The release of Brennan Williams got me thinking about how many 2nd and 3rd round picks Rick Smith has whiffed on. 2nd and 3rd round picks are what keep good organizations competitive, and if you consistently miss on them, it can really set your franchise back years. 2007 -Jacoby Jones 2008-Antwan Molden 2008-Steve Slaton (a yr or so of production?) 2009-Antoine Caldwell 2011-Brandon Harris 2013-Brennan Williams 2013-Sam Montgomery The verdict isn't out on Posey, but if he doesn't pan out, add him to the list. Plus the two 2nd rounders we gave up for Schaub was a poor decision in retrospect. You could even make the argument that Brooks Reed and Earl Mitchell, both below average starters, belong on that list too. I think that's a pretty unacceptable draft record. 2nd and 3rd round picks are supposed to be eventual starters. Slaton was the only starting caliber player on that list and he only gave us a year or so of production. If you add in 4th round whiffs: Fred Bennett 07 Adibi 08 Anthony Hill 09 Daryl Sharpton 10 Roc Carmichel 11 Won't pass judgement on 2012 onward yet...but Tavardo Williams and Keshawn Martin ain't lookin good.
Again, we don't know exactly who was making the picks. Certainly, Smith had input, but I don't know if he had final say. Rumors have seemed to indicate otherwise and others have suggested that it looked like Smith had more control over the 2014 draft that he'd had in the past. He probably does deserve some of the blame, just not 100% of it. You can't give Wade Smith full credit for the JJ Watt pick and then lay the blame for Sam Montgomery entirely on Smith. Fact is that at least 2 other people who had a big say in the drafting process (Kubiak and Wade) are gone. I don't have much of a problem seeing if Smith can handle things better with them removed from the equation. Only time will tell how much blame each of them really deserves.
First of all, Brooks Reed has been the starter for a couple seasons, and while not top notch, I think he has done alright and maybe putting him inside will surprise us, a lot of times its how these guys are utilized. Second, I agree with the above poster, you cant blame everything on him when there are 2 other ppl (at least) having some input as well. And on that note, we received (from a couple analysts) the top grade as far as drafts go this year. Either : 1. Rick Smith suddenly pulled his head out of his a$$. 2. It was heavily Kubiak sucking at drafting and now BOB shows us whats up. 3. It was heavily Kubiak but since BOB is new, Rick Smith took over this time and still did a good job. Reminder: Smith wanted Peyton, who wanted Houston....Kubiak was a Shaubeliever
Also, Jacoby Jones was a great returner... we got rid of him and he has done pretty well (and starts) for the Ravens... HE ALSO HAS A RING. Guess who else has a ring (or 2) ....... David Carr HAHAHA that still gets me everytime
Does that really matter when Rick Smith (and his staff) are the ones who goes out and scouts the players...??? Kubiak didn't have time to do that. Rick Smith is still the guy who put these players in front of Kubiak to draft.
No it wasn't. Matt Schaub was a very good, at times great, QB. Everyone of us, after about 8 weeks of Ryan Fitzpatrick, is going to miss '08-'(most of)'12 Matt Schaub. What's interesting about the 2/3 picks (which I agree has been an Achillies heel) - Casserly had the exact same issue. As much consternation as the Williams pick is getting, Casserly picked a guy in round 3 who didn't even make the *expansion roster* in 2002 - that's a fireable offense, IMO.
I don't think Jacoby and Brooks were horrible selections. You can't blame him for the Williams pick. Harris has been horrible but he might get one last chance to redeem himself. No excuses for the Montgomery pick. That will always remain a black mark on Smith's resume. Caldwell was asked to play out of position, not sure if that was the GM's call or the coach's call.
So . . . Who are the GREAT 2nd and Third Round Picks of the Ric Smith Era? that he had a shot at . . . Rocket River
thats a lot of garbage jacoby has been the most productive player on that list and he didn't do it here.
Well Jacoby Jones hasn't ever been productive as a WR no matter where he's been, but he was always a pretty decent kick returner when he's not fumbling.
He did make "the catch" that won the game against Denver on the way to winning the SB. Gotta give him that.
As mentioned we won't ever know the right distribution of blame, but it's damning all the same when it's a 100% miss rate in crucial rounds. And for a guy whose feather-in-his-cap was as a db coach on Elway's broncos, Smith can't draft secondary worth a damn.
Can we just stop pretending that the JJ watt pick was the work of some scouting guru visionary genius? JJ watt was easily the best player left on the board, and Alden Smith (who we would have drafted instead of Watt) was off the board. Sure Smith deserves some credit for watt, but guys like Mayock were heralding JJ as the best 3-4 DE they'd seen in a long time coming out of college.
Sure, but that was sort of a "hail mary" style pass that should have been picked off if the safety didn't have a derp moment. He gets credit for not screwing it up, but it wasn't some phenomenal play. Outside of that he was pretty quiet as a WR.
Jacoby - James Jones went a little bit after him. That's a real gaffe. Even if he contributed over the years, he's never been much more than a 3rd receiver that can look like a 2nd WR on a occasion. Molden - CBs are hard to hit on for most teams, and Rick Smith's hit percentage has been pretty bad. I think you also have to consider development - few players after round 1/2 are ready out of the box. Most need to be coached up. The defensive staff at the time was horrendous working with the secondary. Caldwell - was this a reach based on need? There were nice players at different positions available. I don't personally know if there was a better center there. Brooks Reed shouldn't be listed. Especially if Connor Barwin didn't meet the cutoff. People are overly focused on his low sack numbers and don't give him credit for his overall solid play. Good against the run, okay in coverage. Brandon Harris and Roc Carmichael were both bad picks by a staff wanting to believe they could be something they weren't because we had such a need for secondary help. Harris at best was a reach. A second rounder on a guy that never merited a serious role even as a nickel back is absolutely a horrible pick. 2013 - I swear they were completely unprepared for that draft. That Sam Montgomery pick was senseless from every possible angle. Baltimore jumped in front of them twice and it seemed like they panic-picked Montgomery. The Williams pick might have been a dice roll for high potential reward, but maybe they didn't vet him as well as they should have. Can't say.
