeKevin Smith, DT
7 (229) Willie Andrews, S

2005 draft (obviously this one was pretty fantastic -- for 5 of your first 6 picks to become starters is really, really good)

1 (32) Legan Mankins, OG
3 (84) Ellis Hobbs, CB
3 (100) Nick Kaczur, OT
4 (122) James Sanders, S
5 (133) Ryan Claridge, LB
7 (230) Matt Cassel, QB
7 (255) Andy Stokes, TE

2004 draft (unlike them to miss on all 3 mid-draft picks)

1 (21) Vince Wilfork, DT
1 (32) Benjamin Watson, TE
2 (63) Marquise Hill, DE
3 (95) Guss Scott, S
4 (113) Dexter Reid, S
4 (128) Cedric Cobbs, RB
5 (164) P.K. Sam, WR
7 (233) Christian Morton, CB

2003 draft (fantastic overall, but man, we suck at drafting WRs...)

1 (13) Ty Warren, DT
2 (36) Eugene Wilson, CB
2 (45) Bethel Johnson, WR
4 (117) Dan Klecko, DT
4 (120) Asante Samuel, CB
5 (164) Dan Koppen, C
6 (201) Kliff Kingsbury, QB
7 (234) Spencer Nead, TE
7 (239) Tully Banta-Cain, DE
7 (243) Ethan Kelley, DT

2002 draft (...except in this draft, which was pretty good overall)

1 (21) Daniel Graham, TE
2 (65) Deion Branch, WR
4 (117) Rohan Davey, QB
4 (126) Jarvis Green, DE
7 (237) Antwoine Womack, RB
7 (244) David Givens, WR

2001 draft (Pioli's first as Director of Player Personnel -- 2 great picks and then... eh.)

1 (6) Richard Seymour, DL
2 (49) Matt Light, OT
3 (86) Brock Williams, CB
4 (96) Kenyatta Jones, OL
4 (119) Jabari Holloway, TE
5 (163) Hakim Akbar, S
6 (180) Arther Love, TE
6 (200) Leonard Myers, CB
7 (216) Owen Pochman, K
7 (239) T.J. Turner, LB

Anyone got a record of Pioli's free agent signings and trades? Obviously the Welker and Moss moves worked out pretty amazingly for them, to name two.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.

0 recs | Comment 10 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

TEs

Looking it over, my first suggestion to Piloi would be, just keep Tony G and stop spending high picks on tight ends. Since the Pats have drafted 7 tight ends since 2001, including first, second and third rounders, without much to show for it.

Oh while you’re at it, please draft us a Richard Seymour/Matt Light combo this year, like you did in your first Pats draft.

by Offense of the 70s on Jan 13, 2009 4:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Wow

We’ll be delving into these topics as the week goes on.

Impressive post.

by Joel Thorman on Jan 13, 2009 4:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Bethel Johnson & Chad Jackson

were good picks. They just didn’t work out. But Snoop Minnis, Sylvester Morris, and etc? Forget about it.

by KansasCityShuffle on Jan 13, 2009 4:09 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Rodney Harrison was a pretty good pick up.

Corey Dillon wasn’t bad short term

Indecision is the key to flexibility

by cmpotter on Jan 13, 2009 4:23 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Hey all, Patriots fan here

Congrats on the Pioli signing. As far as the drafting with rookie free agents goes…

Stephen Neal came in during 2001 as a undrafted rookie free agent. He’s the wrestler with no college football experience turned pro (and famous for beating Brock Lesnar in a wrestling match), and he’s been a fixture on our offensive line for years. Very good when he isn’t injured.

2004 also had Randall Gay and Eric Alexander come in as undrafted rookie free agents. Gay started for us in one of our Super Bowls and was a decent corner, he just got injured at one point and then moved onto the Saints after 2007. Eric Alexander is mostly a special teamer (a pretty good one, too) and provides depth at ILB.

2005 brought in Mike Wright and Raymond Ventrone as undrafted free agents. Wright’s a good player who I hope we resign, and if you haven’t seen him in action, try watching the Pats vs. Cardinals in 2008 game. Ventrone came in 2005 and is another special teams guy, though he does a little bit of everything (wide receiver/safety on scout teams and such).

2006 netted the Pats OLB Pierre Woods. He’s one of our best special teamers and filled in for Adalius Thomas when he got injured during this past season. He did an okay job until he ended up on IR with a broken jaw.

2007’s rookie free agent was Matt Gutierrez. He’s the emergency QB and is there mainly for depth.

2008 brought in a bunch of rookie free agents, most of them landing on the practice squad but a couple of them contributing on the 53 man roster. Gary Guyton took a lot of snaps this season at ILB and did a pretty good job. BenJarvus Green-Ellis (aka The Lawfirm) came in when our depth at RB had been completely depleted and ran hard against the Bills and Colts for us. Vince Redd is an OLB pickup who played some during the regular season, though I believe he injured his ankle so I don’t remember seeing much from him.

Hope that gave you guys some insight.

by NESilver on Jan 13, 2009 4:30 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the info

and you make a great point…

The Patriots were a dominant franchise in large part due to their DEPTH…and you get depth from hitting on a few UDFA each year…I remember several years ago when over the course of the season the Patriots lost something like 18 starters for at least 2 games each…and they still had a great record and they still won the freakin’ Super Bowl.

by PVChiefsfan on Jan 14, 2009 8:04 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

thanks

thanks for the info on the free agents. I would think Pioli might want to bring a couple of practice squad guys with him, if he thinks they have upside that others don’t realize.

by Offense of the 70s on Jan 13, 2009 4:51 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Gee, never thought

of that but it will definitely be interesting. Great find and post!

by Ilamuku on Jan 13, 2009 5:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The think I notice and love is

0 first round busts. Please be the end of first round busts in KC for years to come.

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur." - Vince Lombardi

by Shawn on Jan 13, 2009 5:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

The closest picks to "busts"

in the first round have been Laurence Maroney and Benjamin Watson, and neither one of them are bad players. Laurence has had a lingering issue with his shoulder, and Watson needs to improve his hands (especially catching the ball with any sort of contact – the nitpick with Watson used to be that he needed to improve his blocking, but he did a lot better on that this season).

I’d be very surprised if you guys had any first round busts with Scott Pioli there.

by NESilver on Jan 13, 2009 6:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs