Best NFL Draft of the First Decade

[onejayhawk]

This is 2000-2009. Which team's draft ranks supreme?

Some candidates:

2000 - CHICAGO BEARS

1 9 Brian Urlacher MLB New Mexico
2 39 Mike Brown FS Nebraska
3 69 Dez White WR Georgia Tech
3 87 Dustin Lyman TE Wake Forest
4 125 Reggie Austin DB Wake Forest
6 170 Frank Murphy RB Kansas State
6 174 Paul Edinger K Michigan State
7 223 James Cotton DE Ohio State
7 254 Michael Green SAF Northwestern State-Louisiana

2008 - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

1 5 Glenn Dorsey DT Louisiana State
1 15 Branden Albert T Virginia
2 35 Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech
3 73 Jamaal Charles RB Texas
3 76 Brad Cottam TE Tennessee
3 82 DaJuan Morgan SAF North Carolina State
4 105 Will Franklin WR Missouri
5 140 Brandon Carr CB Grand Valley State
6 170 Barry Richardson T Clemson
6 182 Kevin Robinson WR Utah State
7 210 Brian Johnston DE Gardner-Webb
7 239 Mike Merritt TE Central Florida

2006 - NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

1 2 Reggie Bush RB USC
2 43 Roman Harper SS Alabama
4 108 Jahri Evans G Bloomsburg
5 135 Rob Ninkovich DE Purdue
6 171 Mike Hass WR Oregon State
6 174 Josh Lay CB Pittsburgh
7 210 Zach Strief T Northwestern
7 252 Marques Colston WR Hofstra

2005 - DALLAS COWBOYS

1 11 DeMarcus Ware OLB Troy State
1 20 Marcus Spears DE Louisiana State
2 42 Kevin Burnett LB Tennessee
4 109 Marion Barber RB Minnesota
4 132 Chris Canty DE Virginia
6 208 Justin Beriault DB Ball State
6 209 Rob Petitti T Pittsburgh
7 224 Jay Ratliff DE Auburn

2004 - ARIZONA CARDINALS

1 3 Larry Fitzgerald WR Pittsburgh
2 33 Karlos Dansby OLB Auburn
3 64 Darnell Dockett DT Florida State
4 100 Alex Stepanovich C Ohio State
5 135 Antonio Smith DE Oklahoma State
6 167 Nick Leckey C Kansas State
7 202 John Navarre QB Michigan

2006 - DENVER BRONCOS

1 11 Jay Cutler QB Vanderbilt
2 61 Tony Scheffler TE Western Michigan
4 119 Brandon Marshall WR Central Florida
4 126 Elvis Dumervil DE Louisville
4 130 Domenik Hixon WR Akron
5 161 Chris Kuper G North Dakota
6 198 Greg Eslinger C Minnesota

2004 - SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

1 1 Eli Manning QB Mississippi
2 35 Igor Olshansky DE Oregon
3 65 Nate Kaeding K Iowa
3 66 Nick Hardwick C Purdue
4 98 Shaun Phillips LB Purdue
5 133 Dave Ball DE UCLA
5 154 Michael Turner RB Northern Illinois
6 169 Ryan Krause TE Nebraska-Omaha
7 204 Ryon Bingham DT Nebraska
7 209 Shane Olivea T Ohio State
7 254 Carlos Joseph -- Miami (Fla.)

The 2004 SD draft involves trading Eli Manning for Philip Rivers, the Kaeding pick, late round Giants pick Roman Obed, and a future pick that became Shawne Merriman.

2005 - SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

1 12 Shawne Merriman OLB Maryland
1 28 Luis Castillo DE Northwestern
2 61 Vincent Jackson WR Northern Colorado
4 130 Darren Sproles RB Kansas State
5 164 Wesley Britt T Alabama
6 177 Wes Sims G Oklahoma
7 242 Scott Mruczkowski C Bowling Green State

2003 - New England Patriots

1 13 Ty Warren DE Texas A&M
2 36 Eugene Wilson FS Illinois
2 45 Bethel Johnson WR Texas A&M
4 117 Dan Klecko DT Temple
4 120 Asante Samuel CB Central Florida
5 164 Dan Koppen C Boston College
6 201 Kliff Kingsbury QB Texas Tech
7 234 Spencer Nead TE Brigham Young
7 239 Tully Banta-Cain LB California
7 243 Ethan Kelley NT Baylor

This 2003 NE draft involves a whole host of trades that ended up yielding 2004 1st round pick Vince Wilfork.

2006 - Houston Texans

1 1 Mario Williams DE North Carolina State
2 33 DeMeco Ryans MLB Alabama
3 65 Charles Spencer T Pittsburgh
3 66 Eric Winston T Miami (Fla.)
4 98 Owen Daniels TE Wisconsin
6 170 Wali Lundy RB Virginia
7 251 David Anderson WR Colorado State


2001 - Cincinnati Bengals

1 4 Justin Smith DE Missouri
2 36 Chad Johnson WR Oregon State
3 66 Sean Brewer TE San Jose State
4 100 Rudi Johnson RB Auburn
5 135 Victor Leyva G Arizona State
6 168 Riall Johnson LB Stanford
7 204 T.J. Houshmandzadeh WR Oregon State

I am not posting the 2001 SD draft that yielded LT and Breese because they gave up on Breese.

My pick for best is the 2005 Cowboys.

J

 

[Light Cleric]

I'm obviously super biased but I really think the Saints 2006 draft was incredible. We rode that one draft to a Super Bowl and several more years of success after that despite most of our subsequent drafts being dumpster fires even to this day.

Colston was legit the best receiver in franchise history, Harper was a solid safety who was great against the run, Jahri Evans was first-team All Pro 4 straight years(starting with the Super Bowl year), Zach Strief was a solid if unspectacular right tackle(age has been catching up to him), and Reggie Bush, while not living up to his draft status, was still a very useful piece in that offense.

That Cardinals draft is pretty sick though; Fitz, Dansby, Dockett and Antonio Smith.

 

[mrt144]

Oops didnt see the date specification.

 

[onejayhawk]

I'm obviously super biased but I really think the Saints 2006 draft was incredible. We rode that one draft to a Super Bowl and several more years of success after that despite most of our subsequent drafts being dumpster fires even to this day.

Colston was legit the best receiver in franchise history, Harper was a solid safety who was great against the run, Jahri Evans was first-team All Pro 4 straight years(starting with the Super Bowl year), Zach Strief was a solid if unspectacular right tackle(age has been catching up to him), and Reggie Bush, while not living up to his draft status, was still a very useful piece in that offense.

That Cardinals draft is pretty sick though; Fitz, Dansby, Dockett and Antonio Smith.

Looking closer at the Saints draft you may have a point. Strief and Colston are probably as valuable to the team as Bush and Harper.

Add one that is still taking names.

2008 - ATLANTA FALCONS

1 3 Matt Ryan QB Boston College
1 21 Sam Baker T USC
2 37 Curtis Lofton MLB Oklahoma
3 68 Chevis Jackson CB Louisiana State
3 84 Harry Douglas WR Louisville
3 98 Thomas DeCoud FS California
5 138 Robert James MLB Arizona State
5 154 Kroy Biermann DE Montana
6 172 Thomas Brown RB Georgia
7 212 Wilrey Fontenot CB Arizona
7 232 Keith Zinger TE Louisiana State

J

 

[Serutan]

I'm obviously super biased but I really think the Saints 2006 draft was incredible. We rode that one draft to a Super Bowl and several more years of success after that despite most of our subsequent drafts being dumpster fires even to this day.

Colston was legit the best receiver in franchise history, Harper was a solid safety who was great against the run, Jahri Evans was first-team All Pro 4 straight years(starting with the Super Bowl year), Zach Strief was a solid if unspectacular right tackle(age has been catching up to him), and Reggie Bush, while not living up to his draft status, was still a very useful piece in that offense.

That Cardinals draft is pretty sick though; Fitz, Dansby, Dockett and Antonio Smith.

The Cards did indeed make a lot of hay out of their draft.

If it were not for Darth Hoodie's apprentice from 2000, Colston would rate as the best value pick of the decade.
{NOTE : not counting undrafteds such as Tony Romo}

 

[onejayhawk]

A friend of my did a table of CarAV, though he missed the 2001 SD group. One of the draw backs on toting up this way is that players stats cont even after they are traded.



When you consider that Eli was traded for Rivers before training camp, it's reasonable to swap their scores. In that case SD 2004 is the clear winner for the decade. Philip Rivers has outdone Eli Manning by an amount comparable to Shawn Merriman's whole career. Both teams are far past anything from the 1990s. The clear best of that decade is

1997 - TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

1 12 Warrick Dunn RB Florida State
1 16 Reidel Anthony WR Florida
2 37 Jerry Wunsch T Wisconsin
3 63 Frank Middleton G Arizona
3 66 Ronde Barber CB Virginia
4 128 Alshermond Singleton LB Temple
5 137 Patrick Hape TE Alabama
6 169 Al Harris CB Texas A&M - Kingsville
6 197 Nigea Carter -- Michigan State
7 209 Anthony DeGrate -- Stephen F. Austin St.

Any draft over 300 is among the decades best. 1991 had three of them: ATL 325, DAL 331, HOU 306

J