02-04-2022, 12:41 AM
(02-04-2022, 12:04 AM)Roland Wrote: But how many players taken after the fourth round do you really expect to stick each year? For the most part they're practice squad fodder and you hope to get one or two that can eventually make the active roster and contribute. Going through the list from recent years, it's pretty uncommon for 5th+ round picks to stick around and contribute for long and rare to get more than one.
2017 - Jordan Evans, Brandon Wilson, Mason Schreck - three backups
2012 - Marvin Jones, George Iloka - two decent starters
2009 - Kevin Huber, Bernard Scott - two role players
For sure. I don't disagree. I'm probably bigger into the draft than I am the NFL, and most fans would concede that anything from Day 3 is a bonus. I'm just saying that the drafts have not necessarily gotten a major lift from Zac as from Burrow. The only discrete data that we have on this is from 2019, which was very pedestrian. 2020 and 2021 are hard to gauge because we're now in the After-Joe era. Today's players and coaches are being thrown to the wolves and they're part of a winner, yes- but how much can be attributed to their performance in isolation of their quarterback's? It's hard to say.
We already know Joe can win games- potentially a Super Bowl- with a bottom five offensive line. Which makes it almost impossible to draw conclusions on what anyone else is doing. If he can win despite the guys standing right in front of him, it stands to reason he can win despite any of the other positions as well. I can't name any player on the 53 who's perceived to be having a "bad year"- is that because they're not, or because Burrow's extraordinary success is giving everyone a shiny paint job? I don't know.
