Grading the 2011 NFL Draft

You guys know I like to do this. So sadly, here it goes.


Detroit Lions 2011:

1st Round: DT Nick Fairley: C Well the draft experts were correct on this one. Lazy, unmotivated, but talented when he wants to be, nothing has changed. Nick Fairley can look like the most dominant DT in the game at times, but mostly, plays lazy and unmotivated. No surprise the Lions didn't pick up the 5th year option.

2nd A: WR Titus Young: F This niggas crazy.

2nd B: Mikel Leshoure: INCOMPLETE Lost his first year to injury, second year had 900+ yards and 10+ TD's, 3rd year was behind Joique Bell and Reggie Bush and hated by Jim Schwartz, inactive all but like 2 games. The reason this grade is incomplete is because I think Mikel has talent to play in the NFL, but due to bad coaching and other backs stepping up, he hasn't been able to play. I still think he has a future in the game, even if it's not in Detroit. (Think about this, Leshoure was drafted to be the Thunder to Jahvid Best's Lightning, they never played in a game together.)

5th Rounder:F LB Doug Houge: Last I heard he was claimed off waivers by the Panthers.

7th Round:F T Johnny Culbreath: Got arrested and cut.


Final say: Fairley is an all pro when he wants to be, problem is that's one game a year. Leshoure has talent but got buried on depth chart by other backs. Titus Young is a fucking nut job. Other two were bad late round picks. This draft was terrible for Mayhew and Co.

Outstanding topic. 3 years is the perfect time to judge a draft.

Took a quick look at that particular draft and noticed the 1st 17 picks are studs except at the QB position. Wonder if teams are gonna make the same mistakes again. Lol.

As for the Ravens it was a pretty good draft starting with........
Rd 1- Jimmy Smith CB- Took a couple years to get into the groove. Now looking like a solid corner with potential to be our #1 shutdown CB. Ravens picked up his 5th year option about a week ago. Final grade B

Rd 2- Torrey Smith WR- High character guy who smoked it during the Ravens SB run. Not as good as a lot of the #1s but has been a solid starter every year. Final grade B+

Rd 3- Jah Reid OL- They ain't got rid of this guy yet.  FFFFFFF

Rd 4- Tandon Doss WR- Gave us some good games and a lot of bad ones especially with drops. Also helped out on SpecTeams. Final grade C-

Rd 5- Chykie Brown CB- Has had his moments and has started a few times and possibly could be our nickel corner this year. Another SpecTeams contributor. Final grade C

Rd 5- Pernell McPhee DE/OLB- Felt like he was out of place last when converted to OLB. Best used as rotational passrusher especially lining up in one of the interior positions which is what I think they'll do this year. Final grade C

Rd 6- Tyrod Taylor QB- Not much you can show when you're Flacco's backup. Final grade D

Rd 7- Anthony Allen- Was a great SpecTeam player who was mainly used as the lead blocker for Jacoby on kickoff returns. Disappointed he didn't make the team last and I'm not sure if he's still playing or not. Final grade D

Willbacker wrote:Outstanding topic. 3 years is the perfect time to judge a draft.

Took a quick look at that particular draft and noticed the 1st 17 picks are studs except at the QB position. Wonder if teams are gonna make the same mistakes again. Lol.

As for the Ravens it was a pretty good draft starting with........
Rd 1- Jimmy Smith CB- Took a couple years to get into the groove. Now looking like a solid corner with potential to be our #1 shutdown CB. Ravens picked up his 5th year option about a week ago. Final grade B

Rd 2- Torrey Smith WR- High character guy who smoked it during the Ravens SB run. Not as good as a lot of the #1s but has been a solid starter every year. Final grade B+

Rd 3- Jah Reid OL- They ain't got rid of this guy yet.  FFFFFFF

Rd 4- Tandon Doss WR- Gave us some good games and a lot of bad ones especially with drops. Also helped out on SpecTeams. Final grade C-

Rd 5- Chykie Brown CB- Has had his moments and has started a few times and possibly could be our nickel corner this year. Another SpecTeams contributor. Final grade C

Rd 5- Pernell McPhee DE/OLB- Felt like he was out of place last when converted to OLB. Best used as rotational passrusher especially lining up in one of the interior positions which is what I think they'll do this year. Final grade C

Rd 6- Tyrod Taylor QB- Not much you can show when you're Flacco's backup. Final grade D

Rd 7- Anthony Allen- Was a great SpecTeam player who was mainly used as the lead blocker for Jacoby on kickoff returns. Disappointed he didn't make the team last and I'm not sure if he's still playing or not. Final grade D

It was funny, I was looking back on our 2011 NFL DRAFT thread and there was one guy that said Jimmy Smith was better than Patrick Peterson and a 49er fan that was pissed about drafting Aldon Smith lol. And everyone was considering the Lions a winner on draft day.

MaddMatter wrote:

It was funny, I was looking back on our 2011 NFL DRAFT thread and there was one guy that said Jimmy Smith was better than Patrick Peterson and a 49er fan that was pissed about drafting Aldon Smith lol. And everyone was considering the Lions a winner on draft day.

Jimmy still got a chance but Peterson just can do so much more and is just a bigger playmaker in general especially on returns. I also thought Aldon Smith was picked too high and am still waiting to hear if the 9ers are gonna pickup his 5th year option. They should imo. Titus Young and Nick Fairly were definitely considered great picks at the time. At the time...

If Mike Evans is gone I do think the Lions should trade back if they can. I believe all 4 corners(Verret,Dennard,Gilbert and Fuller) will still be there and I consider them all pretty much equal. Come to think of it if Anthony Barr is there at 10 you might want to take him.

Ew look at this shit after Cam

Round 1 Pick 1 QB Cam Newton - A+. We all know he the goat so yeah

Round 3 DT Terrell McClain F. Trash and not on the team anymore. Nigga sucked

Round 3 DT Sione Fua F. More trash. Not on the team.

Round 4 CB Brandon Hogans F. Had potential, injuries held him back. Now he's probably bagging groceries at walmart.

Round 5 WR Kealoha Pilares D-. Pilares has potential, was injuried last year but has been a solid return man. And is the only receiver on the roster that Cam is actually familiar with. He probably won't even make it out of training camp with us.

Round 6 LB Lawrence Wilson F. I dont even know who this is lol

Round 6 OL Zachary Williams F.

Round 7 OL Lee Ziemba F.

Well this sucked.

S wrote:Ew look at this shit after Cam

Round 1 Pick 1 QB Cam Newton - A+. We all know he the goat so yeah

Round 3 DT Terrell McClain F. Trash and not on the team anymore. Nigga sucked

Round 3 DT Sione Fua F. More trash. Not on the team.

Round 4 CB Brandon Hogans F. Had potential, injuries held him back. Now he's probably bagging groceries at walmart.

Round 5 WR Kealoha Pilares D-. Pilares has potential, was injuried last year but has been a solid return man. And is the only receiver on the roster that Cam is actually familiar with. He probably won't even make it out of training camp with us.

Round 6 LB Lawrence Wilson F. I dont even know who this is lol

Round 6 OL Zachary Williams F.

Round 7 OL Lee Ziemba F.

Well this sucked.

At least Cam is a legit QB, I can admit I was wrong about that one. He seems to have matured since he got in the NFL.

R1 P25 James Carpenter T Alabama
Carpenter was good at times. Suffered injury issues and is now looking at unemployment due to a previously undrafted rookie in Michael Bowie. Seahawks opted not to pick up his 2015 option and 2014 will be the final contract year. My guess is that the Hawks wont pick him back up at the end of 2014. Grade: D

R3 P75 John Moffitt G Wisconsin
Moffitt was mediocre as an offensive lineman HOWEVER he was fucking hilarious on Michael Robinson's Real Rob Report and later on when he took a GoPro to the Broncos after he was traded. He's now retired and doing sports radio in Seattle. Still funny as fuck. Grade: F

R4 P99 K.J. Wright LB Mississippi State
Wright is a fantastic LB who frankly doesnt get enough praise due to the others around him in that defense. In my opinion he's one of the most underrated linebackers in the NFL.
Grade: B

R4 P107 Kris Durham WR Georgia
I was excited to have Durham on the Seahawks with his size and speed. However injuries caused Pete and Co. to stupidly cut him. He's now with the Lions and is playing good football. Grade: D

R5 P154 Richard Sherman DB Stanford
Steal of the draft? Probably. I'm biased but i believe Sherman is the Top CB in the NFL and I love his bravado. He backs up his talk very well. I'm hoping he re-signs with the Seahawks cause the last thing i want to see is Sherman on another team. Anyways, Pete Carroll and John Schneider hit on this pick brilliantly but i'll give props to Walter Thurmond for getting injured and forcing the Seahawks to play Sherman. Grade: A++++++

R5 P156 Mark LeGree FS Appalachian State
Could have been a good back up like Jeron Johnson... but obviously Pete and Co. whiffed on this one seeing as he was cut his rookie season in training camp and last i heard he hasn't received any calls from any other NFL team. Surprise. Grade: F

R6 P173 Byron Maxwell DB Clemson
Maxwell is a fantastic CB. When Browner went down in 2012 it gave Maxwell some time to shine. And then when Browner was injured/suspended Maxwell stepped up again like a champ. Having him opposite Sherman make them arguably the best CB duo in the NFL.
Grade: B+

R7 P205 Lazarius Levingston DE LSU
Waste of a pick. Same thing as LeGree. Grade: F

R7 P242 Malcolm Smith OLB USC
The Super Bowl XLVIII MVP. Getting rid of LeRoy Hill and injuries helped Smith get into the limelight. Sadly he is still going to be sharing time with Bruce Irvin. Personally they need to move Irvin to the Leo end to replace Clemons. doing that will probably make Smith a starter. Grade: A




Overall I'd say it was a good draft by the Hawks. Hit on four picks and with those four picks got an All Pro CB, a Super Bowl MVP Linebacker, a highly underrated OLB, and finished up with a CB that possibly could make the Pro Bowl next season.

Overall Grade: A

tubbs51 wrote:

R4   P107 Kris Durham        WR Georgia
     I was excited to have Durham on the Seahawks with his size and speed. However injuries caused Pete and Co. to stupidly cut him. He's now with the Lions and is playing good football. Grade: D

Overall I'd say it was a good draft by the Hawks. Hit on four picks and with those four picks got an All Pro CB, a Super Bowl MVP Linebacker, a highly underrated OLB, and finished up with a CB that possibly could make the Pro Bowl next season.

Overall Grade: A

On Durham. He plays ok football. not good, just ok. He doesn't get separation and sometimes struggles to hold onto the ball.

And how the hell do you give it an overall of an A when you missed on your first 2 picks.

tubbs51 wrote:

Overall Grade: A

sumwun need to revaluate

AJ Green: Fucking awesome. A+
Andy Dalton: QB that needs to get over the playoff hump but he's great during the regular season. A
Dontay Moch: Barely played at all. Making his second run with the Bengals now. F
Clint Boling: Pretty good guard that's been able to start for us. B
Robert Sands: Don't even think he's in the NFL right now. F
Ryan Whalen: Meh. C+
Korey Lindsey: Who? F
Jay Finley: Who? F

Overall grade: B

1st - Mo Wilkerson - A, the dude is a solid player and really is on a consistent upward trend.
2nd - Kendrick Ellis - B-, good player and serviceable. There for every game but the Jets have a deep Dline anyway
3rd - Bilel Powell - D+, back up running back. Thumper. Now we have Ivory and Johnson, might play FB
4th - Jeremey Kerley - B+, extremely valuable for everything he does for the team, slot, PR, and KR
5th - Greg McElroy - F - I liked him and he is a legend for the Arizona game but no point
7th - Scot McKnight - F - Practice squad guy who never did anything

Overall like a B or C, we have 1 foundation player, 2 guys who are solid starters, and a role guy. Not great, not awful

EPICxPENGUIN69 wrote:
7th - Scot McKnight - F - Practice squad guy who never did anything

l

oh cmon man!!!! you dont remember what he did?!! he was Mark Sanchez friend, duh !!!!

MaddMatter wrote:

tubbs51 wrote:

R4   P107 Kris Durham        WR Georgia
     I was excited to have Durham on the Seahawks with his size and speed. However injuries caused Pete and Co. to stupidly cut him. He's now with the Lions and is playing good football. Grade: D

Overall I'd say it was a good draft by the Hawks. Hit on four picks and with those four picks got an All Pro CB, a Super Bowl MVP Linebacker, a highly underrated OLB, and finished up with a CB that possibly could make the Pro Bowl next season.

Overall Grade: A

On Durham. He plays ok football. not good, just ok. He doesn't get separation and sometimes struggles to hold onto the ball.

And how the hell do you give it an overall of an A when you missed on your first 2 picks.

With Durham I heard he was making some good plays. Admittedly we dont get many Lions news over here.

And on the overall grade the reason i gave it an A is because of the four picks the Seahawks DID hit on. Sherman, Maxwell, Wright, and Smith. All four starters and very good at their positions.

The Seahawks havent hit on Early picks but have nailed the later rounds like very few teams out there. They've only hit a few times on early draft picks yet they won they just won a Super Bowl with only a few good early picks.  

MASTRxOFxPUPPETZ wrote:

EPICxPENGUIN69 wrote:
7th - Scot McKnight - F - Practice squad guy who never did anything

l

oh cmon man!!!! you dont remember what he did?!! he was Mark Sanchez friend, duh !!!!

I feel the jets never have solid draft classes. We always have like 1 or 2 guys where it is like, "wow, what a good pick" then the rest of our draft ends up being guys who don't ever do a god damn thing in the league.

I mean, I get the turn over rate in the NFL is extremely high and the average career is 3 years total but when you have teams like the Steelers who always have these good draft classes where if they had 11 picks, the next few season, most of them are on the team still.

I get not much is expected of 4-7 round guys, but they add the depth to your team. 1-3 are the freakish athlete type guys and the rest of the draft is just solid football players.

EPICxPENGUIN69 wrote:

MASTRxOFxPUPPETZ wrote:

EPICxPENGUIN69 wrote:
7th - Scot McKnight - F - Practice squad guy who never did anything

l

oh cmon man!!!! you dont remember what he did?!! he was Mark Sanchez friend, duh !!!!

I feel the jets never have solid draft classes. We always have like 1 or 2 guys where it is like, "wow, what a good pick" then the rest of our draft ends up being guys who don't ever do a god damn thing in the league.

I mean, I get the turn over rate in the NFL is extremely high and the average career is 3 years total but when you have teams like the Steelers who always have these good draft classes where if they had 11 picks, the next few season, most of them are on the team still.

I get not much is expected of 4-7 round guys, but they add the depth to your team. 1-3 are the freakish athlete type guys and the rest of the draft is just solid football players.

I like to consider 1-3 rounders, players that will start immediately, or in a year.

4-7 I think you're hoping for solid back up players/special teams players.