69 draft picks since 2015 how many are top guys, better than avg? answer under 10( I will use 10 for the hit rte. To compare 2010-2014 we had 28 draft picks and out of 28, 10 ended up top guys and many more better than AVG. so we went from a 36% hit rate to 14% not great(hit rate based on % of top guys). Hence why I have little faith and the hit rate son FAs is even worse
You can say what you want KEasley but their draft was significantly different than in past years that it would be easy to conclude that they were forced to quit effing around stupid flyer picks in early rounds or to accept the suggestions of consultants etc.
I have very little issue with the latest draft except maybe taking a RB too early and maybe nit taking a flyer on a QB late. No real issues with who they took and my positional concerns are relatively minor. A very UN Seahawk like draft.
Again, your assessment is based on an assumption that they were 'effing' around. Two things - first, and this was talked about on one of the latest Bob and Wyman segments - that the difference this year had to do with the makeup of the staff (personnel and coaching) - better staff, better coaches with input, better selections. It hinted at the democratic process employed by Pete and the Hawks in most things. When they're in the draft room, they give a lot of weight to what the guys who are coaching specific position groups say. Woukd stand to reason that the better those guys are , the better the decisions.
Also, they've been hitting solid drafts since 2020. And 2019 looks like it wasn't as bad as originally thought either.
Seriously... 2020 was very, very good-
J Brooks - All pro potential
D Taylor - All Pro potential
D Lewis - some in the NFL thought he was the best rookie lineman drafted after his 1st season
C Parkinson - solid pick, was just injured
Dee Jay Dallas - solid contributor at that spot
Alton Robinson - looks to be ready to contribute
Freddie Swain- our #3 guy
Stephen Sullivan - not on the team, but still playing
By my count 7/8 contributing, high contributing , and potential all-pro players (Brooks and Taylor - Brooks received an All Pro vote last year). But again. This draft like early Hawks drafts was polluted by the perception that the FO had lost its way. So when we picked Brooks... they should have picked Queen. When they took Taylor, they reached, etc, etc, etc.
Parkinson received rave reviews from scouts and coaches, but was unfortunately injured the Hawks couldn't help that. Now, he looks to be 1/3 of a dynamic TE group.
2021...
Eskridge - The only question is whether he can stay healthy. Shane is incredibly high on him. I'll rely on his opinion over anyone else's, considering it's his offense.
Tre Brown - This dude was nothing but electric before he was hurt. Considered our likely starter when he's back. GREAT PICK
S Forsythe - rotational player at the moment and battling for RT
Hits on 2/3, pending injury returns, plus a solid depth contributor in the 6th round in Forsythe. AND, when you factor in that we added J Adams... the Only reason he had a down season last year was because Norton used him incorrectly... about as idiotic a utilization as when we used J Graham as an inline blocker. It wasn't Jimmy's fault, and it's not Jamals.
But this draft has been canned for only netting 3 players and the perception that we gave up too much for Adams. But if you use the baseline measure that if you have 7 picks in a draft, that you want 2, hopefully 3 to start and overall hit on 4 out of 7, it looks like Eskridge will fight for our #3 wr, Adams is a starter, Tre Brown is assumed to start if healthy, and Forsythe is fighting for playing time and at minimum will be solid depth.
4 keepers, 3 of which potentially start.
2019:
Of the 11 picks we had, we nabbed 4 starters / solid contributors and a potential All Pro
Dk Metcalf
Cody Barton
Marquis Blair
Phil Haynes
Ugo Amadi
Travis Homer
Some will claim that Cody is just a starter by default. I think this year, he'll show the league how solid a guy he can be. Intelligence and speed... he'll be good.
M Blair - the dude is a difference maker who just hasn't been able to stay on the field, in one case, due to just a freak injury.
Metcalf - tops in the league
Haynes - solid depth piece
Amadi- solid contributor
Homer - solid depth - special teams for a 6 round pick
So 6/11... better than 50%.
2018 - not as spectacular a haul, but he picked up:
R Penny
W Dissly
M Dickson
Jamarco Jones
4 out of 9. Not great, but not the abomination that you'd think, listening to conventional wisdom around here.
So in the years PRIOR to 2022, the draft hailed as the first one where we got 'back on track' and stopped effing around, out of 31 picks, we added 19 guys, some of which are likely future all Pro based on what they've already shown, starters, solid depth, and top special teams contributors. That's 61% of the guys they picked, playing considerable roles on the team.
So I have to ask, by what measure is that a FO that didn't know what it was doing?
And 2022...
If you add in the projected contributors at this point...
Cross - starter
Walker - future starter
Mafe - likely starter
Lucas - likely starter
Bryant - likely starter
Woolen - making a strong case...
All look likely to contribute right away, saying nothing about the others like T Smith who have also shown well in limited looks.
So that's 6 of 9 potential starters / solid contributors. So yeah, better than past averages (2020 was better), but with the benefit of drafting significantly higher and a draft that overall featured a ton of great talent at several positions.
So including 2022, as it stands right now, 25 out of 40 players added that are solid contributors, starters and 3 potential All pros, 4 if you include Dickson
Plus Harris, Fant, and Jamal Adams, with Lock as a wildcard.
That would make it 28 out of 40 players drafted, acquired via trade for picks, starting or contributing significantly.
If LJ Collier can do anything, it would be 29 of 40.
Is that the train wreck prior to 2022 that it's been made out to be?