Who is the best/Worst Draft pick ever in your Opinion?

CharismaPeep

I've got the NFL Top Ten Series, and I've been watching the Best Draft Picks Ever & Biggest Draft Busts. Just wondering who people think are the Best & Worst draft picks of all time, either for your team or overall?

For what its worth, I think the best draft pick is Joe Montana (82nd overall) and the worst has to be Ricky Williams (Mike Ditka traded his entire draft for him. I know many of you picked up on the error i made here in the original post. I've added in a new reply in this post which i hope will explain it.

Be as honest as you want, but nothing silly out of spite (Chargers fans picking Eli Manning, for example)

Hazys

It think it has to be Tom Brady for the greatest value pick, 199th pick in the draft for one of the greatest QBs of all time.

The worst is probably Ryan Leaf for lowest value pick, 2nd pick in the draft, absoulte bust...but id give JaMarcus Russel one more year before id have him challenging him, quality wise he is probably not as terrible as Leaf but the amount of money the Raiders invested in him, has him challenging.


Two of the most obivous picks, i know.

dub02

Tom Brady SURELLLLLLLY has to be the best draft pick/find ever...6th round wasnt it:cool:

Hazys

CharismaPeep wrote: »

I've got the NFL Top Ten Series, and I've been watching the Best Draft Picks Ever & Biggest Draft Busts. Just wondering who people think are the Best & Worst draft picks of all time, either for your team or overall?

For what its worth, I think the best draft pick is Joe Montana (82nd overall) and the worst has to be Ricky Williams (Mike Ditka traded his entire draft for him. The trickle down effect saw the 49ers pick up Montana and later Rice)

Be as honest as you want, but nothing silly out of spite (Chargers fans picking Eli Manning, for example)

I think the Giants trading for Eli has to be up there as a terrible pick/trade...i'd rate Rivers way above Eli, so the Chargers got Rivers, a 1st round (Merriman) & a 3rd Round (Kaeding a pro bowl Kicker (didnt look like that after the Jets game)) for a lesser QB.

So that deal has to be up there but certainly not the worst i guess.

Xavi6

Hmmmmm not sure about the best. Johnny Unitas in the 9th round? Terrell Davis in the 6th? Brady is a good call too. However I'm gonna go for Shannon Sharpe in round 7. What a player he turned out to be.

Ryan Leaf is the biggest dud for me as well.

I remember it was between him and Peyton Manning to go number 1 in 1998, and the Colts picked wisely. Leaf was tipped by many to be the better of the two as well.

ReacherCreature

I'd agree with Brady too.

Favre aswell, 2nd rounder for all that production. Huge.

The Manning one is an interesting pick while being one of the best picks. Colts could've picked either Manning or Leaf, the right one they picked.

Worst has to be Leaf, or Russell arguably.

Pherekydes

ReacherCreature wrote: »

I'd agree with Brady too.

Favre aswell, 2nd rounder for all that production. Huge.

The Manning one is an interesting pick while being one of the best picks. Colts could've picked either Manning or Leaf, the right one they picked.

Worst has to be Leaf, or Russell arguably.

I was thinking of Favre as the worst draft pick for the team that drafted him. Falcons picked him 33rd overall in '91. He attempted 4 passes, 2 of which were intercepted, and then they traded him away for a near useless CB (IIRC).

After that, Leaf was useless. He was #2 overall, and produced almost no value for the Chargers.

Best?

Maybe Herschel Walker. A former Heisman winner (in the same year that saw Elway, Marino and Dickerson drafted), he was drafted by the Cowboys in the 5th round in '85 (he had gone playing in the rival USFL). The 'Boys picked up his rights just in case he became available. He was highly productive when he eventually signed for the 'Boys, but when they traded him to the Vikings ('89?), they picked up a lorry load of draft picks that laid the foundation for 3 Superbowls in the '90s.

They drafted Emmit Smith, Russell Maryland, Darren Woodson and Alvin Harper amongst others.

When the 'Boys drafted Walker he wasn't even available, so he is, IMO, the most valuable draft pick ever.

bobby wade

CharismaPeep wrote: »

I've got the NFL Top Ten Series, and I've been watching the Best Draft Picks Ever & Biggest Draft Busts. Just wondering who people think are the Best & Worst draft picks of all time, either for your team or overall?

For what its worth, I think the best draft pick is Joe Montana (82nd overall) and the worst has to be Ricky Williams (Mike Ditka traded his entire draft for him. The trickle down effect saw the 49ers pick up Montana and later Rice)

Be as honest as you want, but nothing silly out of spite (Chargers fans picking Eli Manning, for example)

Ya may be a tad confused there. Montana & Rice had nothing to do with Rickey Williams trade.

Worst draft pick ever is Ryan Leaf & itaint even close

ReacherCreature

Pherekydes wrote: »

I was thinking of Favre as the worst draft pick for the team that drafted him. Falcons picked him 33rd overall in '91. He attempted 4 passes, 2 of which were intercepted, and then they traded him away for a near useless CB (IIRC).

I disagree. He was chosen high but didn't get the opportunity to start. He didn't start one game, he played for two. Favre didn't get the chance to even justify his status as a 2nd round pick, he justified it in Green Bay 'cos he started 13 games and went 8-5 in his first year there (The year after he was drafted.) Had he stayed on in Atlanta, who knows if he would have been as good, if he started more than a few games.

bobby wade wrote: »

Ya may be a tad confused there. Montana & Rice had nothing to do with Rickey Williams trade.

Was confused by it myself. Williams was drafted in 1999. Montana and Rice were drafted prior to that. I think there's no involvement anyways.

frostie500

ReacherCreature wrote: »

I disagree. He was chosen high but didn't get the opportunity to start. He didn't start one game, he played for two. Favre didn't get the chance to even justify his status as a 2nd round pick, he justified it in Green Bay 'cos he started 13 games and went 8-5 in his first year there (The year after he was drafted.) Had he stayed on in Atlanta, who knows if he would have been as good, if he started more than a few games.

Yeah and the other thing about the Falcons was that they got a first round pick out of the Favre trade as well so they ended up 'in profit' if you will. So while I wouldnt say it was the best move the franchise ever made to trade Favre when looked upon with hindsight its easy to see why they did it. With all in mind the Colts decision to trade away John Elway was much worse because they didnt have a competitive season for a pro longed period afterward. The Colts gave away Elway for two players and a pick and only one of those went to a pro bowl. The Colts were uncompetitive for years to boot whereas at least the Falcons went to a Superbowl and had decent season at times before the Vick era began.

ReacherCreature wrote: »

Was confused by it myself. Williams was drafted in 1999. Montana and Rice were drafted prior to that. I think there's no involvement anyways.

Was the OP not saying Montana was the best and Williams was the worst?--EDIT--Yeah Im in agreement with Reacher and the rest I the OP has his years mixed up in relation to these trades

The Williams trade was no where near as catostraphic for the Saints as the Vikings trade for Walker. The Vikings were close to be being contenders when the Walker trade went through and felt he would make them great. In three years there he didnt crack 1000 yards and the team didnt win a playoff game. It took them years to get back to being a contender as a direct result of giving up so many picks. Dallas got five players, six conditional draft choices and a 1992 first-round pick and a dynasty whereas the Vikings fell away to obscurity for years.

Dont forget as well that the Saints got two firsts for Williams in his trade to the Dolphins and picked Superbowl winner Charlie Grant and parlayed the other pick to swap with the Cards and select Johnathan Sullivan the DT from Georgia that was very highly rated but ended up flaming out with drug use-much like Williams at one point!

jdivision

CharismaPeep wrote: »

(Mike Ditka traded his entire draft for him. The trickle down effect saw the 49ers pick up Montana and later Rice)

Huh? Montana retired years before Ricky was drafted.

Bo Jackson would be up there, seventh round pick for the Raiders, unstoppable before he got injured and great stats for a part-timer.

ReacherCreature

frostie500 wrote: »

Was the OP not saying Montana was the best and Williams was the worst?

The Williams trade was no where near as catostraphic for the Saints as the Vikings trade for Walker. The Vikings were close to be being contenders when the Walker trade went through and felt he would make them great. In three years there he didnt crack 1000 yards and the team didnt win a playoff game. It took them years to get back to being a contender as a direct result of giving up so many picks. Dallas got five players, six conditional draft choices and a 1992 first-round pick and a dynasty whereas the Vikings fell away to obscurity for years.

SI.com call it the worst trade in NFL or sports history for the Vikings I think.

Also, the OP said the following:

CharismaPeep wrote: »

For what its worth, I think the best draft pick is Joe Montana (82nd overall) and the worst has to be Ricky Williams (Mike Ditka traded his entire draft for him. The trickle down effect saw the 49ers pick up Montana and later Rice)

I'm assuming that he means that because of the draft picks Dikta gained, they were used somewhat to select Rice and Montana. Wires were probably just crossed.

dardevle

....

think that Brady is hands down the best value pick ever.



while i agree that Ryan Leaf was probably the worst value draft pick in history, the one that sticks out for me is Rae Carruth (27th overall '97).....big things expected of him i remember and he had a pretty good rookie season ....now doing 18 - 24 for the killing of his pregnant girlfriend.


p.o.s!


...

CharismaPeep

Yeah sorry guys i was watching the Top Ten Draft Trades while posting and got the two things muddled. Montana & Rice had nothing to do with the Ricky Williams thing. As many of you pointed out they were not in the same era, I don't really know how i got it so badly wrong

The Tony Dorsett trade with Seattle was the trade which landed San Francisco with Montana. The Cowboys traded four draft picks to Seattle for Dorsett. Three of the picks were used by Seattle on players who were out of the game within five years. The last pick was traded to San Francisco, and that is the pick they used to get Montana.

Rice was a seperate trade where the niners traded up two places to pip the cowboys to Rice.

Sorry about that...... Hope the useless trivia facts above make up for it

ReacherCreature

Chill dude. Just got your wires crossed.

frostie500

Cant believe noone said Ben Roethlisberger yet. Ending nearly thirty years for the Steelers without a title, winning two Superbowls in his first five years, coming in and winning 13 regular season games as a rookie and taking the Steelers to the AFC title game, 17 fourth quarter comebacks, most wins by a QB in first 5 years. I'd say its fairly tough to find a pick much better than him, and I include the Brady pick in that mix to an extent because the Pats didn't know what they had in Brady-he was a body for training camp or a guy to be third stringer not a player drafted with the pressure and expectation of delivering Sueprbowls as Roethlisberger was

LF55

I usually just observe these boards but I have to give my opionion on this.
The worst pick without doubt was Ryan Leaf. Take it from a die hard Chargers fan, picking him set the franchise back several years. His performances were so poor, I wanted Craig Whelihan to be put back in at QB, and Whelihan was just awful, you should check out his stats.

Bad days indeed.

bobby wade

Aye I rmember Whelihan uugghh

With regards Favre, he was never gonna play with the Falcons & Jerry Glanville has stated as much both then & since Favre didn't help his cause in Atlanta as at the time he tended to like to party a bit too much

kmart6

Best:Tom Brady

Worst:Ryan Leaf

All Time Ever Greatest Best Thing Since Sliced Bread: Peyton Manning:P

shrimpsurs

Worst: Ted Ginn

Best: Joe Montana

ReacherCreature

shrimpsurs wrote: »

Worst: Ted Ginn

Worst draft pick of all time? Wouldn't agree with that.

frostie500

ReacherCreature wrote: »

Worst draft pick of all time? Wouldn't agree with that.

Yeah sure Ginn wasnt even the worst pick of that draft, he came out the same year as JaMarcus Russell! He was drafted after Gaines Adams, Jamaal Anderson and LaRon Landry, all of who have been bigger failures than Ginn. Ginn may not be a number 1 reciever but he has some value as a return man. He wasnt the lead reciever(Holmes and Gonzalez were the main recievers for the Buckeyes and it was only when Holmes left that Ginn became an important part of the offence as opposed to just the deep threat that he was upto that point) in college so I don't know why Dolphin fans expected him to be on in the pros.

ReacherCreature

Worst: Ted Ginn

Just to expand on my short post earlier.

Craig Davis was also selected in that round, since then in 3 years, he's had a combined 30 receptions for 299 yards and a touchdown. Granted he was injured for a few games but he was taken in the same round as Ginn Jr. and has had three years to do work. Jarvis Moss and Justin Harrell were also taken in the 1st. Both haven't been hugely effective, again injuries are a factor and they haven't been playing well.

Ginn meanwhile, has had 128 receptions for 5 touchdowns, aslo has five touchdowns off returns and 2 more on rushing gains. Granted not the greatest numbers but somewhat effective for a guy who was involved with track, returns and as a defensive back. He struggles at times and his drops come at the worst occasions but he's after providing better value for some guys taken in the same round have done. To high to be number 1? Probably. Worst? No.

tallaghtoutlaws

shrimpsurs wrote: »

Worst: Ted Ginn

Best: Joe Montana

Tedd Ginn worst than guys like Ryan Leaf? Really? Wow as others have pointed out there were far bigger busts in the year Ginn was drafted nevermind guys like Leaf.

Leslie91

It's an old chestnut at this stage but Ryan Leaf sure was a disaster of a pick in terms of where he was taken & $ V production.

Having said that there haver been plenty more disasters over the years. Some of them off the top of my head - Blair Thomas, Akili Smith, Tim Couch, Ki-jana Carter, Andre Wadsworth.

Ja BUSTus Russell might just pass them all out when his $ is compared against his disastrous production.

kryogen

my best, well being biased i am obviously gonna say Mr. Tom (dreamboat) Brady, few names mentioned are well up there though, Unitus, Sharpe etc..

worst

easily Ryan Leaf, no contest imo

although as someone else mentioned Favre wasnt exactly great for the team that drafted him, but i think he gets excluded cause of what he has gone on to do

irishraven

There are so many busts, I wouldn't even know where to start. I think for pure hype that the worst draft pick is Alex Smith.

I can't argue that Brady is the best draft pick EVER but Gared Gaither at Baltimore (yes I'm a fan) was a steal in the supplemental draft.

BTW - i noticed someone said Ricky Williams? Seriously? That guy is a beast and has been to the pro bowl, I wouldn't call him a bust - fair enough he went AWOL when the phins needed him the most but still....

bobby wade

Leslie91 wrote: »

It's an old chestnut at this stage but Ryan Leaf sure was a disaster of a pick in terms of where he was taken & $ V production.

Having said that there haver been plenty more disasters over the years. Some of them off the top of my head - Blair Thomas, Akili Smith, Tim Couch, Ki-jana Carter, Andre Wadsworth.

Ja BUSTus Russell might just pass them all out when his $ is compared against his disastrous production.

The thing about Leaf & it shows just how much of a crapshoot the draft is was that looking back we say bust but before the draft everybody wanted Leaf. Even the Colts weren't sure taking Manning was the right choice.

Blair Thomas was awful, Ki-Jana Carter was on a putrid Bengals team & got hurt who knows how he would have turned out

darragh16

Ryan Leaf or Ki-Jana Carter as the worst draft picks, gotta be Tom brady for the top draft pick - 199th pick.

But some un drafted players like james harrison or wes welker do come to mind if your talkin about a steal!

bobby wade

darragh16 wrote: »

Ryan Leaf or Ki-Jana Carter as the worst draft picks, gotta be Tom brady for the top draft pick - 199th pick.

But some un drafted players like james harrison or wes welker do come to mind if your talkin about a steal!

Best undrafted player?

In my mind without a doubt it's Rod Smith

LF55

Lets not forget Dimetrius Underwood and R Jay Soward.

Karlusss

darragh16 wrote: »

But some un drafted players like james harrison or wes welker do come to mind if your talkin about a steal!

To think you can sign a guy like James Harrison as an undrafted free agent, to eventually have a run of three Pro Bowls, a Defensive MVP award and, let's face it, what should probably have been the Super Bowl MVP... that's the NFL for you.

evil_seed

it comes down to 2 players. ryan leaf & jamarcus russel. i'm not sure how much leaf received when drafted or how it translates into todays money valuations, but i do know what russel received. and to me he is just a huge flop. definately the biggest bust of the draft ever.

best draft pick, i'm not sure. there have been a lot of very good picks. but a lot more bad picks i think. i can't pick the best draft pick. maybe later.

MainDude

Worst right now would be Ryan Leaf, although I'm giving JaMarcus Russell some time to prove me wrong. :pac:
Best would be Deacon Jones, one of the best defensive ends ever and they got him in something like the 14th round.

Rented Mule

dub02 wrote: »

Tom Brady SURELLLLLLLY has to be the best draft pick/find ever...6th round wasnt it:cool:

It is starting to look like Brady is a System QB.

Hazys

Rented Mule wrote: »

It is starting to look like Brady is a System QB.

What?

tallaghtoutlaws

Rented Mule wrote: »

It is starting to look like Brady is a System QB.

Are you for real? I hope you are seriously not basing that on the season just gone? He comes back from a year out due to an injury and then has a shaky start due to his rustiness and then found his form and you say he is just a system QB :rolleyes:

themont85

Rented Mule wrote: »

It is starting to look like Brady is a System QB.

Every QB works in a system.

The system helps the player. Montana or even Young wouldn't be remembed in the same way or have put up the numbers they did without Bill Walsh's West Coast innovation. Brady has proved exceptional in several tweeked systems and has the rings too. He also has become more involved with game planning and play calling in recent years.

I love Manning's play is because he has made the Colts system with of course the help of Tom Moore. It would take a long time for any other QB to master their 'system'.

heyjude

Despite being a Raiders fan, I can understand why people would nominate Jamarcus Russell as the biggest ever draft bust and although I conceed that he's been poor, I think context is important. If Russell had been taken in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th round then people would have cut him some slack, it was his draft position that dictated a huge salary, but fact is the Raiders had first pick, they needed a QB and there were only two QBs deemed worthy of first round status(Brady Quinn hasn't set the world on fire either). The fact is that of the 32 players selected in the first round in 2007 like Russell, only 8 have made the pro bowl so far(including just 2 of the top ten picks).

I think Ryan Leaf was a bigger bust than Russell in that the alternative QB that year was Peyton Manning.

I remember some draft expert once saying that in the first round you're looking for pro bowl players/ future hall of fame players and with the salaries they attract that's probably true, in which case the 2007 first round was more miss than hit with 8 pro bowlers from 32 picks.

I suspect the best draft pick ever may have been made back when the draft had far more than 7 rounds, but I haven't researched who that might be.

Dohnny Jepp

heyjude wrote: »

Despite being a Raiders fan, I can understand why people would nominate Jamarcus Russell as the biggest ever draft bust and although I conceed that he's been poor, I think context is important. If Russell had been taken in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th round then people would have cut him some slack, it was his draft position that dictated a huge salary, but fact is the Raiders had first pick, they needed a QB and there were only two QBs deemed worthy of first round status(Brady Quinn hasn't set the world on fire either). The fact is that of the 32 players selected in the first round in 2007 like Russell, only 8 have made the pro bowl so far(including just 2 of the top ten picks).

I think Ryan Leaf was a bigger bust than Russell in that the alternative QB that year was Peyton Manning.

I remember some draft expert once saying that in the first round you're looking for pro bowl players/ future hall of fame players and with the salaries they attract that's probably true, in which case the 2007 first round was more miss than hit with 8 pro bowlers from 32 picks.

I suspect the best draft pick ever may have been made back when the draft had far more than 7 rounds, but I haven't researched who that might be.

I agree with a lot you say except that his draft selection dictated his salary. His draft selection gaurentees him a great salary, but he held out for the huge salary he got. He missed training camp in order to get it. His draft selection didn't dictate his salary, his greed did.

Hazys

Rented Mule wrote: »

It is starting to look like Brady is a System QB.

What? How does that statement even make sense? What?

That statement is ludicrous and very disrespestful.

The only way you can make that statement about somebody is if two things happen:

1. A QB has been good playing one system for many years then move to another team using another system and is crap.

2. A QB has been good playing one system for many years under one coach and a new coach comes in and has a different system and the QB is crap.

Neither of these has happened with Tom Brady.

I dont think people fully appreciate the season Tom had last season. If we constantly compare Tom's play to the season he had two years ago (the greatest season any QB has ever had) he will always be a failure. Tom Brady finished the season with a QB rating of 3 higher than MVP Manning and Tom had to play the most difficult pass defense schedule in 15 years. Football Outsiders ranked Tom as the no1 QB of last season.

Again, what?

heyjude

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

I agree with a lot you say except that his draft selection dictated his salary. His draft selection gaurentees him a great salary, but he held out for the huge salary he got. He missed training camp in order to get it. His draft selection didn't dictate his salary, his greed did.

Last years first pick was QB Matthew Stafford, he didn't hold out, yet he got a contract worth $72 million, with $41.7 million guaranteed, compared to the $61million with $32M guaranteed that Russell got just 2 years previously. Same playing position, same draft position, and a contract worth 20% more, seems to me like QBs taken first in the draft always get huge salaries.

I do agree that missing training camp did set Russell back a lot though and his work ethic seems poor.

In considering QBs that were taken first in the draft and have 'under-performed', David Carr comes to mind and Alex Smith while he played pretty well last year, he hasn't justified his draft position yet.

TheHeadhunter

Look JaMarcus Russell is a bust. By the end of next season he will have surpassed Ryan Leaf as the worst ever draft pick. If I am wrong I will gladly eat humble pie but this guys is a joker! He is reportedly receiving treatment for get this "Lethargy Addiction" -- That's right, addiction to being lazy!

Best draft pick ever I would have to go with Joe Montana or maybe even Lawrence Taylor.

Chucky the tree

It stems from the fact he is smoking a **** load of dope apperantly.

Neilster1509

Hi Charima

just on your choices , Ricky Williams went on to this day aside from marijuana problems producing , maybe his bust is in comparison to what it costed ?

When it comes to successes hard to argue with Tom Brady and 7th round draft pick, with 3 Super Bowls , Montana was a 3rd rounder with 4 Super Bowl rings but the pick is quite low .

Kurt Warner coming from being Cut at his first team as a low draft pick, stocking shelves in a Minimarket to the NFL Europe league to winning a Super Bowl with St Louis and appearing in 2 others at the Rams and Cards is compelling too

For Bust has to be Ryan Leaf , San Diego 1st round pick , 2 terrible years as starter to leaving NFL altogether within 5 years. Awful shades of Jamarcus Russell about it

Neilster1509

Hi Lads
Just some thoughts on scouting for the draft, whilst a lot of the elite guys have to handle pressure in colleges as QBs like Clausen at Notre Dame or Bradford at Oklahoma , the NFL is huge step on in speed at blitz and the pressure that exerts in decision-making .
That is why you can have Vince Young against Matt Leinart looking like studs in college and after difficulties in 08 and 09 only Young has partially came through (Leinart not so for now , same goes for Brady Quinn, Alex Smith etc)
The pressure is extra , little kinks in decision-making are found out and these guys leave the league as busts. The funny thing is guy with size issues in college (this kept draft number of Drew Brees and Kurt Warner high as both were only 6ft) or the famous weak arm can often put people high in a draft who then bust spectacularly.
Im thinking of guys with big arms like Jason Campbell, Trent Edwards who are relative busts and people with weak arms who have been very successful or at best very competent perfomers like Warner , Chad Pennington (modest success but statistically the most accurate QB in history) or Brees

ReacherCreature

Neilster1509 wrote: »

When it comes to successes hard to argue with Tom Brady and 7th round draft pick, with 3 Super Bowls , Montana was a 3rd rounder with 4 Super Bowl rings but the pick is quite low

Brady was taken in the 6th.

ReacherCreature

Neilster1509 wrote: »

Im thinking of guys with big arms like Jason Campbell, Trent Edwards who are relative busts and people with weak arms who have been very successful or at best very competent perfomers like Warner , Chad Pennington (modest success but statistically the most accurate QB in history) or Brees

I'm not too sure I agree with the idea that Edwards is a bust. Edwards was taken in the 3rd round. Campbell in the 1st. For round 3, the Bills have got a quarterback who's been decent enough on a sometimes desperate team. I think I remember reading somewhere that said Edwards wasn't ever going to do really well but he's doing grand, admittedly not great but solid for a 3rd rounder imo. Campbell, you'd have more of a case for though.