2011 NFL Draft Results: Who Got Screwed This Year?
With the 2011 NFL draft in the books we look back on the three day event and ask ourselves a multitude of questions.
Some prospects got exactly what they wanted and saw the realization of lifelong dreams.
Others weren't so lucky. Whether it was a slide down draft boards due to injury or character concerns or simply being drafted into an unfavorable system there's always some draft picks and prospects that didn't get a fair roll of the dice.
Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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We're all aware of Da'Quan Bowers story by this point. The Clemson All-American defensive end was at one point considered a lock to be a top five overall draft pick.
Instead he slipped to the middle of the second round, going 51st overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With serious concerns over his surgically repaired knee that will likely require additional surgery sometime over the next few seasons, Bowers is a prospect every team balked at.
For the Bucs, the combination of first round selection Adrian Clayborn of Iowa and Bowers should pack a serious punch. How long Bowers can sustain his professional career is another question, however.
Mark Herzlich, LB, Boston College (Undrafted)
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Mark Herzlich is a bold young man who's story of perseverance and courage is something anyone can be touched by.
The star linebacker from Boston College played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2006, earning Freshman All-American honors. As a junior he emerged as one of the top defensive players in the nation and finished the season as a First-Team All-American and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
In May of 2009 Herzlich announced that he had been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. He missed the entire 2009 season as a result, but never let his situation get the best of him.
He returned to the field last season cancer free, winning the Rudy Award and the ACC's Brian Piccolo Award.
Still adjusting to a year away from the game, Herzlich wasn't as effective as he'd been in the past, but there's no denying his skills, character and leadership qualities. He's exactly the type of player every NFL franchise should want on it's team.
The fact that he went undrafted was really disappointing. Herzlich deserved better.
Christian Ponder, QB, Minnesota
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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.
But what happens if things don't click on the field? How long will it be before the media and fans turn on him? Sure, things could work out just fine if Ponder plays up to his draft position, but there's a reason he was graded as a second round pick.
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.
How lucky will Ponder be that he was picked 12th overall with massively higher expectations than he expected if he turns out to be anything less than an elite quarterback.
Because when you get drafted that high that's exactly what's expected of you.
First round quarterbacks have an extremely low success rate in the NFL yet come with higher expectations than anyone. Can you think of the last time a quarterback picked in any later round took heat like a first round quarterback who didn't pan out?
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Kendric Burney, CB, North Carolina (Undrafted)
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Kendric Burney is likely happy for his eight North Carolina teammates who's names were called throughout the draft, but at the same time you can't fault him if he's a little jealous.
Considered by many to be a fourth round talent, but as an undersized prospect with limited speed it seems NFL teams ultimately slotted him at the backend of their draft boards and disregarded a very successful career.
The burn of going undrafted is bad enough, but when you're teammates are flying off the board it has to sting a bit more.
Greg McElroy, QB, New York Jets
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McElroy sat patiently on his couch with his family and friends as camera stared him in the face for three days.
After a very successful career at Alabama that included a national championship in 2009, McElroy was a quarterback story we've seen a few times before.
Great college quarterback, doesn't have the skill set for the NFL.
But in McElroy's case the judgement is harsh. He's the ultimate team guy, a leader and a proven winner. As Scouts Inc said "The type of player you want on your team."
McElroy drew comparisons to Chad Pennington, who had a solid yet injury prone career. Pennington was a first round pick though. McElroy had to wait until the seventh round to hear his name called and now heads to a situation in New York where the Jets will bury him on the depth chart behind Mark Sanchez.
Jimmy Wilson, CB, Miami Dolphins
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Jimmy Wilson has a background that jumps out at you quite unlike anyone else in the 2011 draft class.
During his first three seasons at Montana, from 2004 through 2006, Wilson had developed into one of the best defensive players in the Big Sky Conference, and many considered him to be a midround pick once he headed off for the NFL draft.
But tragedy struck first. In the summer of 2007 Wilson got into an altercation with his Aunt's boyfriend, Kevin Smoot.
In the struggle Smoot pulled a pistol which accidentally went off and fatally wounded him. Wilson was charged with murder and could not pay his two million dollar bail; waiting in his jail cell for two years as his first trial ended in a hung jury and the retrial resulted in Wilson being acquitted of the crime.
In 2010, Wilson finally returned to the football field and had a very productive senior season back at Montana. However, his past deterred most teams from pursuing the talented defensive back until Miami selected him with the 235 pick at the backend of the seventh round.
Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
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Julio Jones would have likely been selected with the sixth overall pick regardless of who was on the clock.
It just so happens that Atlanta made a very bold move trading up for him at the cost of a king's ransom.
Giving up their their first-, second- and fourth-round picks in 2011 as well as their first- and fourth-round picks in 2012 the Falcons hung a sign around this rookie's neck saying he's one of the best players in the NFL.
Sure, he'll join one of the top offenses in the NFL, but at that price the expectations are through the roof for a prospect at a position that historically takes two or three seasons to truly develop at.
Can anyone say realistically say things would have been the same in Cleveland?
Clint Boling, OG, Cincinnati Bengals
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Boling joins Ryan Mallett and Da'Quan Bowers as one of the players who had a heavy fall down draft boards.
But unlike Mallett and Bowers who spent months in the limelight, the offensive guard at Georgia had a much quieter yet very productive college career.
Rated as one of the top interior lineman in the draft Boling graded out nearly equally to Alabama's James Carpenter. Carpenter was selected by Seattle with the 25th pick.
Boling, however, watched as another 75 names were called before Cincinnati collected him with the 101st pick.
Dion Lewis, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
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Dion Lewis simply shouldn't have declared for the 2011 draft. He bypassed two years of college eligibility after a very unproductive season as a sophomore.
We can only speculate as to the reasoning, but you have to question whoever was advising him to make this decision.
Lewis has talent, there's no doubt about it. The numbers from his All-American freshman season were no fluke. The chips didn't fall his way in 2010 though and another year in college could have restored his once stellar reputation.
Had he stuck around at Pitt, Lewis would have had the chance to let his play on the field carry him into the first round rather than drop all the way to the fifth round with a difference of possibly tens of millions in his first contract.
Jonas Mouton, OLB, San Diego Chargers
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The San Diego selection of Jonas Mouton wreaks of a bad fit. Mouton has talent, he wouldn't have been a second round pick otherwise.
But he's a 4-3 outside linebacker all the way, it's where he thrives and belongs.
At 6'1" and 239 lbs he simply doesn't have the size to play there in San Diego's 3-4 defense. They'll likely slot him in as an inside linebacker and hope for the best.
That's not playing to his strengths though and it could be years and a change of scenery before Mouton realizes his potential at the next level.
Ryan Mallett, QB, New England Patriots
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Ryan Mallett could be considered amongst the prospects in the best situations from this draft class.
Yes, he missed out on millions of dollars and had an embarrassing fall from grace as he plummeted into the third round and saw six quarterbacks taken ahead of him.
But he also landed in New England where Bill Belichick and Tom Brady present arguably the best coach-mentor combination Mallett could have hoped for.
The problem is no matter how much Mallett learns from Brady and develops in Belichick's system it doesn't change the fact that his career will consist of carrying a clipboard on the sidelines till the middle of the decade.
All Undrafted Rookie Free Agents
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In a normal year the draft is immediately proceeded with a flurry of free agent signings, many of whom find themselves on rosters throughout training camp and the preseason.
These guys might not have been drafted, but most of them who receive free agent contracts get just as fair a chance to catch on with an NFL team as any of the prospects drafted in the later rounds.
But with the league and it's players tied up in court, it could be a month or two - possibly much longer - before teams are able to add free agents.
By then we could already be in August and an entire crop of rookie free agents might miss their chance at an NFL career all together.
The Fans
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Sticking with the lockout theme which unfortunately dominates NFL talk there's another party in this matter that often seems to get overlooked by the millionaires and billionaires duking it out for a $9 billion a year industry.
The fans.
Not only do they have to hear a debate between parties they really don't feel sorry for, but America's favorite sport is in jeopardy of missing game this year.
We began the draft with one set of rules, new rules kicked in on day two only to be replace by the court's decision to reinstate the lockout by day's end and then we ended the draft knowing that it will be a very long time before NFL football kicks off again.
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