The Chicago Tribune and Dan Pompei recently embarked on a study to determine who the "best drafters" in the NFL were. While their methodology is a little muddled, they find some surprising results.
Like who would have thought the Arizona Cardinals and Rod Graves would be the best overall?
The Tribune bases their rankings on the number of picks taken that become starters. It's a "batting average", as they put it.
This metric puts the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Jack Del Rio/Gene Smith/James Harris trifecta in seventh place.
They Say:
7. Shack Harris/Jack Del Rio, Jaguars
Average: .386 (17-for-44)
Percentage of Pro Bowlers: 2.2
Their batting average is impressive, but not all of the players who became starters are considered great picks. As a result, college scouting director Gene Smith was recently given more juice in the draft room
38 percent of players drafted become starters, that's not too shabby. Though were these rankings sorted by percentage of Pro Bowlers, it might be a lot different. The Jaguars have an uncanny knack for hitting home runs in the second-seventh rounds, but some of their first round picks leave something to be desired.
Then again, Pro Bowl voting is stupid to begin with, and should not mean a thing about the quality of draft picks.
Anyhow, here's the top 10
- Arizona Cardinals: Rod Graves
- New York Jets: Mike Tannenbaum/Eric Mangini
- Indianapolis Colts: Bill Polian
- Buffalo Bills: Marv Levy/Dick Jauron
- Baltimore Ravens: Ozzie Newsome
- San Diego Chargers: AJ Smith
- Jacksonville Jaguars: James Harris/Jack Del Rio/Gene Smith
- Seattle Seahawks: Tim Ruskell
- San Fransisco 49ers: Mike Nolan/Scot McCloughan
- Chicago Bears: Jerry Angelo
Some of these guys are just lucky to be there, especially Jerry Angelo. Another methodological problem is the amount of time each GM has spent running the show. Mangini and Tannenbaum are babies compared to Polian, Smith, and Del Rio/Harris/Smith.
Al Davis/Lane Kiffen are the "worst", though they've only had one full year. Mike Reinfeldt of the Titans is second to last, but with only one draft
Who do you think is the best "drafter" in the NFL?