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NFL players drafted in 2014 and 2015 are still in their mid-20s. So it stands to reason that each member of those top 10 classes should still be anchoring the rosters of the teams that selected them.
With Blake Bortles, Kevin White and Ereck Flowers all being flushed in the past week, nine of those 20 top-10 picks now have been moved or been allowed to move on from the teams that drafted them. Two are with their third team. One — 2014 eighth overall pick Justin Gilbert — has been out of the league since 2016.
With Bortles on to the Rams as a backup, four of the top five picks from 2014 are now with teams that didn’t draft them. Only No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney of Houston remains with the team that picked him.
No. 2 pick Greg Robinson is in Cleveland after flaming out with the Rams and Lions. No. 4 pick Sammy Watkins, now with the Chiefs, also is on his third team without a Pro Bowl.
Then there’s Oakland. The Raiders picked good to great top-5 players in 2014 and 2015. But then they changed management and no longer wanted said good to great players. But at least they got three No. 1s as part of the deals that unloaded 2014 No. 5 overall pick Khalil Mack and 2015 No. 4 overall pick Amari Cooper.
That’s a heck of a lot more than the discombobulated Giants have to show for two top-10 picks in 2015 and 2016. Last fall, they dumped 2016 No. 10 overall pick Eli Apple for a fourth-rounder this year and a seventh next year. And this week, they let massive underachiever Ereck Flowers — the ninth overall pick in 2015 — walk.
Food for thought when discussing Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr and whether his sack stats are flashy enough on one of the league’s top defenses.
In 2014, the Vikings had the eighth overall pick. They wanted Barr. Cleveland wanted cornerback Justin Gilbert bad enough to trade up one spot.
Five years later, Barr has more Pro Bowls (four) than Gilbert had starts (three) in his two seasons with the Browns.
http://www.startribune.com/barr-looking-...507407802/
Pretty hard to write an article reviewing the '14 draft without even mentioning Aaron Donald, who went at #13. There was some jackstand on this board who wouldn't shut up about him. Saying batshit crazy things like he wasn't just the best player for the Vikings at #8 but the best player in the entire draft. Same asshole said that Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada in three years, Justin Gilbert would be a bust, All Pro Joel Bitonio was the best guard in the draft and All Pro Telvin Smith was a late-round sleeper.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Pretty hard to write an article reviewing the '14 draft without even mentioning Aaron Donald, who went at #13. There was some jackstand on this board who wouldn't shut up about him. Saying batshit crazy things like he wasn't just the best player for the Vikings at #8 but the best player in the entire draft. Same asshole said that Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada in three years, Justin Gilbert would be a bust, All Pro Joel Bitonio was the best guard in the draft and All Pro Telvin Smith was a late-round sleeper.
The jackwagon who said Gilbert would bust was me. I remember arguing ad nauseam with Jaime about it.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Pretty hard to write an article reviewing the '14 draft without even mentioning Aaron Donald, who went at #13. There was some jackstand on this board who wouldn't shut up about him. Saying batshit crazy things like he wasn't just the best player for the Vikings at #8 but the best player in the entire draft. Same asshole said that Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada in three years, Justin Gilbert would be a bust, All Pro Joel Bitonio was the best guard in the draft and All Pro Telvin Smith was a late-round sleeper.
Glad you remembered me MB! jk jk. i want to claim i was first to say AD was the best player, but i prolly wasnt as i dont post that much. As far as all the rest, i didnt want Manziel at all but didnt have a clue on the rest of them.
My biggest memory is someone who is really into drafts saying AD’s arms were too short and he was 2-4 rounder lol
Quote: @FSUVike said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Pretty hard to write an article reviewing the '14 draft without even mentioning Aaron Donald, who went at #13. There was some jackstand on this board who wouldn't shut up about him. Saying batshit crazy things like he wasn't just the best player for the Vikings at #8 but the best player in the entire draft. Same asshole said that Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada in three years, Justin Gilbert would be a bust, All Pro Joel Bitonio was the best guard in the draft and All Pro Telvin Smith was a late-round sleeper.
The jackwagon who said Gilbert would bust was me. I remember arguing ad nauseam with Jaime about it.
MB was referring to himself... but I do remember you saying the same thing about Gilbert. I was right there with MB on the Aaron Donald bandwagon.
It's kind of interesting to look back at these drafts and see all the "can't miss/blue chip talent" that didn't pan out... kind of like the big FA signings. Fans and the media get all antsy in their pantsy saying teams really improved by signing "Player X, Y, and Z", but the best approach is what the Vikings have been doing... draft, develop, and re-sign your own studs.
It's why I haven't complained too much this offseason with our cap situation. The reason we don't have much money is partly because of Cousins contract, but most of it is the fact that we gave Diggs, Kendricks, Hunter, and now Barr the SOG (sack of gold).
Quote: @Bullazin said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Pretty hard to write an article reviewing the '14 draft without even mentioning Aaron Donald, who went at #13. There was some jackstand on this board who wouldn't shut up about him. Saying batshit crazy things like he wasn't just the best player for the Vikings at #8 but the best player in the entire draft. Same asshole said that Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada in three years, Justin Gilbert would be a bust, All Pro Joel Bitonio was the best guard in the draft and All Pro Telvin Smith was a late-round sleeper.
Glad you remembered me MB! jk jk. i want to claim i was first to say AD was the best player, but i prolly wasnt as i dont post that much. As far as all the rest, i didnt want Manziel at all but didnt have a clue on the rest of them.
My biggest memory is someone who is really into drafts saying AD’s arms were too short and he was 2-4 rounder lol
I think we had a 4 or 5 page thread on Aaron Donald. The arguments were mostly about his size and the fact that we already had Floyd. The Floyd argument was at least reasonable. But the one that drove me crazy was that some were saying that he couldn't beat double teams. I don't think I've ever watched a player destroy more double teams than Aaron Donald at Pitt. Triple teams even. I've been obsessing over the draft for 40 years and I've never seen a player who checked more boxes than Donald. From tape to Senior Bowl to combine to character...
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ Bullazin said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Pretty hard to write an article reviewing the '14 draft without even mentioning Aaron Donald, who went at #13. There was some jackstand on this board who wouldn't shut up about him. Saying batshit crazy things like he wasn't just the best player for the Vikings at #8 but the best player in the entire draft. Same asshole said that Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada in three years, Justin Gilbert would be a bust, All Pro Joel Bitonio was the best guard in the draft and All Pro Telvin Smith was a late-round sleeper.
Glad you remembered me MB! jk jk. i want to claim i was first to say AD was the best player, but i prolly wasnt as i dont post that much. As far as all the rest, i didnt want Manziel at all but didnt have a clue on the rest of them.
My biggest memory is someone who is really into drafts saying AD’s arms were too short and he was 2-4 rounder lol
I think we had a 4 or 5 page thread on Aaron Donald. The arguments were mostly about his size and the fact that we already had Floyd. The Floyd argument was at least reasonable. But the one that drove me crazy was that some were saying that he couldn't beat double teams. I don't think I've ever watched a player destroy more double teams than Aaron Donald at Pitt. Triple teams even. I've been obsessing over the draft for 40 years and I've never seen a player who checked more boxes than Donald. From tape to Senior Bowl to combine to character...
Toot away.
Would ya help a fella out here. What's your take on the Powerball tonight.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ Bullazin said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Pretty hard to write an article reviewing the '14 draft without even mentioning Aaron Donald, who went at #13. There was some jackstand on this board who wouldn't shut up about him. Saying batshit crazy things like he wasn't just the best player for the Vikings at #8 but the best player in the entire draft. Same asshole said that Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada in three years, Justin Gilbert would be a bust, All Pro Joel Bitonio was the best guard in the draft and All Pro Telvin Smith was a late-round sleeper.
Glad you remembered me MB! jk jk. i want to claim i was first to say AD was the best player, but i prolly wasnt as i dont post that much. As far as all the rest, i didnt want Manziel at all but didnt have a clue on the rest of them.
My biggest memory is someone who is really into drafts saying AD’s arms were too short and he was 2-4 rounder lol
I think we had a 4 or 5 page thread on Aaron Donald. The arguments were mostly about his size and the fact that we already had Floyd. The Floyd argument was at least reasonable. But the one that drove me crazy was that some were saying that he couldn't beat double teams. I don't think I've ever watched a player destroy more double teams than Aaron Donald at Pitt. Triple teams even. I've been obsessing over the draft for 40 years and I've never seen a player who checked more boxes than Donald. From tape to Senior Bowl to combine to character...
I remember mocking Donald to the Vikings once but personally determining it just didn't make sense with Floyd on the roster. You were all over him though Maroon. I was all over OBJ and Mike Evans in 2014 believing they were special.
Quote: @FSUVike said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Pretty hard to write an article reviewing the '14 draft without even mentioning Aaron Donald, who went at #13. There was some jackstand on this board who wouldn't shut up about him. Saying batshit crazy things like he wasn't just the best player for the Vikings at #8 but the best player in the entire draft. Same asshole said that Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada in three years, Justin Gilbert would be a bust, All Pro Joel Bitonio was the best guard in the draft and All Pro Telvin Smith was a late-round sleeper.
The jackwagon who said Gilbert would bust was me. I remember arguing ad nauseam with Jaime about it.
Yep, Jaime was definitely the big Gilbert guy on the board. But ya know what? Daniel Jeremiah loved him, too. And clearly so did the Browns. He went 8th overall.
I don't remember what your beef with him was, but for me it was his head. Immaturity, inconsistency, mental errors. And sure enough, he started as a rookie, as most 8th overall picks would, but was eventually replaced by an undrafted rookie. His own teammates called him a basket case. Couple years later he's out of the NFL.
I just think mental toughness and character are so underrated when it comes to these guys.
A good compare and contrast when it comes to this year's draft is Dalton Risner vs. Greg Little. Both tackles. Greg Little has more size, strength, balance, technique and athleticism than Risner could ever dream about, and for these reasons he'll probably go ahead of Risner. But I'll bet you dollars to donuts that Risner will be the better pro because of the little things.
I remember pounding the table for Donald but Im no draft guru by any means. When we traded back into the first and snaged Teddy I was estatic. I really thought he was going to be a star.
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