With One Exception, 2009 Draft A Washout
May 22nd, 2012
Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik wants to emulate the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers, annual solid teams if not Super Bowl winners whose rosters are all but totally comprised of players the team drafted or players picked up walking the streets.
It’s a laudable goal to obtain. That’s largely how the Bucs of the 1990s were built.
To do this, one needs to hit on quite a few draft picks.
So far, three years after the 2009 draft, with one exception, that draft is pretty much a washout.
After the trade of Kellen Winslow last night, who Dominik acquired with a second and fifth round pick, Joe decided to go back and see how Dominik’s first draft as Bucs general manager has played out.
It’s not pretty. Aside from first round pick Josh Freeman, there was not a consistent starter selected that year.
1. Josh Freeman, QB.
2. (Traded for Winslow)
3. Roy Miller, DT, who has never been much of a factor and is a bubble player this offseason.
4. Sackless Kyle Moore, DE, cut by the Bucs last year, still searching for his first NFL sack.
5. Xavier Fulton, OL, no longer with the Bucs.
7. Fan favorite E.J. Biggers, CB. After a decent 2010, he was terrible last year. Perhaps with a good coach this year he may improve?
7. Sammie Stroughter, WR. Good guy, decent wide receiver but injury-plagued through his first three seasons and with the addition of free agent Vincent Jackson, may be on the bubble as well.
At least by trading a second round pick for Winslow, Dominik got much, much more out of a second-round pick than Chucky ever did (think the bad Dexter Jackson and Sabby the Goat).
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:09 am
As a season ticket holder, I got to go on a tour of One Buc Place and have a QandA with Mark Dominik where he took questions from the fans. This was at the beginning of the Youth Movement. I asked Dominik directly, if the whole team is being built around Josh Freeman, why don’t you go out and get him some polished weapons to make his growth that much easier?
Dominik’s response to me was that he was looking to build the Bucs in the mold of the 90’s Cowboys or 00’s Colts: Draft a QB, a RB, and a WR and let them all grow together.
I didn’t get a follow up question because I was in a room full of people, but I wanted to counter with: “The major flaw in that plan is you have to draft Hall of Famers and NOT MISS.”
Well…. here we are in 2012, looking at 2009 and Dominik has YET to prove that he has an eye for talent. By my count, he has drafted TWO legitimate starters (Biggers isn’t a starter). I see FREEMAN and I see CLAIBORNE legitimate NFL players. Everyone else, the jury is either still out on or is a bust.
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:28 am
First of all, I commend you for posting this because I have been critical of your penchant to call Dom a “rock star” despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary.
I get your explanation – which was that the media was eagerly chasing him during the 2010 draft and Dom was interviewing nationally etc. However, this explanation makes no sense to me as Dom was coming off a 3-13 debacle campaign.
Every team’s GM with the #3 overall is chased by the media for information – pre and post draft. This has nothing to do with Dom. Calling him a rock star connotes fame due to popularity instead of infamy due to failure.
I would also add to your story above:
How has the 2010 draft turned out so far? Particularly if you consider the contract $ spent and committed on those 4 early draft picks: Gerald, Price, Benn, Myron Lewis.
Horrible so far.
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:30 am
Fan favorite EJ Biggers, now that’s funny Joe…
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:35 am
Missing on 3rd and 4th that first year is painful. We have the same basic scouts that we had through the Allen/ gruden era and it shows.
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:40 am
McCoy has played well when healthy, If he plays all year, he will be dominant. Price has had freak injuries and has the heart and skills, he has also been hurt and I feel the jury is still out on him. Benn has shown flashes of brilliance and will undoubtedly benefit from a vet like VJ to draw attention from he and Mike Williams. Both Benn and Williams will surprise this year. Lewis has not wowed anyone yet and if he doesn’t improve soon, he will be gone. It is not our fault Suh was taken ahead of us. We had to take Gerald. Any team picking in our spot needing a defensive lineman would have drafted him too at #3 overall. The draft is a gamble because you just never know how the jump to nearly double the games and the possibility of a player being hampered by injuries will affect your team. The Bucs have been very unlucky to say the least. Ask yourself, does this have something to do with the former regime and the workout schedule/trainers or are the Bucs just snake bit. I think Schinao will figure out what kind of practice regimen will work and hopefully keep our players on the field. Go Bucs!
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:44 am
@Thomas I think 3 years is a good time frame to evaluate a draft in reality. So next year at this time I think we will know a lot more. Going into last year looking at 2009 draft you could say EJ was a player on the rise, Sammy had a solid spot and was useful in different areas, Miller was solid if unspectacular in 2010 etc. I think you need more evidence because clearly we saw the regression of everyone of the 2009 class in this last year (along with so many others). My point is, I think it’s best to give three years to evaluate a class.
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:10 am
EJ Biggers is a fan favorite? Fans of the other team, right?
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:11 am
Washout…like the guy with wall eye vision in Hot Shots
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:13 am
Ruud trueblood and sears were 2nd rounders too. No big winners in that group by any means. But ruud and Sears contributed to playoff appearances. Trueblood still starts.
Price Benn and Bowers havent proven much so far.
Rock hasnt knocked any out of the park in second round.
Draft is a crap shoot and hindsight is 20/20 whether its Dom or Bruce/chucky.
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:30 am
I think we’ve seen enough of Dom to know he hasn’t gotten any better. this has to be his last year. He’s holding this club back and his constant mistakes have set us back for years.
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:40 am
Also, these Dominik draft picks had no offseason one year and had terrible coaching and schemes.
Let’s give them…..say…..a chance!?
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:49 am
Jarret, I think that was some sarcasm by Joe on Biggers, who constantly gets railed on this site by posters.
This draft was ugly there’s no way around it. But the draft really is so much of a crap-shoot. I’m not as cynical as some posters on this site, because I believe the previous coaching staff couldn’t develop a plan to walk out of a room with a clear-path to an exit if they had to.
Dominik isn’t totally to blame. He was just as inexperienced as Raheem was, and was put in charge of grocery shopping for an incompetent chef. I believe Dominik has gotten better, and believe the new regime under Schiano has him shopping for the better ingredients now. Gone are the gummy bears, and in are the high protein-fiber rich guys.
By any expert’s measure, we have had the best offseason in the NFL. Last year’s draft I believe was good, and unlike others, I believe the top 2 draft picks from 2010 are great talents, who simply just need to stay healthy to realize their so far unrealized potential.
Dominik may not be the best GM ever, but he has gotten better, and he certainly isn’t the worst. Would anyone here prefer Jeff Ireland? The deceased Al Davis? Dan Snyder? Didn’t think so.
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:18 am
Any expert said we had best offseason?
Hmmmmmmmmmm
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:54 am
The first three years, Dominik has failed to build through the draft. But just by what he did this off season, gets him a pass for those three years.
Jackson, Nicks, Wright, Barron, David, Martin > Freeman, Blount
Team is improved leaps and bounds.
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:58 am
Butch Davis for GM in 2013 anyone?
May 22nd, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Adam Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:09 am
Well…. here we are in 2012, looking at 2009 and Dominik has YET to prove that he has an eye for talent. By my count, he has drafted TWO legitimate starters (Biggers isn’t a starter). I see FREEMAN and I see CLAIBORNE legitimate NFL players. Everyone else, the jury is either still out on or is a bust.
.
I disagree. First…talent doesn’t always mean starters. Backups count as well. While I agree that Biggers is not starting material…he DID start…which makes him a starter. Just not a good one.
McCoy is a valid starter…just unhealthy thus far. But then again, look at how many years it took Matt Stafford to have a healthy season…and he’s certainly a quality starter when healthy.
So far as 2009, Roy Miller is not a starter, but he is quality backup. He was a third rounder, so it could have gone either way.
Sammie Stroughter IS NOT a bust. How can a 7th rounder be a bust?! Sammie is a quality player…he just was not given the same opportunities to prove it after 2010’s draft. Is he a starter? Who knows? Maybe, maybe not down the road. But either way he is NOT a bust.
May 22nd, 2012 at 5:38 pm
There is a big reason Rockstar Dom signed big free agents this offseason…He knows he’s under the HOT seat and this could be his last year, if it ends up being a 6-10 season or worse. Also being aggressive in the draft, Rockstar has put all his the chips in.
The Ravens, Steelers, Packers who pick at the bottom half of the draft every year, have proven their scouts and managemnt are a step up from other teams.