Devaney's first round draft histroy.

[rammiser]

By Mike Sando

Sam Bradford, Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy would fit the college conference profile for first-round choices taken by Billy Devaney's teams over the last two decades.

All three are from the Big 12 and all three could be candidates for the St. Louis Rams to draft first overall.

Devaney, the Rams' general manager, has been with teams that drafted 11 players in the first round. The chart breaks down those picks by conference and decade.

Five of the 11 were from the Pac-10, with two apiece from the SEC, ACC and Big 12 (using current conference affiliations).

Devaney's teams have not drafted a Big Ten player in the first round since he entered the NFL with San Diego in 1990. The rest of the league has drafted 119 from the ACC, 110 from the SEC, 100 from the Big Ten, 79 from the Pac-10 and 66 from the Big 12. Again, those numbers reflect current conference affiliations.

I'll break down Devaney's teams' first-round choices by conference:

Pac-10: Kwame Harris (*****), Andre Carter (*****), Ryan Leaf (Chargers), Darrien Gordon (Chargers), Junior Seau (Chargers)
Big 12: Jason Smith (Rams), Stanley Richard (Chargers)
SEC: Jamaal Anderson (Falcons), Chris Mims (Chargers)
ACC: Chris Long (Rams), Mike Rumph (*****) .

Kind of a mixed bag of talent there. He hit on a guy like Junior Seau but whiffed big time on Ryan Leaf. Chris Long looks to be a solid pick and so was Andre Carter. Stanley Richard is a solid contributor not sure a first round talent though. Not sure really what to take from this other then I just hate the draft. It's just too easy to miss on a guy. I'm not sure what Devaney's role with the Falcons was when Vick was drafted but apparantly he wasnt in charge of the Vick pick.

[C-Mob 71]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

I think the only guys on that list that Devaney was "in charge" of was Chris Long and Jason Smith. To my knowledge this is his first go around as being the man with the final say so.

So yeah, not really sure what Sando is getting at...

[Dwight Frye]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

whiffed big time on Ryan Leaf.

Yeah, but there was no way to know he was gonna turn out that way. Guy had tons of talent. Meanwhile, Lawrence Phillips had loser written all over him.Only reason I mention that is, in my book, that is the greatest screw-up of all time ... and I called it then, too. ;)

[helorm341]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

Yeah, but there was no way to know he was gonna turn out that way. Guy had tons of talent. Meanwhile, Lawrence Phillips had loser written all over him.Only reason I mention that is, in my book, that is the greatest screw-up of all time ... and I called it then, too.

First off I think it's stupid to say that Devaney 'picked' Ryan Leaf in the first place, but the media consensus was that Manning and Leaf were practically the same prospect, 1a and 1b type. Manning went first so the Chargers took Leaf who became known as the biggest bust ever more because of his on/off field antics then actually the effect he had on the organization.

I think the only guys on that list that Devaney
was "in charge" of was Chris Long and Jason Smith. To my knowledge this is his first go around as being the man with the final say so.

So yeah, not really sure what Sando is getting at...

I don't know if you can even say he picked Long.

If you remember back to what we were hearing that there were 'camps' int he organization for Dorsey and Long. According to Bernie, Haslett wanted Dorsey and Linehan wanted Long and wanted to piss Haslett off by drafting Long. There was still a crap load of dysfunction going on and Denaney wasn't our GM at that point, in title at least.

So while I do think Long started to show at the end of last season that he could be making real progress, that you can't give him credit/blame for the 2008 draft

[TheRammer]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

Um how you going to say Long was Devaney's prospet if he started the job in 2009?

[Bralidore(RAMMODE)]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

Um how you going to say Long was Devaney's prospet if he started the job in 2009?

Because he started the job in 2008

He had some say in the Long pick, and that was still a good pick then and is now, I do not regret it at all and nor should fans here.

2009 was the first Devaney draft where he had final nay or yay in the picks and its turning out to be a damn good one.

With 3 more picks this year and more talent this should stock our team full of players.

[dgr828]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

The Jury is still out on Devaney. He's shown nothing in free agency, he seems to be a little hesitant, that probably how he was when he selected Leaf.
The Rams are coming off a 1-15 season, Bold moves need to be made to turn this thing around. Devaney needs a good draft this year, at the least!

[BEER]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

The Jury is still out on Devaney. He's shown nothing in free agency, he seems to be a little hesitant, that probably how he was when he selected Leaf.
The Rams are coming off a 1-15 season, Bold moves need to be made to turn this thing around. Devaney needs a good draft this year, at the least!

You said all of it. Build through the draft. I would say in two years start the free agent picks to get some leadership. We dont want to be the Chargers that only build through the draft and dont ever go after those key players that bring a team together strong enough to win a Superbowl.

[CanadianRamsFan]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

The Jury is still out on Devaney. He's shown nothing in free agency, he seems to be a little hesitant, that probably how he was when he selected Leaf.
The Rams are coming off a 1-15 season, Bold moves need to be made to turn this thing around. Devaney needs a good draft this year, at the least!

Who should we have gotten in FA? This team is building for the future, and none of the FAs this year would have helped us. How quickly do we forget last year when we signed Brown who was the #1 linemen in FA.

[TheRammer]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

Because he started the job in 2008

He had some say in the Long pick, and that was still a good pick then and is now, I do not regret it at all and nor should fans here.

2009 was the first Devaney draft where he had final nay or yay in the picks and its turning out to be a damn good one.

With 3 more picks this year and more talent this should stock our team full of players.

Amen to that! The ship is in full sail to the Isle of Playoffs 2011!!!

p.s. RammodE stop posting so dam much! I'm trying to catch up to you!!! lol

The Jury is still out on Devaney. He's shown nothing in free agency, he seems to be a little hesitant, that probably how he was when he selected Leaf.
The Rams are coming off a 1-15 season, Bold moves need to be made to turn this thing around. Devaney needs a good draft this year, at the least!

But he wasn't the person who made the final yay or nay, he was like a junior guy in the org. that got ryan leaf's needs met and got the GM a cup of coffee in the morn'
BTW I want this job with Devaney!!!

[RebelYell]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

But he wasn't the person who made the final yay or nay, he was like a junior guy in the org.

Exactly. This has been discussed before. Trying to attribute credit or blame to a guy when you don't really know what input he had on the choice is a fruitless.

[HUbison]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

Who should we have gotten in FA? This team is building for the future, and none of the FAs this year would have helped us. How quickly do we forget last year when we signed Brown who was the #1 linemen in FA.

You pose an excellent question, Canadian. I, too eagerly await the response from the questioned.

[shower beers]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

Ah, recent history theads. When will we learn that this is a totally unreliable source to determine the future, with respect to the NFL, and more specifically, the draft. :|

There are so many other factors that go into situations such as these, that looking at the bottom line (the picks) will just mislead you into an untrue conclusion.

[MauiRam]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

No one will be asking questions about whose watch it is when the Rams pick next month .. Whether we trade or keep the 1st overall, this one will be formally entered on Billy's resume .. I'm hoping he hits it out of the park!!

[fearsome foursome]

Re: Devaney's first round draft histroy.

So, what do Ryan Leaf and Lawrence Phillips have in common? They are both bad citizens with lots of talent. What kind of players are the Rams looking for now? So why do people keep suggesting that we "overlook" a players off the field problems simply because they have so much talent? ( Brandon Marshall etc.)