The Best Picks in the 2010 NFL Draft
By jonfox
Dec 20, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) returns a punt past Denver Broncos long snapper Aaron Brewer (46) and defensive back Josh Bush (20) during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
With 4 full seasons in the books, it’s a fair time to check out the 2010 NFL draft and see who made the best and the worst draft picks during it. Today: the best picks.
Antonio Brown(#195 overall, Pittsburgh).
He’s arguably the best WR in the NFL right now, and he was also the 23rd WR taken in the 2010 draft. His production just in 2014 and 2015 is better than 10 of those WRs’ production for their careers combined.
He dropped because he was tagged with two red flags: he was a small school player and he was seen as “too small.” Anyone who watched his film could see that his size wasn’t an issue, he could clearly get off of presses.
It’s most likely that the small school tag hurt him: teams didn’t scout him because he went to Central Michigan and they certainly didn’t scout him enough to see that the “book” on him was flawed.
Geno Atkins(#120 overall, Cincinnati).
Atkins was a good player at UGA, but because of his size(6-1) he dropped all the way to the 4th round. What he did have is what scouts call “short area quickness.”
This is a wordy way of saying how quick can a player move his feet from one spot to another. Defensive tackles, offensive guards and running backs all need this to be a good player regardless of their other tools. See Thomas Rawls in Seattle: his speed and size isn’t anything special but he’s extremely quick in the hole.
Atkins has amazing short area quickness and now teams are overdrafting similarly quick defensive tackles, regardless of how skilled they are(Will Sutton for example). Atkins has a unique combo of this trait and good linemen skills. This adjustment by decision makers says it all about how great the Atkins pick was for the Bengals.
NaVorro Bowman(#91 overall, San Fran).
Bowman is one of the best inside backers in football, and when the 49ers had him and Willis together they alone could dominate defensively. Why was Bowman the 11th linebacker taken in 2010?
Bowman was tagged as having “off the field issues.” And fairly, he did have some issues. He was suspended by Penn State, got into multiple fights and admitted to teams that he was caught smoking pot while he was on suspension.
He’s been nothing but a model citizen, as far as we know for the 49ers. This isn’t advocacy for ignoring off the field issues but an advocacy that you have to see if the player will be honest about their issues (and take responsibility for their actions) and putting that player in a strong support system.
Next: A couple Tight Ends?