[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by HailGreen28

Well, can't have an evaluation without a draft history. (shamelessly copied off wiki - LINK) Even though it's too early to conclusively judge even the 2010 draft, here it is.


2010 Draft
Rd Pick Overall Name Position College
1 4 4 Trent Williams OT Oklahoma
4 5 103 Perry Riley LB Louisiana State
6 5 174 Dennis Morris TE Louisiana Tech
7 12 219 Terrence Austin WR UCLA
7 22 229 Erik Cook G New Mexico
7 24 231 Selvish Capers OT West Virginia

2011 Draft
Round Pick Overall Name Position College
1 16 16 Ryan Kerrigan DE Purdue
2 9 41 Jarvis Jenkins DT Clemson
3 15 79 Leonard Hankerson WR Miami
4 8 105 Roy Helu RB Nebraska
5 15 146 DeJon Gomes S Nebraska
5 24 155 Niles Paul WR Nebraska
6 12 177 Evan Royster RB Penn State
6 13 178 Aldrick Robinson WR Southern Methodist
7 10 213 Brandyn Thompson CB Boise State
7 14 217 Maurice Hurt OT Florida
7 21 224 Markus White DE Florida State
7 50 253 Chris Neild DT West Virginia

2012 Draft
Round Pick Overall Name Position College
1 2 2 Robert Griffin III QB Baylor
3 8 71 Josh LeRibeus OG Southern Methodist
4 7 102 Kirk Cousins QB Mich St
4 24 119 Keenan Robinson ILB Texas
5 6 141 Adam Gettis OG Iowa
6 3 173 Alfred Morris RB FAU
6 23 193 Tom Compton OT South Dakota
7 6 213 Richard Crawford CB Southern Methodist
7 10 217 Jordan Bernstine S Iowa

Thoughts? Anybody want to grade this so far?

I'd give 2010 a C because while we got two starters from that draft, one has a major mark against him in Williams. The rest of that draft class was worthless.

The 2011 draft gets an A-. Seven players will be counted on to contribute in 2012, that's pretty impressive. I doubt there are any potential All Pro players other than Kerrigan but all of them will be playing a role every Sunday.

Of course it is too soon to judge the 2012 draft but I'll go with a grade no lower than a B-. We've solved the QB spot two deep for the next 5 years or worst case have a potential trade chip in Cousins. I think Crawford has something at the CB position and have hopes that LeRib and Gettis will be factors on the OL in 2013 and beyond.

Part of the plan was clearly to get younger and more 'home grown'. I've noted in a couple of threads that we have drafted the most number of players (21) in the league and the most OL (7) over the past 3 drafts, although 4 OL and 18 (plus Nield) remain on the roster. That is a huge improvement from the old, mismatched roster that was here in 2009.

One of the things the Steelers, Patriots, Giants of the league have done is cultivate a culture and a 'brand' for lack of a better term and they have drafted, traded and signed free agents according to their philosophy. This is what Shanahan is trying to do IMO.