Requests for 00 & 01 draft review

[KansasBronco]

At other sites where I posted my draft reviews for the 02 and 03 drafts, some wanted me to go back 5 years. I did and hope you enjoy.

This was our 2001 draft. After the draft I wrote down a C plus, which as optimistic as I am about most of our drafts was low for me.


1.Willie Middlebrooks cb
2 Paul Tovessi de
3 Reggie Hayward de
4 Ben Hamilton g/c
4 Nick Harris p
5 none
6 Kevin Kasper wr
7 Cory Hall s


Middlebrooks has been a hugh disappointment, Tovessi never played a down for us. Our first two picks had histories of injury problems and we still took these guys. Hayward was a steal in the third round and a guy I loved on draft day. He played in the Big 12 so I saw him play a lot. He tore up the senior bowl that year. Hamilton was rated the number 1 center in my PFW draft magazine so at the time I loved the pick. Turned out right. Harris never punted a down for us but is still doing well for another team in the NFL. Kasper was one many thought would do well and never did. Hall was a slow horrible safety that did nothing for us.

We got two starters out of this draft and a backup. I would rate this draft a B- today. If you get 2 staters out of a draft and one solid backup, it's worth that at least. The bad thing is only 2 of these guys are still with us. Hamilton is locked in for the long haul, but Middlebrooks could be down to the 8th of his 9 lives this spring training.



The 2000 draft was one in which we had a lot of picks. Looking at my notes the grade for us right after the draft was a B.

1 Deltha O'Neal cb
2 Ian Gold lb
2 Kenoy Kennedy s
3 Chris Cole wr
4 Jerry Johnson dt
4 Cooper Carlisle g/t
5 Muneer Moore wr
6 Mike Anderson rb
7 Jarious Jackson qb
Leroy Fields wr


O'Neal started in year 1 and had a great rookie year. Fell out of favor with the coaches so we traded him. It allowed us to move up into the draft and get a future pro bowler DJ Williams last year. Gold was the 12th ranked lb that year and only Urlacher( who can't stay healthy), Juilian Peterson, Lavar Arrington, Keith Bullock and John Abraham who is a DE would I rate as high. He is a pro bowler and back with us. Kennedy started from day 1 and has been solid every year. Cole gave us 3 good years on special teams but didn't make it as a receiver. Johnson was a dud! Never played much. Carlisle is now our starting guard and played half of last year for us. Solid! Moore was a dud! Anderson was rookie of the year and a steal for the 6th round. He'll be a big part of our team again this year. Great locker room guy. Jackson and Fields never cut it, but hey we took them in the 7th round. I have no records of any UDFA making an impact from that draft.

That draft has produced 5 staters at one point in time, it got us DJ Williams and a special team stud in Cole. He had a few big catches for us. If you were to grade this draft today, without question you would have to give it an A plus. 3 pro bowlers, Gold, O' Neal, Anderson and some solid starters.


Looking back now on the last 4 drafts
2004 Too early, I put a B plus on it after the draft and I think it may stick.
2003 C
2002 A plus
2001 B-
2000 A plus

People say we suck in the draft. I beg to differ! That's why we need to hold judgment on this years draft. I like it.
Hope you guys enjoy discussing this.
KsBronco

[Florida_Bronco]

We drafted Cory Hall? I think you might have gotten mixed up or bad info there.

http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=814

[bendog]

http://www.footballsfuture.com/index2001.html

[Taco John]

I'll give the '01 draft a D+ on the strength of Heward and Hamilton. I'd give it a C-, except that we selected Willie Middlebrooks in the first round, whereas he's performed like you expect a third or fourth round corner. It kills me that we could have picked Aaron Schobel. Where was our head there?

The 200 Draft I'll give a C+. Gold, Kennedy, Anderson, Carslile... Again, the selection of Deltha Oneal in the first round is maddening, given he played at third round at best level for us (whatever that is). Julian Peterson would have been awesome there.

When grading your past drafts, you almost have to consider the misses to make it a valid grade.

[KansasBronco]

We didn't draft Cory Hall, I messed up my notes while doing this quickly. Taco at 2 other sites I've posted this at, most all agree we got an A for the 2000 draft. My gosh, if you give it a C+, your A draft must have 6 pro bowlers out out of 7 picks. You have to be realistic.

Misses in a draft always happen, you just hope you get 2 or 3 staters and 1 or 2 backups. Do that and it's an awesome draft.

[Beantown Bronco]

[QUOTE=Taco John]The 200 Draft I'll give a C+. Gold, Kennedy, Anderson, Carslile... Again, the selection of Deltha Oneal in the first round is maddening, given he played at third round at best level for us (whatever that is). Julian Peterson would have been awesome there.
QUOTE]

Given what the Faid just got for Buchanon, Deltha would've gotten us two first rounders if we had just had the foresite to trade him after his rookie season. Many forget, but he was really good that year.

[KansasBronco]

O'Neal garnered votes for defensive rookie of the year, then went on his mental lapses every 5th play or so.

[Broncoman13]

KB a good draft isn't judged by the # of starters you have. A good draft is judged by two things. First, your day one picks should always stick..... those are the players you try and build your team around. Guys like Portis, Gold, Kennedy, Foster, Williams, Wilson and Pryce. This is usually the easier part of the draft. You take small risks early on in the draft b/c you HAVE to get a player that will produce. In the 3rd round you start to take the riskier players that could become something big or could easily bust.

The second thing is drafting strong on day two. Day two is where you find your depth, ST's players, and "diamonds in the rough". So far we've been very good at finding two of those three things on the second day. ST's is still killing us.

So for your draft to be good you should end up with something like this.

First rd...... Starter on any team -- Probowl type player (Pryce, Wilson etc.)
Second rd.... Solid Pro-- Starter on any team (Gold or Kennedy)
Third rd (risk pick)....... Boom or bust type player (Heyward, Clarett, Elam)
Forth rd....... ST stars, depth and DitR (Hamilton, Carlisle, and Q)
5th, 6th, and 7th are pretty much the same. Depth, DitR's and ST players. We have found lots of guys like Anderson, TD, and Olandis in day two. That covers our little DitR's but we haven't found too many of the Mario Fati's on our own. We haven't found too many of the Darrius Hollands on our own. Those are the types of day two picks a team needs to succeed in the NFL.

The drafts that you listed above gave us good value but not in round 1 where you should have a top talent that solidifies a position. Especially when you two guys in consectutive years that aren't starters for your team. Have you have that draft an A is beyond me. I'd give it a C+ as well and possibly a B- b/c of a strong day two..... BUT, all things being equal your day one (1st and 2nd rd) players weigh more highly on the scale than that of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th round players. C+ at the best!!!

[Sir Mawn]

Originally Posted by KansasBronco

Taco at 2 other sites I've posted this at, most all agree we got an A for the 2000 draft. My gosh, if you give it a C+, your A draft must have 6 pro bowlers out out of 7 picks. You have to be realistic.

Misses in a draft always happen, you just hope you get 2 or 3 staters and 1 or 2 backups. Do that and it's an awesome draft.

Agreed 100%. However, we drafted a 1st round busts (or semi-bust if you wanna be kind) I'd give it an A- rather than an A+.

[BroncoInferno]

Originally Posted by Bronco Man 13

KB a good draft isn't judged by the # of starters you have. A good draft is judged by two things. First, your day one picks should always stick..... those are the players you try and build your team around. Guys like Portis, Gold, Kennedy, Foster, Williams, Wilson and Pryce. This is usually the easier part of the draft. You take small risks early on in the draft b/c you HAVE to get a player that will produce. In the 3rd round you start to take the riskier players that could become something big or could easily bust.

The second thing is drafting strong on day two. Day two is where you find your depth, ST's players, and "diamonds in the rough". So far we've been very good at finding two of those three things on the second day. ST's is still killing us.

So for your draft to be good you should end up with something like this.

First rd...... Starter on any team -- Probowl type player (Pryce, Wilson etc.)
Second rd.... Solid Pro-- Starter on any team (Gold or Kennedy)
Third rd (risk pick)....... Boom or bust type player (Heyward, Clarett, Elam)
Forth rd....... ST stars, depth and DitR (Hamilton, Carlisle, and Q)
5th, 6th, and 7th are pretty much the same. Depth, DitR's and ST players. We have found lots of guys like Anderson, TD, and Olandis in day two. That covers our little DitR's but we haven't found too many of the Mario Fati's on our own. We haven't found too many of the Darrius Hollands on our own. Those are the types of day two picks a team needs to succeed in the NFL.

The drafts that you listed above gave us good value but not in round 1 where you should have a top talent that solidifies a position. Especially when you two guys in consectutive years that aren't starters for your team. Have you have that draft an A is beyond me. I'd give it a C+ as well and possibly a B- b/c of a strong day two..... BUT, all things being equal your day one (1st and 2nd rd) players weigh more highly on the scale than that of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th round players. C+ at the best!!!

Dude, if you get 5 starters out of a draft, that's at least a B+. Gold and Kennedy were long term starters, and O'Neal wasn't a *total* bust. He did have one really good season, and did allow us to move up for DJ. Carlise in the 4th, solid vaule for a key backup and future starter. Anderson in the 6th, big time steal. Anyone giving this draft a C+ just has unreasonable expectations of what a draft should net you. And TJ, I can understand your point of looking at who we missed out on, but how is one to know in advance who the 'hits' will be? I think when grading a draft you should look strictly at what value the picks you *did* make gave the team. I can't give the draft an A because the first-rounder didn't ultimately pan out, but 5 starters, including 2 on the second day, is a *very* solid draft. B+.

[KansasBronco]

Bronco Man 13, let me say this, I haven't missed a pick of the draft in 10 years. That would disqualify your statement about me not being able to judge a draft. Dude if every year your first round pick was a pro bowler, the world would be a great place. Ciny and Indy drafted at the top of the draft for years and missed on their first round picks all the time. It you can't look at these drafts and say we done well, then you are one of those fantasyland draft guys that doesn't get it.

[Breck Bronc]

Originally Posted by KansasBronco

The 2000 draft was one in which we had a lot of picks. Looking at my notes the grade for us right after the draft was a B.

1 Deltha O'Neal cb
2 Ian Gold lb
2 Kenoy Kennedy s
3 Chris Cole wr
4 Jerry Johnson dt
4 Cooper Carlisle g/t
5 Muneer Moore wr
6 Mike Anderson rb
7 Jarious Jackson qb
Leroy Fields wr


O'Neal started in year 1 and had a great rookie year. Fell out of favor with the coaches so we traded him. It allowed us to move up into the draft and get a future pro bowler DJ Williams last year. Gold was the 12th ranked lb that year and only Urlacher( who can't stay healthy), Juilian Peterson, Lavar Arrington, Keith Bullock and John Abraham who is a DE would I rate as high. He is a pro bowler and back with us. Kennedy started from day 1 and has been solid every year. Cole gave us 3 good years on special teams but didn't make it as a receiver. Johnson was a dud! Never played much. Carlisle is now our starting guard and played half of last year for us. Solid! Moore was a dud! Anderson was rookie of the year and a steal for the 6th round. He'll be a big part of our team again this year. Great locker room guy. Jackson and Fields never cut it, but hey we took them in the 7th round. I have no records of any UDFA making an impact from that draft.

That draft has produced 5 staters at one point in time, it got us DJ Williams and a special team stud in Cole. He had a few big catches for us. If you were to grade this draft today, without question you would have to give it an A plus. 3 pro bowlers, Gold, O' Neal, Anderson and some solid starters.


Looking back now on the last 4 drafts
2004 Too early, I put a B plus on it after the draft and I think it may stick.
2003 C
2002 A plus
2001 B-
2000 A plus

People say we suck in the draft. I beg to differ! That's why we need to hold judgment on this years draft. I like it.
Hope you guys enjoy discussing this.
KsBronco

Deltha didn't start on defense in 2000, his rookie season. He was our main kick and punt returner that season, taking a kickoff back for a touchdown in a home loss to a bad Patriots team. O'neal didn't get many snaps at corner that year.

O'neal became a starting cornerback in 2001 and went to the Pro Bowl thanks to his 9 interceptions, 4 of them coming off TrInt Green in one infamous game.

O'neal was still starting in 2002 and once again led the Broncos with 5 interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns. He got into Shanny's doghouse towards the end of the season and was benched for the last game of the year against Arizona.

After that it was over for Deltha in Denver. Getting beat for the game winning TD at the end of the 2003 Patriots MNF game was the last straw for Deltha. He switched to WR and most importantly was traded to Cincinnati before the '04 draft in order to move up and get DJ Williams.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by KansasBronco

Taco at 2 other sites I've posted this at, most all agree we got an A for the 2000 draft. My gosh, if you give it a C+, your A draft must have 6 pro bowlers out out of 7 picks. You have to be realistic.

I think I am being realistic... I mean, I guess you have to give Gold a pass, even if you're like me and hated the pick from day one, not because of his talent, but because of his size. It's my personal opinion that Gold has been a disruptive force to our defense based on all of the juggling that has to go on to accommodate him. But, nevertheless, I give that one a pass...

Kenoy gets an easy pass. Anderson gets an easy pass. Based on that, I am at about a B grade.

But reaching for Deltha knocks it down to a B-. Passing up Julian Peterson for Deltha Oneal, and then later selecting Ian Gold... There's no way we deserve any better than a C+ with that kind of decision-making. No way.

[Finger Roll]

I love our 2000 draft how many other teams can say they drafted 5 good players in it? I would give it an A-. Compare the players the broncos drafted to the other teams in the league and you will agree.

The 2001 draft I would give a C+ Hayward had to be one of the top 5 3rd round picks that year and Hamilton had to be one of the top 5 4th round picks that year. It's just a shame the 1rst and second round picks were waisted other wise that would of been a great draft also.

[Finger Roll]

and considering the broncos are always picking in bottom 3rd of each round every year I think they do a great job.