AGREED!!! A top five rookie selection will basically get paid the same ammount as the average of the top five veterans get paid at their same position. It's like putting a four or five year franchise tag on a guy who has never played one play in the pros. Even the guys picked 9th or 10th will be in the top five highest salaries of the team that picked them before they even take a snap. That is crazy money for a college kid. A draft bust can cramp a teams salary cap for five years.
if you were San Francisco, would you have wanted to trade out of the number one pick and got 3 players instead of Alex Smith?
He's statistically a top 5 pass protector. I'm sure you either wont acknowledge that or will take it for a spin... He has the potential to be the best pass protector in the league. Jet fans dont wanna acknowledge that b/c they want their players to be a bust. But it is what it is. He has one of the best pairs of feet in the NFL and his long arms make him a major challenge for any pass rusher.The numbers speak for themselves...and if you put on the film...the numbers are backed up. Ohh wait. We shouldve drafted Marcus Mcneil or Vernon Davis instead,right?
Rookie salaries this high are a slap in the face to veteran players. Guys who have proven themselves on the field and have earned their raises. Rookies are nothing but potential (which often goes unfulfilled). Do you remember when the Jets couldn't even cut DRob because the team's salary cap would take too much of a hit from his obscene bonus. It was like something from bizzaro world.
I would have BEFORE watching Smith stink it up in the NFL. He joins the likes of J Russell, Akili Smith, David Carr, Tim Couch, Joey Harrington and Vince Young in the "Drafted Out Of Necessity Rather Then Talent" department.
Vince Young should start trying to play another position right now. The handwriting is on the wall for him as a QB. He has football skills...bigtime....just not enough QB skills. That why they always say it when these guys are in college. That's why the Andre Wares and Charlie Wards of the world don't get drafted. Look at Tebow. You watch the games and think..."He can do this in the NFL!!!". But there's some guy on the sideline wearing a hat and chewing a cigar thinking..."No he can't"....and that guy is almost always right. It's a different game.
Well, Orlando Pace turned out to be pretty good. Protected Warner and blocked for Faulk well enough to win a Super Bowl and get to another one. Parcells ended up with Farrior and Leon Johnson and maybe someone else. Farrior is a good player and won a Super Bowl too, but he wasn't as important to a team as Pace was playing left tackle...and Johnson busted out by getting hurt............so let's not go too ga-ga on that tradedown.
I think it is a double edge sword. Sometimes you hit gold and get a franchise player (the Mannings, Fitzgerald, maybe Williams) Most of the time the player doesn't fullfill the team's expectations. It all comesdown to the team's scouts, if they are good enough you can constantly get good players, if they suck you will get bust after bust, just ask Detroit or a team in green and white in the pre Tanny era.
People putting Calvin Johnson down as a worthwhile top 10 pick need to ask themselves if anybody who contributes to 0-16 is ever worth a top 10 pick. My answer is no.
This problem will all go away when rookies start getting paid nothing as they should. It will also keep more of them in college too.
Why the NFL would have a salary cap on teams but not a descent cap on draftees/rookies is beyond stupid. These kids hold teams for ransom after the draft. Pay or I won't play.
Your Fighting the good fight Kurt, but tis a losing battle against those who only want to see thier predicitons of bust of failure come through. He gave up 2 sacks all year. Thats a good pass protector at any position, but gret for a LT who is facing the other teams best rusher ever week. The bias against him is ridiculous.
Here's what Calvin did this year: REC 78 YDS 1,331 AVG 17.1 TDS 12 That's on a team with no QB, no running game and no other serious receivers. His productivity was amazing given the circumstances.
Yes, but obviously amazing productivity from a wide receiver has minimal impact on how a team does on the field. You should use top 10 picks to take players that materially advance your chances to win. That means trench players, particularly pass rushers and left tackles, and Quarterbacks.
Your answer is stupid. He was the only offensive threat on one of the worst teams in NFL history and still managed to finish top 5 in receiving yards and Tied for first in the NFL with 12 TD's. He is worthy of a top 5 pick. He has ever tool you could want in a wideout and produces with all time greats like Dan Orlovsky, Jon Kitna, and Daunte Culpepper throwing to him this year. Give it a rest.
