OF: NFL Draft - History of 10th Overall Pick

[Om]

Thursday night, the Washington Redskins will have the option of making the 10th overall selection of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Should they use the pick instead of trading it away or abdicating (obligatory royal wedding reference), the young man selected could turn out to be a Hall of Famer. The great DB Rod Woodson was drafted tenth overall in 1987 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the immortal Redskins-killing RB Marcus Allen drafted tenth by the Oakland Raiders in 1982.

Of course, as with any pick, the gentleman selected could also turn into a future "who?" There's no need to embarrass anyone by naming names. Just look at the list below--you'll find plenty of examples.

As I like to do every year, I have assembled a list of the players selected at the Redskins' specific pick(s) in a given draft. For the record, this is not intended as a predictor of success or failure, or a suggestion of where I think the team could or should go.

It is simply a self-indulgent exercise in fandom. I'm always intrigued by what the history shows.

Perhaps you are as well.

I went back to 1970, the year of the NFL/AFL merger. I figure that encompasses a couple of generations of players and fans, and covers what most of us deem the "modern era" of the game. Plus, forty years seemed like a good round number (okay, so it's actually 41, but you get the drift). And let's face it, 1970-2010 just looks better.

So on to the stuff...


More...

 

[Jimbo]

Interesting.....the Linebackers listed herein all had long careers except for Suggs and Mayo, who are still active and both are Pro Bowlers. And LB is a need. See where I'm going with this?

Most of the other positions are hit and miss. It will be EXTREMELY important that we HIT this one, regardless of who we pick.

Great stuff, Om!

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Time will tell if we can trade down (or up) or stay at ten. Sure hope we can trade down and get more picks.

Funny comment about your ex getting on a computer.

 

[Om]

I'd be plenty happy with a stud OLB, OL, DL or WR ... mostly because it would mean the team did NOT take a flier on a QB at 10, that they clearly didn't believe in, based on need or appearance of it.

If they DO use 10 on a QB, I'll be happy because, well, we haven't had a real QB in this town in a generation, and until we DO get one I believe we're going to remain one of the bubble teams that make up the NFL's middle class. So you just don't stop trying. You go up to the plate and take your hacks.

That does NOT mean, however, I'll be happy if the 10th pick turns out to be just another guy ... regardless of position. This team has used up its quota of "oh well" draft picks. We're going to learn a lot about our current FO in 2011, and how they spend that 10th pick is going to provide a pretty salient data point.

For ****s and giggles and to spare having to click the link more than once, here's The List.

10th Overall Picks, 1970-2010

2010 - DT Tyson Alualu
2009 - WR Michael Crabtree
2008 - LB Jerod Mayo
2007 - DT Amobi Okoye
2006 - QB Matt Leinert
2005 - WR Mike Williams
2004 - CB Dunta Robinson
2003 - LB Terrell Suggs
2002 - OT Levi Jones
2001 - DE Jamal Reynolds
2000 - WR Travis Taylor
1999 - CB Chris McAlister
1998 - CB Duane Starks
1997 - OG Chris Naeole
1996 - OT Willie Anderson
1995 - WR J.J. Stokes
1994 - LB Jamir Miller
1993 - RB Jerome Bettis
1992 - OT Ray Roberts
1991 - WR Herman Moore
1990 - DE Ray Agnew
1989 - LB Eric Hill
1988 - OT Eric Moore
1987 - CB Rod Woodson
1986 - RB Keith Byars
1985 - WR Al Toon
1984 - DB Russell Carter
1983 - DB Terry Kinard
1982 - RB Marcus Allen
1981 - WR David Verser
1980 - DE Jacob Green
1979 - OT Keith Dorney
1978 - OT Gordon King
1977 - DB Gary Green
1976 - DB James Hunter
1975 - DT Jimmy Webb
1974 - DT Bill Sandifer
1973 - DT Joe Ehrmann
1972 - LB Jeff Siemon
1971 - LB Isiah Robertson
1970 - WR Ken Burrough

 

[Neophyte]

I take it as a good sign that in the last 10 years or so, the solid player to downright stud have outnumbered the duds by 5 to 1 or so. While I would like a guy to be the QB for the next decade or two here in the Nation's Capital, I will settle for a player who we can pencil in as a solid starter here for a decade at any darn position.

That does NOT mean, however, I'll be happy if the 10th pick turns out to be just another guy ... regardless of position. This team has used up its quota of "oh well" draft picks. We're going to learn a lot about our current FO in 2011, and how they spend that 10th pick is going to provide a pretty salient data point.

This is the one thing I have to take issue with. The team, be it Allen/Shanahan or Vinny/Danny, has done a pretty good job with our first round pick for some time now. No real "oh well" guys in the bunch since Patrick Ramsey in 2002.

2010 -Williams appears to be a long term answer at LT where I was deathly afraid we would all spend years pining for Samuels.
2009 - Orakpo speaks for himself.
2007 - Landry, who, now that we are using him right is once again a stud.
2005 - Rogers who is a great cover corner and really only lacks good hands to becoming one of the best in the league.
2004 - Taylor, enough said.

Even in 2008 Vinnie turned a first round pick into 2 extra seconds. Granted, what he did with those seconds was pathetic but I can't complain with the straight value. That is 6 out of the last 7 drafts where we have "hit" on the first round pick.

Where I want to see a change in the 4th through the 7th round. There are players there. Every year you see guys show up out of the later round for OTHER teams. The only late round picks I can think of that have rocked the house for the Skins in the last 10 years are Cartwright, Horton, Golston and Doughty. And even those guys are, to this point, just solid depth. Not a legit starter in the bunch.

 

[Om]

That's fair, Neo.

I wasn't thinking so much about specific high picks ... just taking a broadscope view back at the Taylor Jacobs', Rod Gardner's, Kennard Lang's, Andre Johnson's, etc., that comprise so much of our recent history. To say nothing of all the traded picks that netted less-than-stellar value.

Think I might caveat your point about the later picks ... I'm not sure we do a whole lot worse in the late rounds than most other teams going through the kind of transitions we've gone through every few years. For one thing we haven't HAD that many, comparatively speaking, given our willingness to trade picks away for so many years.

And since we HAVE started from scratch every few seasons, it makes sense to me that late-round guys are that much harder to find room for--logic suggests to me you find success in the late rounds when you have a system in place and can go out and find specific guys with specific skill sets to fill specific niches. That's a luxury we haven't had around here in a very long time.

Bottom line? This is huge draft for this team. If Shanahan/Allen is going to turn this ship around, they're going to have to max out on pick and trade and free agent value big time for the next season or two and show clear signs of getting things moving. The league today doesn't wait around more than 3-4 years for ANY coach or new regime---and that's true of any team---to start winning games. Given it's been a generation since the Skins have been a "winner" by any standard, the leash won't be long here either.

 

[Neophyte]

Also fair, brother. I wasn't thinking about the system changes either.

Although I have to look at guys like Molinaro and Wilson from 2004. Drafted by Gibbs/Buges and cut by Gibbs/Buges. We had all of 4 draft picks that year. The next year it was White, McCune, Newberry and Broughton. We had all of 6 picks and we burned two on drafting guys to play out of position (White and Broughton). Newberry didn't even make the Practice Squad and all 4 were either cut or lost off the PS under the same regime that drafted them.

Ancient history you say? Ok, I'll buy that for a dollar. Last year I am looking at names like Morris, Austin, Cook and Capers. Morris didn't make it out of training camp with us. The others spent time on the PS but only Austin saw the field at all. The jury is out as to whether these guys do anything this year, under the FO that drafted them.

Granted, we may or may not being doing better than any other team in the league in rounds 4-7. I don't know. Maybe it only feels like we are sucking more because it is so darn rare for us to have picks in rounds 3 and 4 where so many of the surprises of the draft seem to live. Since 2004 we have had 6 picks in Rounds 3 and 4 when we should have had 14. Three of those picks are still on the team -Riley, Barnes and Cooley.

And once again, we are facing draft weekend without a 3rd or 4th rounder.

You are spot on about not having long though. I don't think Mike has to field a winner this year but I think he has to show serious improvement and contend for the division title next year (2012) or he will be just another coach to add to Snyder's growing list of failed legends.

 

[China]

Well Om, the Redskins had Blaine Gabbert there for the taking with the 10th pick. Are you of the belief that the Redskins screwed up by not taking their Franchise QB when they had the opportunity, or do you think, based on draft history and this year's QB class, that it was wise to pass him up because he wouldn't have panned out as the Franchise QB?

At this point, I'm inclined to trust their judgement because it netted us an extra pick, and with so many holes to fill, every little bit helps.

There's also the fact that the O-line is still weak and you don't want to get a rookie QB killed and potentially ruin him.

I really don't know enough about Gabbert to form an educated opinion of his potential. I saw one game of his last year and that was it, although it was a tremendous game (the game against Oklahoma).

 

[Om]

Oh good ... I thought you were going to ask when I was going to research/publish the History of the 16th Pick.

I have zero problem with passing on Gabbert at 10 ... and passing on the remaning QB candidates at 16 as well.

The one guy I was really intrigued with, and would probably have been a little cranky about passing over, was Locker. Just personal gut instinct. But I wasn't up for trading up to get him, so when he was gone, I was okay with them going elsewhere.

What it tells me is that there was no one out there at QB the Skins felt they simply HAD to have this year--at least not w/o giving up the store to move up.

As to what happens next....bottom line is they still need a QB. Bad. As they have for about a hundred years. SO ... we'll see what their plan is over the next few days as the rest of this draft and the start of FA play out.

They may have decided to stick with what they have for another season (including possibly McNabb), or go for a 2nd tier guy in the 2nd round to develop behind an existing player for a year or two ... or do something dramatic in FA ... or perhaps something else entirely I've not thought about.

Today will help bring their idea into a little more focus.