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The 5 Worst Draft Picks in the Andy Reid Era
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It's almost a year to the day that I wrote up the Best and Worst picks made by Andy Reid. A lot of things have changed obviously, but most of the picks I will keep the same. I remember when I made this, I posted it on a bunch message boards. You wouldn't think, but I caught hell. Mostly for having Matt McCoy on the worst list. People were saying that it was way to early to tell with McCoy. That I didn't have a clue what I was talking about, and the funnest one, that McCoy would be a starter in 2007. But I had seen enough and knew there was not a chance in hell that he would ever amount to anything. The Eagles don't normally don't cut players for making a mistake. But Matt McCoy made so many mistakes in such a short period of time that they just had to cut their loses. He will be moving up a slot in this years worst. But pretty much, I will keep everything the same.
Posted on 3/14/07 , updated on 3/7/08 .
So what were the worst picks that Andy Reid has ever made since coming to the Eagles in 1999? He has made some interestingly bad choices and some very good choices over the past 7 seasons. For obvious reasons I'm not going to include last years draft picks in this list cause its just to early to tell how Bunkley and Justice will turn out. The Eagles best draft by far has to be the 2002 draft. In this draft they were able to get their 2 current starting corners Lito Sheppard & Sheldon Brown (probably in the top ten of CB duos in the league), Michael Lewis (who up til last year was a excellent safety for the Birds), Brian Westbrook (no need to say much there), and in the 7th round they picked up Raheem Brock out of Temple (who never did much for the Eagles, but was the starting DE for the Colts last season). Their worst draft could be 2005 were they had 11 picks and managed to only hit on maybe 3 players. Time will only tell for the 2005 draft picks. Some of those players are still developing, McCoy, Patterson, Considine. Yes I did cringe when I wrote McCoy as still developing, but in the Eagles eyes, he still is competing for a starting spot at LB. Now the 2000 draft was pretty bad but I really think the 2001 draft takes the crown for the worst. Freddie Mitchell, Quinton Caver, Derrick Burgess, Correll Buckhalter, AJ Feeley, and Tony Stewart. Now Burgess is a good find. But some how they managed to let him go and now hes a top ten DE. Buckhalter has been injured almost his whole career. AJ Feeley is an okay pick. Actually the biggest thing Feeley's done to help the Eagles is when he was traded to Miami for a 2nd round pick, which turned out to be Reggie Brown. That's not so bad. Its how they used their first two picks that gets me. First, the peoples champ himself Freddie Mitchell. I have one good thing to about FredEx. 4th and 26th. That's it. Oh yea, they could have picked Chad Johnson. That always stings a little. With their second round pick, Quinton Caver. Terrible. The Eagles have to be one of the worst teams when it comes to scouting LB's and WR's. They need to hand that job over to someone else. With that here's who I believe were the worst picks by the Eagles in the Reid era(99-05). Now I'm not really gonna harp on 3rd to 7th round picks cause those are some hard picks to choose, but mostly 1st and 2nd round picks that they missed on.
Top 5 Worst Picks
5) Barry Gardner, Northwestern, LB, 2nd round(35th Overall): I have a hard time putting BG here cause I actually met him and had the opportunity to play basketball with him a couple of times. Very nice guy, not the best linebacker. He had some good games here and there, but never was an impact on defense. Was always second fiddle to Trotter. Was not worth the 35th pick in the draft.
4) Quinton Caver, Arkansas, LB, 2nd Round(55th Overall): Played like 15 games for the Birds. Big, strong, fast, and had the football IQ of a 9 year old. Never made the adjustment coming out of college. Never made any kind of impact on defense. Lifetime special teams player. That's what you look for in your 2nd round draft pick. Yes some how I managed to find a picture of Caver.
[1] 3) Matt McCoy, San Diego St., LB, 2nd round(63rd Overall): I know I said, give the 2005 draft picks time to develop, but if you watched any of the Colts game last season, I think you would agree, you've seen enough. Route 51 was consistently on his back the entire game. And really it wasn't just that game. He plays out of position and can't shed a block to save his life. I'm sorry, bust. It took two seasons, but McCoy was cut after making multiple mistakes on special teams. The final straw was his roughing the kicker penalty which took the Eagles out of Vikings territory. After the play, McCoy was seen getting ripped by Brian Dawkins.
[2] 2) Freddie Mitchell, UCLA, WR, 1st Round(25th Overall): Ah yes the peoples champ. Yup the nick name given to him by none other than, himself. His top skills, charisma and personality, about 8th & 9th on the list of skills needed to be a great football player. Remember the days he would catch a 3 yard pass on 3rd and 8, then slap that belt on. Man he sure loved himself. Now Freddie had some good hands. But his attitude, and lack of speed are what killed him in the end. He always thought he was going to be an elite WR. He could talk the best game in town, but rarely backed it up. One time, he managed to step up to the plate, and yes I'll say it again. 4th and 26th. It deserves to be in bold every time its written. Other WR's the Eagles could have chosen. Steve Smith,Car (74th pick), Chad Johnson, Cin (36th pick), Reggie Wayne, Ind (30th pick), and Chris Chambers, SD (52nd pick). The Eagles would pay a hefty price right now to have pretty much any of those WR's with the exception of Chambers. If they had any ability to pick a WR, we would probably be in a lot better shape.
[3] 1) Jerome McDougle, Miami, DE, 1st Round(15th Overall): Where to start with McDougle. Well first things first, I really can't believe he is still on the Eagles at this point. I understand second chances, and the guy had some unfortunate things (getting shot right before training camp was about to be begin) happen to him. But enough is enough. This is a sport/business, and it is time to cut your losses with this guy. How long is upside going to carry you on the roster. With the Eagles, about 4 years. Every year its, McDougle is going to have a chance to start this year, next thing you know hes buried on the injury report or on the inactive list. Time for the permanent inactive list for Jerome. As of March 6th, 2008, McDougle is still on the Eagles active roster. Will this be the year he gets the boot. My money is on him getting injured the day before he's supposed to be cut, and the Eagles end up throwing more money in the toilet aka Jerome McDougle. McDougle's career statistics look like this: 35 total tackles, 3 sacks, and thats about it. To put that in some perspective. In his first three seasons DE Trent Cole a fifth round draft choice, has 178 total tackles, 25.5 sacks, and 1 touchdown. McDougle is due to make $1.9M this season and to date the Eagles have paid McDougle over $9M.
There are some honorable mentions. Corey Simon, Todd Pinkston, Reggie Brown, Bobbie Williams, Matt Ware. Bobbie Williams? Exactly, a 2nd round pick wasted away. Simon and Pinkston could be debatable depending on who you talk to.
Originally posted on: www.ihatephilly.blogspot.com
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