Okay, FWIW, here is why I think Ted Thompson isn't as good at drafting as people thinking, and, more importantly, he's not where he needs to be *given* his approach to *veteran* free agency:
1. First, my "grades", pick by pick. For 2013 and 2014 my rankings are more my "potential" evaluation. For earlier years, it is my assessment of the player's performance level in the NFL. I don't use "fail" or "bad" -- to me, "underwhelming" is sufficient. These are players that I don't think constituted enough value. "GPA" doesn't count 2013 and 2014; if it did, it would likely be a bit lower I suppose.
2. I do not consider "# of starts" relevant information. Draft too many underwhelmers and some of them get to start. Start too many underwhelmers and you don't have a good team.
3. I also did not adjust for position here. Had I, given how I value OL and DL relative to the other positions, most of the annual grades, and definitely the GPA, would be lower.
4. If we count "solid" as a hit, "extra base hit" as a double, and "underwhelming" as an out, then his batting average would be 0.287 and slugging percentage 0.564. To be honest, this was better than I thought -- not the "Dave Kingman of drafting" that I have labelled him in the past. Major league numbers, but is it enough to make the World Series if he only has one player in the bullpen because he doesn't use veteran free agency more? I don't think so.
(Aside: I didn't count either Murphy or Abbrederis (I didn't want to put a value on players that either didn't or havent played yet), Ted Thompson came up to bat 94 times. If I had to assign a value to either, I would have to put "underwhelming" on both, which would knock both BA and SP down.)
GPA (2005-2012): 2.54, or B-/C+
Year No. Round Pick Player Name Position College
Grade for 2014: Incomplete
2014 1 1 21 21 Ha Ha Clinton-Dix DB Alabama extra base hit
2 2 21 53 Davante Adams WR Fresno State solid
3 3 21 85 Khyri Thornton DT Southern Mississippi underwhelming
4 3 34 98 Richard Rodgers TE California solid
5 4 21 121 Carl Bradford LB Arizona State underwhelming
6 5 21 161 Corey Linsley C Ohio State underwhelming
7 5 36 176 Jared Abbrederis WR Wisconsin incomplete
8 6 21 197 Demetri Goodson DB Baylor underwhelming
9 7 21 236 Jeff Janis WR Saginaw Valley State underwhelming
Grade 2013: Incomplete
2013 1 1 26 26 Datone Jones DE UCLA underwhelming
2 2 29 61 Eddie Lacy RB Alabama extra base hit
3 4 12 109 David Bakhtiari T Colorado underwhelming
4 4 25 122 J.C. Tretter T Cornell underwhelming
5 4 28 125 Johnathan Franklin RB UCLA underwhelming
6 5 26 159 Micah Hyde DB Iowa solid
7 5 34 167 Josh Boyd DE Mississippi State underwhelming
8 6 25 193 Nate Palmer LB Illinois State underwhelming
9 7 10 216 Charles Johnson WR Grand Valley State underwhelming
10 7 18 224 Kevin Dorsey WR Maryland underwhelming
11 7 26 232 Sam Barrington LB South Florida underwhelming
Grade for 2012: C-
2012 1 1 28 28 Nick Perry DE USC underwhelming
2 2 19 51 Jerel Worthy DT Michigan State underwhelming
3 2 30 62 Casey Hayward DB Vanderbilt solid
4 4 37 132 Mike Daniels DT Iowa solid
5 4 38 133 Jeron McMillian DB Maine underwhelming
6 5 28 163 Terrell Manning LB North Carolina State underwhelming
7 7 34 241 Andrew Datko T Florida State underwhelming
8 7 36 243 B.J. Coleman QB Tennessee-Chattanooga underwhelming
Grade for 2011: D
2011 1 1 32 32 Derek Sherrod T Mississippi State underwhelming
2 2 32 64 Randall Cobb WR Kentucky homerun
3 3 32 96 Alex Green RB Hawaii underwhelming
4 4 34 131 Davon House DB New Mexico State underwhelming
5 5 10 141 D.J. Williams TE Arkansas underwhelming
6 6 14 179 Caleb Schlauderaff G Utah underwhelming
7 6 21 186 D.J. Smith LB Appalachian State underwhelming
8 6 32 197 Ricky Elmore DE Arizona underwhelming
9 7 15 218 Ryan Taylor TE North Carolina underwhelming
10 7 30 233 Lawrence Guy DT Arizona State underwhelmingf
Grade for 2010: B-
2010 1 1 23 23 Bryan Bulaga T Iowa solid
2 2 24 56 Michael Neal DT Purdue underwhelming
3 3 7 71 Morgan Burnett DB Georgia Tech solid
4 5 23 154 Andrew Quarless TE Penn State solid
5 5 38 169 Marshall Newhouse G Texas Christian underwhelming
6 6 24 193 James Stark RB Buffalo solid
7 7 23 230 C.J. Wilson DE East Carolina underwhelming
Grade for 2009: C+
2009 1 1 9 9 B.J. Raji DT Boston College underwhelming
2 1 26 26 Clay Matthews LB USC home run
3 4 9 109 T.J. Lang T Eastern Michigan solid
4 5 9 145 Quinn Johnson RB Louisiana State underwhelming
5 5 26 162 Jamon Meredith T South Carolina underwhelming
6 6 9 182 Jarius Wynn DE Georgia underwhelming
7 6 14 187 Brandon Underwood DB Cincinnati underwhelming
8 7 9 218 Brad Jones LB Colorado underwhelming
Grade for 2008: B+
2008 1 2 5 36 Jordy Nelson WR Kansas State home run
2 2 25 56 Brian Brohm QB Louisville underwhelming
3 2 29 60 Patrick Lee DB Auburn underwhelming
4 3 28 91 Jermichael Finley TE Texas extra base hit
5 4 3 102 Jeremy Thompson DE Wake Forest underwhelming
6 4 36 135 Josh Sitton T Central Florida home run
7 5 15 150 Breno Giacomini T Louisville underwhelming
8 7 2 209 Matt Flynn QB Louisiana State solid
9 7 10 217 Brett Swain WR San Diego State underwhelming
Grade for 2007: C+
2007 1 1 16 16 Justin Harrell DT Tennessee underwhelming
2 2 31 63 Brandon Jackson RB Nebraska underwhelming
3 3 14 78 James Jones WR San Jose State extra base hit
4 3 26 89 Aaron Rouse DB Virginia Tech underwhelming
5 4 20 119 Allen Barbre T Missouri Southern State underwhelming
6 5 20 157 David Clowney WR Virginia Tech underwhelming
7 6 17 191 Korey Hall LB Boise State underwhelming
8 6 18 192 Desmond Bishop LB California solid
9 6 19 193 Mason Crosby K Colorado extra base hit
10 7 18 228 DeShawn Wynn RB Florida underwhelming
11 7 33 243 Clark Harris TE Rutgers underwhelming
Grade for 2006 B
2006 1 1 5 5 A.J. Hawk LB Ohio State solid
2 2 15 47 Daryn Colledge T Boise State underwhelming
3 2 20 52 Greg Jennings WR Western Michigan extra base hit
4 3 3 67 Abdul Hodge LB Iowa underwhelming
5 3 11 75 Jason Spitz C Louisville underwhelming
6 4 7 104 Cory Rodgers WR Texas Christian underwhelming
7 4 18 115 Will Blackmon WR Boston College underwhelming
8 5 15 148 Ingle Martin QB Furman underwhelming
9 5 33 165 Tony Moll T Nevada underwhelming
10 6 14 183 Johnny Jolly DT Texas A&M Solid
11 6 16 185 Tyrone Culver DB Fresno State underwhelming
12 7 45 253 Dave Tollefson DE Northwest Missouri State solid (though elsewhere)
Grade for 2005: A. Two home runs, and a solid contributor.
2005 1 1 24 24 Aaron Rodgers QB California HOME RUN
2 2 19 51 Nick Collins DB Bethune-Cookman HOME RUN
3 2 26 58 Terrence Murphy WR Texas A&M no comment
4 4 14 115 Marviel Underwood DB San Diego State underwhelming
5 4 24 125 Brady Poppinga LB Brigham Young solid
6 5 7 143 Junius Coston C North Carolina A&T underwhelming
7 5 31 167 Michael Hawkins DB Oklahoma underwhelming [FWIW I loved this pick at the time]
8 6 6 180 Mike Montgomery DT Texas A&M underwhelming
9 6 21 195 Craig Bragg WR UCLA b underwhelming
10 7 31 245 Kurt Campbell DB Albany State underwhelming
11 7 32 246 William Whitticker G Michigan State
Originally Posted by: Wade