2011 NFL Draft Results: The Most Criticized Picks in the Draft
The 2011 NFL draft wrapped up on Sunday night and sent the world of professional football back into limbo. While this year is quite unlike any we've seen since 1987 it didn't change the fact that the draft is still the same show it's been all along.
For better or worse.
Every decision all 32 teams made from Thursday to Sunday will be judged by a horde or media and fans and we won't truly know the answers to any of the questions raised this weekend for a couple years at the least.
But that won't stop us from scoffing at Minnesota for the Christian Ponder selection with the 12h overall pick.
We'll question Atlanta's decision to pay a king's ransom to trade up for Julio Jones until he either proves himself as an elite wide receiver or something less.
Is any of this fair? In some ways, yes—in others ways, no. Often times the negative commotion of a pick is more a reflection of our opinion of a franchise's front office than anything else. But that doesn't free these rookies from taking a ton of heat.
Scrutiny is part of the game and like always—some players will get it worse than others. But who amongst the 254 players selected have been, and will continue to be, criticized more than anyone else?
7. Daniel Thomas, RB, Miami Dolphins (No. 62)
1 of 7
In Thomas' case the criticism comes from South Florida more so than the national media.
There are concerns over his speed—clocked anywhere from 4.5 to 4.7—his running style and junior college background.
Had Miami simply sat back and selected him maybe that conversation wouldn't have happened, but when a quarterback-starved team trades up for a running back and watches division rival New England select Ryan Mallett 12 picks later a career-long comparison is born.
The Dolphins are notorious for passing on quarterbacks and regretting it later. From Matt Ryan in 2008 to Drew Brees not once, but twice.
Thomas has to be better than Mallett as well as DeMarco Murray and Stevan Ridley—who were picked shortly after him. It's a lot of pressure to carry into a rookie season on a team without an established presence running the offense.
6. Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (No. 26)
2 of 7
Baldwin was one of the more surprising selections for the first round, coming off the board at No. 26 when most draft experts had pegged him as a mid-second-round pick comparable to nearly a half-dozen other wideouts.
It's a pick Kansas City immediately took heat for and not just because of how far the Chiefs reached for him.
Baldwin comes with some serious red flags. His work ethic and attitude have come under a lot of scrutiny and his college career at Pitt was far from a smooth ride.
First-round picks come with high expectations and there were a lot of detractors out there who questioned whether Baldwin was up for the challenge. Unfortunately for him, Kansas City cranked up the heat on this media fire when they made the choice to select him before he could slip into the second round.
5. James Carpenter, OG, Seattle Seahawks (No. 25)
3 of 7
One of the debates after Round 1 was who reached farther for their first-round pick, Seattle or Minnesota?
No doubt we'll be talking about that one for a while, but at least in the case of James Carpenter he's an offensive guard and not a quarterback.
The stakes are raised significantly once you start talking about quarterbacks.
But Carpenter was selected with the 25th overall pick when no one really had him graded as a first-round talent. He wasn't even the top offensive guard on most draft boards.
Offensive linemen are generally some of the safest positions to draft early—the success rate is higher than average. But in Carpenter's case he'll be held to the standards of a first-round pick and anything short of an All-Pro career will be held over his head for years.
.png?w=256)
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
4. Aldon Smith, DE, San Francisco 49ers (No. 7)
4 of 7
Smith was the first defensive end taken in a draft class stacked at the position. With Robert Quinn, Cameron Jordan, Ryan Kerrigan, Da'Quan Bowers and J.J. Watt all on the board, that's a pick the 49ers will be judged by for years.
Especially when the common belief was that this team needed an answer at quarterback not named Alex Smith.
So, like Daniel Thomas in Miami, Smith will forever be judged against Blaine Gabbert—the quarterback the 49ers passed on to make the selection.
The difference is with Smith and Gabbert you're talking about top-10 picks instead of second- and third-round selections.
Add in the fact that Smith isn't considered an elite pass rusher—an area he'll be expected to contribute—and there's little doubt he'll be the center of weekly criticism from the Bay Area press from the moment he takes the field.
3. Jake Locker, QB, Tennessee (No. 8)
5 of 7
Of all the players on this list Locker is the one we hesitate with. In some ways he reminds us of Tim Tebow with his athleticism; in other ways he reminds us of the classic tale of a quarterback bust.
Locker has been taking heat from the media for a year now; essentially from the day he bypassed the 2010 draft.
Do you think anyone is going to forget the fact that Locker had a career 55 percent completion rate at Washington and a record of 14-25 throughout his four years with the Huskies?
Or that Tennessee passed on Blaine Gabbert to pick him?
If you're Jake Locker, more than anything you're probably wishing Gabbert was off the board before the Titans went on the clock with the seventh overall pick.
2. Christian Ponder, QB, Minnesota (No. 12)
6 of 7
If it weren't for the millions of extra dollars he'll make as a top-12 pick we'd call Christian Ponder an unlucky guy.
Even with the added swelling he'll see in his bank account you almost have to feel sorry for him.
Ponder was simply not a first-round talent. It wasn't even close. But Minnesota either thought differently or panicked with the clock winding down, no trade partners in sight and the memory of Brett Favre's horrendous 2010 season fresh in its memory.
Of the four quarterbacks selected in the first round he'll have to prove more than anyone else that he belongs. At a position with the lowest success rate in the game, that's a terrible position to be in.
1. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta (No. 6)
7 of 7
We have to admit that the prospect of Matt Ryan under center, Michael Turner in the backfield and Roddy White and Julio Jones lining up on the outside is simply scary.
We're excited just to see the show, but the production costs on this one where through the roof.
The Falcons gave up their first-, second- and fourth-round picks in 2011 as well as their first- and fourth-round picks in 2012. When's the last time you saw a player, any player, go for such a high price?
Consider for a moment that All-Pro receiver Brandon Marshall was traded from Denver to Miami a year ago for a pair of second-round picks.
So in the case of Jones, not only are the Falcons taking heat for the outrageous price, but they just hung a sign around this rookie's neck saying he's one of the best players in the NFL. How is he supposed to live up to that when many experts are questioning if he'll ever have an elite pair of hands?
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
