If anybody has been checking out my draft interests list throughout the draft process, you probably saw quite a few players before they were drafted to those teams. As we close the book on the 2013 NFL Draft, I take a look at how many teams actually had reported interest in their picks. Check out the results after the jump. Continue reading
There’s been a debate as to whether or not reports of pre-draft workouts, visits, meetings, etc. actually matter. To me, they do matter. Just take a look at my list of reported team draft interests that I’ve been compiling since January. After the jump, I’ll show which teams picked a guy they showed interest in prior to yesterday’s first round. Continue reading
I’ve updated this list so many times over the past few months, but I started it all the way back in January. This is the third year that I’ve compiled a list of reported draft interests. In 2011, each player that the Lions had drafted was on the list I compiled. Continue reading
Here is my first mock draft for 2013. Pick it apart. Glorify it. Whatever you like.
Check out the 2013 NFL Draft page. It’s draft central, featuring scouting reports and 2013 Team Draft Interests. Continue reading
Gene Smith is perhaps most famous (or infamous) for not drafting Tim Tebow in the 2010 NFL Draft. And let’s face it, you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t know who the hell Smith is. He was the man who drafted Tyson Alualu, a projected second round defensive tackle, rather than the “savior” of the franchise. Never was there a hometown guy that was so desperately wanted by some fans to be drafted to a team.
Some. Not all. Not even half.
Well, it never happened. Smith selected California’s Tyson Alualu with the tenth overall selection.
Alu-Who?
Looking back, for me, it was the right choice over Tebow, but there were others who were projected better than Alualu at the time and came out as better players so far in their NFL career. Earl Thomas could’ve helped a woeful Jacksonville secondary or Jason Pierre-Paul could’ve helped cure the Jaguars’ anemic pass rush. But hindsight is 20/20, I guess.
Smith was quoted later that night by Sports Illustrated’s Peter King as saying, “I don’t give a damn about perception. I’m trying to win a Super Bowl.”
Well, that Super Bowl never came to fruition. Not even close. Smith’s penchant for drafting small school players and having more misses than hits in free agency cost him his job in the end. Not to mention his roster earned the Jaguars their worst record in franchise history.
It wasn’t all bad, however. His first draft was arguably his best, producing solid players in Eugene Monroe, Derek Cox, and Terrance Knighton. Although now Knighton and Cox have moved on to the Broncos and the Chargers respectively.
Here is my ranking of each of Smith’s draft picks from his tenure as GM of the Jaguars. Continue reading
This is the first post in a series that will be updated over a number of years here on 85% Sports: Evolution of Rebuilding. Every year, NFL teams start over and bring in new management in hopes of turning things around. I’m going to document each new regime in the NFL, starting this year, to show how these teams evolve. In a few years, you and I will be able to look back and see how new playoff contenders emerged or why some teams continue to fail. We start with the team that I know the best: the Jacksonville Jaguars. Continue reading
November in the NFL usually brings around change. Playoff teams begin to emerge while teams on the outside looking in begin to change out coaches, general managers, and other team personnel. Let’s take a look at my opinion of who is the hot seat in the National Football League in tiers:
Likely Out At Season’s End
Pat Shurmur, Cleveland Browns: It’s very hard to make a case for keeping a coach that is just 6-19 in a season and a half on the job to begin with. Continue reading
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew has finally reported to the team’s facility Sunday morning, thus ending his 39 day long holdout. Continue reading
Two teams each drafted 5 players that they had shown interest. 6 Teams did not draft any players that they had shown any pre-draft interest. 56 players in all were drafted by teams that showed interest in them (22%).
Here’s the link to my list of each prospect that teams showed interest in prior to the draft. I’ll add the undrafted free agents on Monday after all of those signings are finalized.