The Best Picks in the 2010 NFL Draft
By jonfox
Nov 29, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham (88) celebrates after a third quarter reception against the Pittsburgh Steelers at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Pittsburgh, 39-30. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Jimmy Graham(#95 overall, New Orleans).
To be fair, a lot of people missed Jimmy Graham. He was a physical project with a ton of upside who played one season of college football and racked up 17 catches.
The Saints decided to take a risk on him figuring that he could be yet another guy who made the transition from basketball to football at TE.
Graham has been struggling in Seattle but he still has that amazing talent that made him a superstar.
Rob Gronkowski(#42 overall, New England).
Another tight end who dropped in the draft relative to their eventual talent level was the Gronk. He dropped because he was tagged with two flags: injury prone and that he was lazy.
Bill Belichick spoke to the Arizona coaches who told him that he wasn’t lazy so Bill decided to risk the injuries. Gronk had just missed his junior year with back surgery.
Despite many injuries in the pros, the Gronk is the best tight end in football and who knows how many general managers and scouts lost their jobs because they passed on him.
Kam Chancellor(#133 overall, Seattle).
Chancellor has been proving people wrong for his whole football career. He was a 2 star quarterback recruit coming out of high school who moved to the defense so he could get on the field.
He dropped to the 5th round in 2010 because teams thought he was too slow for strong safety and too small for linebacker. The Seahawks created a defense to hide his flaws and maximize his strengths. Having a great coverage safety in Earl Thomas(whom they also took in this draft) helped this transition.
Now they have arguably one of the best strong safeties in football and many teams rue the day(s) that they passed on him.
Greg Hardy(#175 overall, Carolina).
Hardy was a late pick for the same reason a lot of people want him out of the league now: he’s a royal jerk to everyone. There is a difference between being a domestic abuser and just jerk, but the Ole Miss coaches had nothing but bad things to say about him when NFL teams asked.
No one ever doubted his talent, even in the 2010 draft but it was a question of dealing with him. Carolina dumped him when their support system broke down and Hardy was suspended. Dallas, well let’s just say that they have lower standards.
Why were these guys overlooked, sometimes multiple times? It’s pretty simple: teams made the mistake of being too risk adverse. The worst picks in that draft generally had the same issue: they were by in large bigger name college players who won many awards or played on successful teams. These best picks were often obscure players who played on smaller programs.
NFL decision makers can be risk adverse: early in the draft when you need to take the most likely solid starter. However after the middle part of the 2nd round, the smart decision makers see the draft for what it truly is: lottery tickets. All these picks were flyers picks by smartly run teams who saw that if they could develop the talent, they would find a diamond.
Take Antonio Brown: Pittsburgh didn’t draft him expecting to get another Mike Wallace. They looked at his skill set and saw a slashing slot WR who you need to put the ball in his hands and let him run the open field. If they tried to make him a deep ball wideout, they wouldn’t have gotten much value from him. But they took their time and put him in a position to succeed.