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1) Cleveland Browns, 2012: Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden
Trent Richardson, running back (No. 3): I think Richardson was the product of a good system at Alabama, where he ran well against stacked boxes. As a player with less-than-optimal quickness on a bad Browns team, Richardson faltered. After a so-so start to his Cleveland career -- he picked up 950 yards as a rookie, but at a clip of 3.6 yards per carry -- a new Browns regimeshipped Richardson to Indy in 2013 for a first-round pick, whereupon he promptly fell off the map. He averaged 2.9 yards per carry the rest of the way in 2013, registered just 159 attempts in 2014, was released by the Colts and subsequently latched on with the Raiders. He's never looked fast in the NFL and he probably never will. It seems Richardson -- who was prevented by knee surgery from running at the combine and posted an unconfirmed 40 timeat his pro day -- is another example of how drafting someone without getting the confirmed measurements you need ends up being a mistake.
Brandon Weeden, quarterback (No. 22): There are reaches, and then there's drafting Brandon Weeden with the 22nd overall pick. The former baseball prospect came into the league at an advanced age (28) but with a limited football background and limited mobility. His footwork wasn't very good and his arm was just OK. He had success at Oklahoma State, but played mostly in the shotgun. If you're going to go for a quarterback like Weeden, who I had rated as the 82nd-best player in the draft, get out of the pick, acquire more draft capital and grab him later on. Weeden was released in 2014after posting a TD-to-INT ratio of 23:26 and compiling a 5-15 record in 20 starts with the Browns, then landed with the Cowboys as a backup.
The impact: These picks were simply disastrous. I thought the Vikings played the Browns like a fiddle, somehow getting them to trade up one spot, from No. 4 to No. 3, to grab Richardson when everyoneknew Minnesota was taking offensive lineman Matt Kalil. That's right: Cleveland gave up draft picks for basically no reason. The only thing worse for a franchise's overall health than whiffing on two first-round picks is, well, doing it again two years later ...
2) Cleveland Browns, 2014: Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel
Justin Gilbert, cornerback (No. 8): Gilbert didn't play much as a rookie, but when he did, he played poorly, lacking aggressiveness, making mental errors and struggling against the run. He also had a burn rate of 53.2 percent (giving up 25 receptions on 47 targets); while that's not terrible, it is well above the 48 percent mark you generally don't want to go over. Then there was all the criticism that Gilbert -- who I personally found to be very difficult to communicate with in my efforts to get him to New York for the draft -- took from his teammates as the season drew to a close. He vowed to "work a lot harder" and become "great," but that would seem to be a lot easier said than done.
Johnny Manziel, quarterback (No. 22): I want to see Manziel succeed, but he didn't play well last season, looking overmatched and unready for game action. I suspect he thought he could study the game plan and the opposing defenses with the same amount of effort he used to at Texas A&M. My feeling is that, after he returns from rehab and gets back to work, he'll eventually turn himself into a good quarterback. I still have faith in his football skills. He made all kinds of plays in college with both his arm and his feet, and he has a good feel for throwing the ball.
The impact: Missing the mark on first-round picks is a big reason why the Browns have put together seven straight losing seasons. Instead of finding talent like Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower with their prime first-round opportunities in 2012 and 2014, they landed four guys who, in all probability, are not going to be top-notch NFL players. So will they find a way to buck the trend with the two first-round picks they have this year? Past history suggests not. But they do have some good scouts on staff. The question is, how much do you put into what your scouts tell you?
To read the other in the worst or those in the best category... http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...sets-of-firstround-picks-browns-at-the-bottom
Trent Richardson, running back (No. 3): I think Richardson was the product of a good system at Alabama, where he ran well against stacked boxes. As a player with less-than-optimal quickness on a bad Browns team, Richardson faltered. After a so-so start to his Cleveland career -- he picked up 950 yards as a rookie, but at a clip of 3.6 yards per carry -- a new Browns regimeshipped Richardson to Indy in 2013 for a first-round pick, whereupon he promptly fell off the map. He averaged 2.9 yards per carry the rest of the way in 2013, registered just 159 attempts in 2014, was released by the Colts and subsequently latched on with the Raiders. He's never looked fast in the NFL and he probably never will. It seems Richardson -- who was prevented by knee surgery from running at the combine and posted an unconfirmed 40 timeat his pro day -- is another example of how drafting someone without getting the confirmed measurements you need ends up being a mistake.
Brandon Weeden, quarterback (No. 22): There are reaches, and then there's drafting Brandon Weeden with the 22nd overall pick. The former baseball prospect came into the league at an advanced age (28) but with a limited football background and limited mobility. His footwork wasn't very good and his arm was just OK. He had success at Oklahoma State, but played mostly in the shotgun. If you're going to go for a quarterback like Weeden, who I had rated as the 82nd-best player in the draft, get out of the pick, acquire more draft capital and grab him later on. Weeden was released in 2014after posting a TD-to-INT ratio of 23:26 and compiling a 5-15 record in 20 starts with the Browns, then landed with the Cowboys as a backup.
The impact: These picks were simply disastrous. I thought the Vikings played the Browns like a fiddle, somehow getting them to trade up one spot, from No. 4 to No. 3, to grab Richardson when everyoneknew Minnesota was taking offensive lineman Matt Kalil. That's right: Cleveland gave up draft picks for basically no reason. The only thing worse for a franchise's overall health than whiffing on two first-round picks is, well, doing it again two years later ...
2) Cleveland Browns, 2014: Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel
Justin Gilbert, cornerback (No. 8): Gilbert didn't play much as a rookie, but when he did, he played poorly, lacking aggressiveness, making mental errors and struggling against the run. He also had a burn rate of 53.2 percent (giving up 25 receptions on 47 targets); while that's not terrible, it is well above the 48 percent mark you generally don't want to go over. Then there was all the criticism that Gilbert -- who I personally found to be very difficult to communicate with in my efforts to get him to New York for the draft -- took from his teammates as the season drew to a close. He vowed to "work a lot harder" and become "great," but that would seem to be a lot easier said than done.
Johnny Manziel, quarterback (No. 22): I want to see Manziel succeed, but he didn't play well last season, looking overmatched and unready for game action. I suspect he thought he could study the game plan and the opposing defenses with the same amount of effort he used to at Texas A&M. My feeling is that, after he returns from rehab and gets back to work, he'll eventually turn himself into a good quarterback. I still have faith in his football skills. He made all kinds of plays in college with both his arm and his feet, and he has a good feel for throwing the ball.
The impact: Missing the mark on first-round picks is a big reason why the Browns have put together seven straight losing seasons. Instead of finding talent like Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower with their prime first-round opportunities in 2012 and 2014, they landed four guys who, in all probability, are not going to be top-notch NFL players. So will they find a way to buck the trend with the two first-round picks they have this year? Past history suggests not. But they do have some good scouts on staff. The question is, how much do you put into what your scouts tell you?
To read the other in the worst or those in the best category... http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...sets-of-firstround-picks-browns-at-the-bottom
