yeah yeah yeah ....... the Packers don't need no stinkin' TE in the 1st round - or the 2nd or the 3rd or the 4th.
Originally Posted by: texaspackerbacker
The bottom line, though, is that the best TEs now and in the past were NOT the hot shots coming out of college who got drafted high, but the Graham, Gates, Witten, Gronkowski (fairly high - late 2nd), Ben Coates, Shannon Sharpe, all the way back to John Mackey - mostly unknowns or low round picks. I'd rather Thompson scan the list of Power Forwards not good enough for the NBA than use a high round pick for a TE.
Originally Posted by: texaspackerbacker
Round, overall pick
Modern Era: Tight Ends (8) (as listed at the HOF website)
Dave Casper 1974-1984 2nd Round, #45
Mike Ditka 1961-1972 1st Round, #5
John Mackey 1963-1972 2nd Round, #19
Ozzie Newsome 1978-1990 1st Round, #23
Charlie Sanders 1968-1977 3rd Round, #74
Shannon Sharpe 1990-2003 7th Round, #192
Jackie Smith 1963-1978 10th Round, #129
Kellen Winslow 1979-1987 1st Round, #13
Gets skewed somewhat with the smaller number of teams. Mackey would have gone in the 1st round if drafted in the same spot today. Likewise, Jackie Smith goes in the 4th round today. Even going by the old numbering, you get the average of Round 3.375. Putting Mackey and Smith in their modern draft spots, you get
Round 2.5, #62.5 overall.
Players you listed
Jimmy Graham 3rd Round, #95
Antonio Gates UDFA
Jason Witten 3rd Round, #69
Rob Gronkowski 2nd Round, #42
Ben Coates 5th Round, #124
Assigned Gates 8 for draft round and #257 for overall draft position (the most draft picks in one draft the past five years was 256 picks in 09), you come to
Round 4.2, #117.4 overall.Pro Bowlers from the past 5 years
Jordan Cameron 4th Round, #102
Jason Witten 3rd Round, #69 X4
Jimmy Graham 3rd Round, #95 X2
Tony Gonzalez 1st Round, #13 X4
Rob Gronkowski 2nd Round, #42 X2
Antonio Gates UDFA X3
Aaron Hernandez 4th Round, #113
Jermaine Gresham 1st Round, #12 X2
Mercedes Lewis 1st Round, #28
Zach Miller, 2nd Round, #38
Dallas Clark, 1st Round, #24
Heath Miller, 1st Round, #30 X2
Vernon Davis, 1st Round, #6 X2
Kyle Rudolph, 2nd Round, #43
Julius Thomas, 4th Round, #129
Same number values for Gates as before. Included the number of times selected but didn't weigh those numbers extra for the sake of simplicity. Somebody more mathematically inclined could take a stab at it if they want to.
Round 2.53, #66.73 overallGreen Bays picks this year
Round 2, #53
Round 3, #85
Round 3, #98 (comp)
Round 4, #121Going by your criteria and not selecting a TE in the first 4 rounds, you've got Jackie Smith, Shannon Sharpe, Ben Coates and Antonio Gates to choose from. Not a bad group, but you've just eliminated 88% of the possible TEs mentioned above. Will we for sure get a Pro Bowler or a future Hall of Famer at those picks? No, but it sure seems if you want quality at the TE spot you gotta pay for it.
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