Forbes article on Broncos drafting

[Superchop 7]

Sports
Best And Worst NFL Draft Teams
Monte Burke, 04.08.09, 06:00 PM EDT
How choices played out on the field.


Here's a thought: Instead of looking at how many draftees make the team's active roster, a better barometer of success might be a survey of the last three years of drafts for all 32 NFL teams. To judge them, we looked at the percentage of players from those three draft classes who were still listed as active members of the team. The results were surprising.

In Pictures: Best And Worst NFL Draft Teams

Topping the list of the best drafting teams: the Houston Texans, who have kept on their current roster an amazing 85% of the players they've drafted in the last three years. The Texans have also produced two All-Pros (linebacker DeMeco Ryans and defensive end Mario Williams). But the Texans' record over the last three years is a less-than-mediocre 22-26.

The Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants placed second and third, respectively.

The bottom five will surprise fans most. The worst drafting team in the past three years, holding on to only a little more than half of its drafted players: the New England Patriots. With three Super Bowl wins since 2001, the Patriots are the team of the decade so far. They boast a 39-9 record in the past three years. How have they maintained that excellence? Though saddled with low draft picks, the Patriots have been the masters of picking up useful veterans via trades to fill holes in their lineup (see: receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker).

Behind the Numbers
To find the NFL's best and worst teams at drafting, we looked at the last three years of drafts for all 32 NFL teams. To judge the success or failure of the drafting teams, we looked at the percentage of players from those three draft classes who were still listed as active members of the team.

We gave a little extra weight to players who had made the Associated Press' All-Pro first and second teams--the players deemed as that year's best at their respective positions. Membership in this elite group is difficult to crack for a young player, as many long-tenured veterans make the All-Pro team year after year based only on reputation (take the N.Y. Jets' Alan Faneca).

Guessing Game
The NFL draft is all about potential, a stock market of big men in pads and helmets. Despite all of the scouting, speed trials, interviews and intelligence tests that teams require of potential draft picks, there is no surefire way to know if a player just out of college will be able to make it in the NFL.

Read on for more lists and rankings including golf, baseball and college sports towns.
The seven-round draft is rife with mistakes on both ends of the spectrum: Ryan Leaf, the first pick of the San Diego Chargers in 1998, turned out to be fool's gold and was out of the NFL within four years. Tom Brady, the three-time Super Bowl winner for the New England Patriots and one of the best quarterbacks of all time, was the 199th player chosen in the 2000 draft, a hidden gem passed over by every NFL team multiple times.

With skyrocketing rookie contracts, the pressure to get a draft pick right is more acute now than ever. When Jake Long, last year's overall No.1 pick, signed a five-year $57.5 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, he became the highest-paid offensive tackle in the league without ever having played an NFL game.

How It Works
To help with competitive balance, the NFL organizes the draft positions in a reverse-record manner. That is, the team with the worst record gets the first draft pick going all the way down to the Super Bowl winner, which drafts 32nd. The Texans, with their poor record over the past three years, have continually had a favorable drafting position (average spot: 12th).

Successful teams--those with excellent win-loss records--have also succeeded in finding NFL-caliber players. Take the Indianapolis Colts, with a 37-11 record and a Super Bowl title in the 2006 season. The Colts average drafting position: 40.

The New York Giants, winners of the 2007 season Super Bowl, are another successful franchise. The Giants have held on to 90% of their draft picks from the past three years.

The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, two teams who have experienced up-and-down seasons of late, round out the list of best drafters.

[shawshank24]

finally got your time-machine working, did ya?

[King87]

Can you give me the link for this?

[Superchop 7]

Go to Forbes.com

type in

Best and worst NFL draft teams

[Dean]

Originally Posted by Superchop 7

Go to Forbes.com

type in

Best and worst NFL draft teams

Here's the link.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/08/nfl...nfl-draft.html

[shawshank24]

Originally Posted by King87

Can you give me the link for this?

http://www.broncosforums.com/forums/...light=drafting

[Superchop 7]

I find it interesting.

To have so many crap drafts.

Then, we got better.

How much better I couldn't really tell. (comparatively)

[Shazam!]

One reason Chop would be players are being better utilized now.

A good example would be moving Doom to LB in a 34 than playing as a straightup DE in a 43 is a completely different position.

You have to play to a player's talent instead of having them be what they are not. This is something Shanahan always did and I never liked it.

[Superchop 7]

I think, in retrospect....that Shanny is dumb as hell when it comes to defense.

However, the Goodmans were pretty impressive.

Scheme is everything, no doubt about it.

Our front 3 is weak, but scheme makes up for it.

To have success in the playoffs though, is a different story.

We will need to have better personnel.

[Requiem / The Dagda]

Dumervil was still a good pass rusher for the Broncos at defensive end. Even he was surprised that his transition to 34 OLB went as well as it did. He never had to drop back in coverage and had no experience doing it prior, his roll in coverage hasn't been that significant though in the first place. Elvis succeeds at his position because he has a great first step, acceleration and has an immense wingspan to get to the ball. He is hard to guard.

Denver even spent a first-round choice on an OLB to prove the unsure nature of the transition. So far, it has paid off for all parties involved. All of the aforementioned has nothing to do with Shanahan or the players being better utilized; Elvis is still the pass rushing specialist he used to be, but he's getting better. He seems to do a bit better against the run, but is still struggling in that regard on occasion.

Yep. Quite surprised.

[KyleOrtonArmySoldier#128]

Originally Posted by Superchop 7

I think, in retrospect....that Shanny is dumb as hell when it comes to defense.

However, the Goodmans were pretty impressive.

Scheme is everything, no doubt about it.

Our front 3 is weak, but scheme makes up for it.

To have success in the playoffs though, is a different story.

We will need to have better personnel.

Our front 3 really don't need to do much the way our backfield plays.

[King87]

On paper Dumvervil probably shouldn't be as effective as he is. On paper Jack Lambert and Zac Thomas was supposed to suck.

Some guys are just football players. I'll be interested to see how Dumervil does on a year to year basis, but I think he's a stud.

[weazel]

holding on to drafted players shouldnt be the only criteria for how well you have drafted. Houston is a mediocre team that held on to a lot of mediocre drafted players. It doesnt make their drafts better, it just means they held on to more players, good or bad.

They didn't account for which position the teams drafted in either... While drafting in the top 5 doesn't automatically mean you have better drafts, it usually makes the decision easier.

lame article