Draft rewind: Rams forego taking Bradford with the top pick to land star receiver in 2010
Draft rewind: Rams forego taking Bradford with the top pick to land star receiver in 2010
The Rams went 1-15 in 2009, giving them the right to draft Sam Bradford. St. Louis improved to 7-9, missing out on the playoffs by a tiebreaker, as Seattle won a terrible NFC West. While Bradford made the Rams better in the short-term, he never led a team to the playoffs in nine seasons, opening the door for a change at the top of the Draft.
No. 1 (Rams) Actual pick - Sam Bradford, QB Redraft - Antonio Brown, WR
While Kyle Boller was never an above-average starter in the NFL, he simply had no Pro Bowl-caliber receivers. Brandon Gibson and Laurent Robinson might not have been starters on any other team and slot option Danny Amendola was mostly a possession receiver. Before he became a major league pain to three NFL teams, Brown was one the league’s best playmakers, despite being selected at the end of the sixth round in the original draft. Brown was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a five-time All-Pro. He had six seasons with 100 or more receptions, seven 1,000-yard campaigns, and scored double-digit touchdowns four times. He leads all wide receivers drafted with 841 catches, 11,263 yards, and 75 scores.
No. 2 (Lions) Actual pick - Ndamukong Suh, DT Redraft - Suh
One of the league’s most dominating defensive players in the early part of the decade was also one of its most controversial. Suh was named Defensive Rookie of the Year after putting up what is still a career-high 10 sacks in 2010. He has amassed 56½ sacks and earned five Pro Bowl and three All-Pro selections. However, less than two years after he was drafted, Suh was voted as the game’s “dirtiest player” by fellow players as reported by the Sporting News. He is known for two moments in Thanksgiving Day games: pushing Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith’s head into the ground and then stomping on his arm in 2011 and kicking Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the groin the following year.
No. 3 (Buccaneers) Actual pick - Gerald McCoy, DT Redraft - McCoy
The battle between McCoy and Geno Atkins was so close that I just went with the status quo at this spot. McCoy has been selected to six Pro Bowls and was also named an All-Pro in 2013, when he had a career-high 9½ sacks. McCoy and his 57 career sacks have never appeared in the postseason. However, that could change this season since McCoy moved from Tampa Bay and its 12-year playoff drought to Carolina.
No. 4 (Redskins) Actual pick - Trent Williams, T Redraft - Williams
Williams made the Pro Bowl for the past seven years until this season was ruined by a lack of faith in Washington’s training staff. A growth on his head was discovered in 2013, but trainers told him it was not serious. He had it removed in April and found out it was a form of cancer. After holding out until just before the trade deadline, Williams failed his physical and was placed on the non-football injury list, ending his 2019 season.
No. 5 (Chiefs) Actual pick - Eric Berry, S Redraft - Berry
Speaking of players who dealt with cancer, Berry had a mass discovered in his chest that was diagnosed as Hodgkin’s lymphoma late in the 2014 season. After chemotherapy, the disease was in remission nine months later and Berry resumed his career. He has also dealt with a torn ACL in 2011, a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2017 and a bone spur in the Achilles last season. Despite these injuries, Berry is a five-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro who returned five of his 14 interceptions for touchdowns. He has yet to be signed after the Chiefs released him in March.
No. 6 (Seahawks) Actual pick - Russell Okung, T Redraft - Okung
Okung joins Williams as a premier offensive tackle selected early in the draft. He went to a pair of Pro Bowls and also played in back-to-back title games with the Seahawks (a win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII and a loss to the Patriots the following year). After six seasons in Seattle and one in Denver, Okung has spent the past three years with the Los Angeles Chargers and has started 121 games overall.
No. 7 (Browns) Actual pick - Joe Haden, CB Redraft - Devin McCourty, DB
McCourty made the Pro Bowl and the All-Rookie Team after picking off seven passes in 2010. He switched to safety in his fourth season and has amassed 26 interceptions (including a league-high five so far this year) and 745 tackles. McCourty has appeared in five Super Bowls with the Patriots and is a three-time champion.
No. 8 (Raiders) Actual pick - Rolando McClain, LB Redraft - NaVorro Bowman, LB
McClain came very highly rated out of Alabama, but off-the-field issues derailed his career. His litany of charges included a shooting incident in late 2011, giving officers a false name during a traffic stop as well as disorderly conduct in separate incidents in 2013, a substance abuse suspension in 2016 and a drug- and firearm-related arrest in 2017. Bowman, a late third-round pick originally, was a three-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro who had 14 sacks and 798 tackles in eight seasons before retiring earlier this year. He had 100 or more tackles five times, including a league-leading 154 in 2015. Bowman missed all of the 2014 season after tearing the ACL and MCL in his left knee during San Francisco’s 2013 NFC Championship Game loss to Seattle.
No. 9 (Bills) Actual pick - C. J. Spiller, RB Redraft - Ryan Mathews, RB
Spiller made the Pro Bowl after setting career-highs with 1,244 yards and six touchdowns in 2011, but only totaled 3,451 yards and 12 scores in eight seasons. Mathews also made the Pro Bowl just once (joining Spiller in 2011), but he finished with two 1,000-yard seasons and 5,261 yards and 37 touchdowns overall in seven years with the Chargers and Eagles. Mathews retired after having neck surgery due to a herniated disc suffered late in the 2016 season.
No. 10 (Jaguars) Actual pick - Tyson Alualu, DT Redraft - Geno Atkins, DT
Alualu has been a serviceable pick who has 22½ sacks in 149 games with the Jaguars and Steelers, but he has never made a Pro Bowl. Atkins is a seven-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro, whose 74 sacks are the most of any drafted player. He recorded double-digit sacks three times with a high of 12½ in 2012. Atkins was selected by the Bengals late in the fourth round.
No. 11 (49ers) Actual pick - Anthony Davis, T Redraft - Alejandro Villanueva, T
This pick originally went from the Bears to the Broncos in the Jay Cutler trade in 2009. Denver sent the selection to San Francisco for picks 13 and 113. After starting all 64 games in his first four seasons and playing in Super Bowl XLVII with the 49ers, Davis felt the wear and tear on his body. He played in only seven games since 2014 before being released by San Francisco earlier this year. Villanueva went undrafted as a tight end in 2010, but after his career as an Army Ranger ended four years later, he switched to tackle and signed with the Steelers. He has appeared in two Pro Bowls and played in the 2016 AFC Championship Game against the Patriots.
No. 12 (Chargers) Actual pick - Ryan Mathews, RB Redraft - Chris Ivory, RB
The Dolphins traded this pick, along with numbers 110 and 173 to the Chargers for selections 28, 40, 126 and linebacker Tim Dobbins. With Mathews already selected, the Chargers take Ivory, who originally signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent. He had his best years with the Jets, which included three straight 800-yard seasons and career-highs with 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns in 2015, when he made his only Pro Bowl. Ivory is still a free agent after being released by the Bills in March.
No. 13 (Eagles) Actual pick - Brandon Graham, DE Redraft - Jason Pierre-Paul, DE
Denver traded this recently acquired selection to Philadelphia for picks 24, 70 and 87. Graham has 48½ sacks and won a title two years ago, but instead, the Eagles take a player originally selected by their NFC East rivals. Before blowing off two fingers in a fireworks incident and fracturing his neck in a car accident, Pierre-Paul made a pair of Pro Bowls and won a title with the Giants. JPP was an All-Pro in 2011 after a career-high 16½ sacks, and he has 72½ overall in 10 seasons.
No. 14 (Seahawks) Actual pick - Earl Thomas, S Redraft - Thomas
Seattle acquired this selection for a second-round pick in the 2009 Draft. Thomas is one of the hardest hitters in the NFL, which has led to six Pro Bowl and three All-Pro selections. His 30 interceptions are the most among drafted players, and he has 711 career tackles. Thomas was a member of Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary that appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls.
No. 15 (Giants) Actual pick - Jason Pierre-Paul, DE Redraft - Carlos Dunlap, DE
JPP joined Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck on a powerful Giants defensive line that contributed to a Super Bowl XLVI victory, but he is off the board here. Instead, New York takes Dunlap who has 73½ sacks with Cincinnati, including a career-high 13½ in 2015, when he made the first of two Pro Bowls.
No. 16 (Titans) Actual pick - Derrick Morgan, DE Redraft - Everson Griffen, DE
Morgan joined 2009 pick Eugene Monroe as a proponent of medical marijuana and gets bonus points for delivering his second child at home in 2015. He had 44½ sacks in 118 games before retiring after nine seasons, but he never made a Pro Bowl. Originally taken with the 100th pick, Griffen is a three-time Pro Bowler who has 72 career sacks, with three double-digit seasons.
No. 17 (49ers) Actual pick - Mike Iupati, G Redraft - Iupati
Carolina gave this pick to San Francisco for 2009 second- and fourth-round selections. Iupati made the Pro Bowl four straight seasons in the middle of the decade, starting with 2012, when he was also named an All-Pro and appeared in Super Bowl XLVII with the 49ers in a loss to the Ravens.
No. 18 (Steelers) Actual pick - Maurkice Pouncey, C Redraft - Pouncey
Pouncey has been selected to seven Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. He also lost two seasons to devastating injuries: a torn ACL and MCL in the first game in 2013 and a broken fibula during the 2015 preseason. He joined Brown and Villanueva in the 2016 AFC Championship Game.
No. 19 (Falcons) Actual pick - Sean Weatherspoon, LB Redraft - Sean Lee, LB
Weatherspoon had 125 tackles in 2011, but was never the same after missing the 2014 season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Despite missing the 2014 season with a torn ACL, Lee is a two-time Pro Bowler and a 2016 All-Pro who has 13 interceptions and 721 solo tackles, including four seasons of 100 or more.
No. 20 (Texans) Actual pick - Kareem Jackson, CB Redraft - Jackson
Jackson has 17 interceptions and 599 tackles in 140 games. He spent his first nine years with the Texans and is tied atop of the franchise list (along with Johnathan Joseph) with 16 picks. Jackson signed with the Broncos as a free agent this year.
No. 21 (Bengals) Actual pick - Jermaine Gresham, TE Redraft - Rob Gronkowski, TE
Before retiring after the 2018 season, Gronkowski was a five-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro. He had five double-digit touchdown seasons (including a league-leading 17 in 2011) and four years with 1,000 or more yards. He played in five Super Bowls, was a three-time champion and was the league’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2014. “Gronk” had 7,861 yards in nine seasons, and his 79 scores are the most among drafted players. All this overshadows Gresham, who was a two-time Pro Bowler with 3,752 yards and 29 touchdowns in nine seasons with the Bengals and Cardinals.
No. 22 (Broncos) Actual pick - Demaryius Thomas, WR Redraft - Thomas
Denver acquired this selection from New England for picks 24 and 113 [which the Patriots used on Aaron Hernandez]). Thomas is second to Brown among drafted players with 707 catches and 9,562 yards, and his 62 touchdowns rank fifth. He had five 1,000-yard seasons and was selected to five Pro Bowls in eight full years with the Broncos before being traded to the Texans in 2018. He won a title in Super Bowl 50 with Denver.
No. 23 (Packers) Actual pick - Bryan Bulaga, T Redraft - Jimmy Graham, TE
Bulaga has started 104 games with the Packers, but suffered torn ACLs in 2013 and ’17 and missed time in 2012 with an injured hip. Graham, originally taken with the Saints at pick 95, has 636 catches (fourth among drafted players), 7,687 yards (fourth) and 74 touchdowns (third). The five-time Pro Bowler was selected as an All-Pro for his only time after posting an NFL-high 16 scores in 2013. He joined the Packers as a free agent in 2018, but would have made a formidable tight end tandem with Jermichael Finley.
No. 24 (Cowboys) Actual pick - Dez Bryant, WR Redraft - Bryant
After this pick went from Philadelphia to Denver to New England, the Patriots moved it once again, this time to Dallas (along with pick 119) for 27, and 90. Bryant has 531 catches, 7,459 yards and 73 touchdowns, including a league-leading 16 in 2014, when he received his only All-Pro selection. The three-time Pro Bowler also had three 1,000-yard seasons and posted double-digit touchdowns three times. After being released by the Cowboys in 2018, Bryant signed with the Saints, but tore his Achilles tendon and missed not only the rest of that season, but all of 2019 as well.
No. 25 (Broncos) Actual pick - Tim Tebow, QB Redraft - Sam Bradford, QB
Baltimore sent this selection to Denver for picks 43, 70 and 114. Tebow led the Broncos to an upset victory over the Steelers in the 2011 playoffs, but his 47.9 percent career completion percentage doomed him (despite John Elway saying he was “a great kid” who he would want to “marry his daughter”). He now plays baseball in the New York Mets organization. Bradford never made the Pro Bowl or led a team to the playoffs, but his 19,449 yards and 103 touchdowns were the most by far of any passer selected. He would have been a good stopgap before the Peyton Manning era began in Denver.
No. 26 (Cardinals) Actual pick - Dan Williams, DT Redraft - Linval Joseph, DT
Williams played in 102 games over seven years with the Cardinals and Raiders, but only had 228 tackles and 3½ sacks. He has not played since 2016. Joseph was a starter for the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI and has been selected to a pair of Pro Bowls with the Vikings. He has 24 sacks in 137 career games.
No. 27 (Patriots) Actual pick - Devin McCourty, CB Redraft - Joe Haden, CB
After the dust settled with pick 24, New England moved down and occupied this spot. With McCourty gone, the Patriots take Haden, who has 22 interceptions and 493 tackles. He was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Browns before he was released and signed with the Steelers in 2017.
No. 28 (Dolphins) Actual pick - Jared Odrick, DT Redraft - Jerry Hughes, DE
Miami moved out of the 12th spot and originally selected Odrick, who broke his foot as a rookie and missed most of the 2016 season with a shoulder injury and hasn’t played since. In between, he had 23 sacks with Miami and Jacksonville. While Hughes hasn’t made a Pro Bowl, he has appeared in 144 games and registered 49½ sacks, including 10 each in 2013 and ’14 with the Bills.
No. 29 (Jets) Actual pick - Kyle Wilson, CB Redraft - Sam Shields, CB
Wilson started just 32 of 95 games and had four interceptions in six seasons before a torn labrum in 2016 essentially ended his career. Shields signed with Green Bay as an undrafted free agent and won a title with the Packers as a rookie. He had 18 interceptions in Green Bay, but missed most of 2016 and all of 2017 with concussion issues. He signed with the Rams last season, which ended with a loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII.
No. 30 (Lions) Actual pick - Jahvid Best, RB Redraft - Kam Chancellor, S
Minnesota sent picks 30 and 128 to Detroit for selections 34, 100 and 214. Best faced concussion issues in his second season and left football, but he participated in the 100-meter dash at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The Lions took Amari Spievey in the third round, but he played in just three years before he fell victim to concussions and depression after the death of his cousin (professional basketball player Chauncey Hardy) in a bar fight in Romania. Instead, the Lions fill Spievey’s safety spot with Chancellor, who was originally selected at the top of the fifth round. A teammate of Thomas in the “Legion of Boom,” Chancellor was a two-time Super Bowl participant and a four-time Pro Bowler. He had 12 interceptions and 641 tackles in eight seasons before spinal stenosis and bone spurs in his neck forced him out of the sport.
No. 31 (Colts) Actual pick - Jerry Hughes, DE Redraft - Reshad Jones, S
With Hughes already taken, the Colts address another area of need, strong safety. Jones, who was taken at the end of round five, would definitely start over Aaron Francisco. Jones is a two-time Pro Bowler who has 21 interceptions and 760 tackles, including three seasons with 100 or more.
No. 32 (Saints) Actual pick - Patrick Robinson, CB Redraft - Kurt Coleman, S
Robinson has 14 interceptions and 306 tackles. He spent six seasons in New Orleans, then played for three teams in three years before returning to the Saints in 2019. While T. J. Ward was selected to a pair of Pro Bowls, Coleman, who was selected in the seventh round by the Eagles, had 21 interceptions and 535 tackles. He had five tackles in Super Bowl 50 with the Panthers and also played in the 2018 NFC title game with the Saints.
Other draft picks to make Pro Bowl that weren’t in the redraft: Jermaine Gresham, TE (21st by the Bengals, Pro Bowler in 2011 and ’12); Dexter McCluster, RB (36th by the Chiefs, Pro Bowl in 2013 as a punt returner); T. J. Ward, S (38th by the Browns, Pro Bowl in 2013 with Cleveland and ’14 with Denver); Zane Beadles, G (45th by the Broncos, Pro Bowl in 2012); Daryl Washington, LB (47th by the Cardinals, Pro Bowl in 2012); Golden Tate, WR (60th by the Seahawks, Pro Bowler in 2014 with the Lions); Emmanuel Sanders, WR (82nd by the Steelers, Pro Bowls in 2014 and ’16 with the Broncos); Andre Roberts, WR (88th by the Cardinals, Pro Bowl in 2018 with the Jets as a kickoff returner); Alterraun Verner, CB (104th by the Titans, Pro Bowl in 2013); Darrell Stuckey, S (110th by the Chargers, Pro Bowl in 2014 on special teams); Greg Hardy, DE (175th by the Panthers, Pro Bowl in 2013); Marc Mariani, WR (222nd by the Titans, Pro Bowl in his rookie season as a kickoff returner); Morgan Cox, long snapper (undrafted, signed by the Ravens, Pro Bowls in 2015 and ’16); James Develin, FB (undrafted, signed by the Bengals, Pro Bowl selection in 2017 as a special teams player with the Patriots); Victor Cruz, WR (undrafted, signed by the Giants, Pro Bowl in 2012); Darian Stewart, S (undrafted, signed by the Rams, Pro Bowl in 2016 with the Broncos).
Next: Will Cam Newton still get picked first in the stacked 2011 Draft?
-By Kevin Rakas
Blog Writer