Top Draft Class

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(12-10-2022, 07:48 PM)jorev5 Wrote: 2020 Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, Logan Wilson, Akeem Davis Gaither, Marcus Bailey

2001 Justin Smith, Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, TJ Houshmandzadeh

It's probably not a good sign if you feel the need to put ADG and Bailey in there. There's also just no way to reasonably talk about how great a draft class from 3 years ago was if you want to compare them to guys who already finished their careers. 3 years into their careers, respectively, we thought Bates was one of the top safeties in the league and Jonah Williams was developing into a franchise LT. There's just no way to know how a guy's full career will end up this early on.

Burrow is always going to carry a lot of weight because franchise QBs are so valuable, but at the end of the day (for me) I have a hard time putting guys who could do it over guys who have done it. Burrow has the potential to be a HoFer, but Chad Johnson and Justin Smith already had careers where people were asking about the Hall of Fame when they retired and Rudi and Housh had solid careers with a Pro Bowl each.

It's a shame that Shipley blew his knee out after such a stellar rookie season, or 2010 might have to be thrown into the conversation with Atkins, Dunlap, and Gresham. 2006 with Whit, Jjo, Peko, Brooks, Rucker is an honorable mention, but probably lacks a true second elite level career after Whit to really compete.