Biggest 2010 Draft Steals (by Position)

[AvengerRam]

This thread could very well be dedicated to the Tampa Bay Bucs and titled "sometimes its better to be lucky than good."

I think its interesting to look back and see where the real steals were in the draft. Since I'm a numbers guy, what I did was take the top rookie at each position and assign a score based upon round taken + number of players at the same position selected ahead of the player in question.

By way of example, Sam Bradford was the top rookie QB, and his "steal" rating is 1 (Round 1 + 0 QBs taken ahead of him).

Using this formula, here are the "steal" ratings of the top rookies at each position:

1. LaGarrette Blount, Bucs (RB): 21
2. Mike Williams, Bucs (WR): 17
3. Carlos Dunlap, Bengals (DE): 9
4. Rodger Saffold, Rams (OT): 6
5. Koa Misi, Dolphins (LB): 4
6(tie): Devin McCourty, Patriots (CB): 3
6(tie): Rob Gronkowski, Patriots (TE): 3

Others (all w/score of 1): Sam Bradford, Rams (QB), Mike Iupati, Niners (OG), Maurkise Pouncey, Steelers (C), Ndamukong Suh, Lions (DT), Eric Berry, Chiefs (S)

What does this anecdotal analysis tell us?

Well, I suppose one lesson is that it shows just how hard it is to evaluate talent. When an undrafted rookie and a 4th round pick are the top two skill players taken, that says something. Frankly, its pretty darn impressive that the scouts were 100% on target in 5 positions, and pretty close to the mark on two others (TE, CB).

This also could be a strong argument for trading down and getting more picks. Tampa, for example, hit a home run with the second WR it took in the draft. New England was able to take a chance on Gronkowski (who had an injury history) in part because it had extra picks (which allowed it to take Aaron Hernandez as insurance).

Finally, the most obvious thing illustrated by this analysis is just how good a job the Rams' Front Office did in the draft. Not only did they select the top players at two key positions, they did so with only one first round pick.

[ramfan56]

Great/Fun thread.


MLB Chaney from Philly? Maybe? No? Hmm?

[C-Mob 71]

I still can't believe how good Roger Saffold played this year, props Mr. Devaney. He could have gone with the flashy or sexy pick, but he decided that Alex Barron would never improve and he needed to protect his investment.

And yes, sometimes fans get it right, many were clamoring for Blount after he went undrafted.

Of course who is to say he wouldn't have behaved for us like he did for the Titans.

[berg8309]

I am curious about the formula. What number did Blount get in the "round" portion for being undrafted?

Also, what criteria did you use to select who was a steal and who wasn't from each round?

[AvengerRam]

As an undrafted rookie, I assigned him an 8 for the round (as there are 7 rounds in the draft). There were also 13 RBs selected before him, so his total score was 21.

I didn't select steals by round, but rather by position. My choices for the top rookie at each position are subjective, but I think most would agree with the majority, if not all, of them.