Wheatley. Wilhite, Butler and Dowling -- that's a handful and relatively recent. I didn't say he can't draft. I said the record at the position is mixed and this might be a generous characterization.Toe Nash said:Why do people keep saying this? Not to start another "can BB draft?" argument but he has grabbed Dennard, Ryan, and McCourty as 3 of the last 4 CBs he's drafted.
Here's all the CBs he's drafted and their round:
Antwan Harris (6th) (contributed a bit)
Brock Williams (3rd) (injury problems)
Leonard Myers (6th) (ST for one year)
Asante Samuel (4th)
Ellis Hobbs (3rd)
Mike Richardson (6th) (JAG)
Terrence Wheatley (2nd) (bust)
Jonathan Wilhite (4th) (JAG)
Darius Butler (2nd) (semi-bust)
Devin McCourty (1st) (big hit, moved to S)
Ras-I Dowling (2nd) (injuries)
Dennard (7th)
Ryan (3rd)
Also: Arrington (UDFA) and there may be other UDFAs I'm forgetting
13 total, so hardly a big enough sample to shake out the noise (as would be with any position). But that said there are 2 pro bowl level players here, 3 solid starters (if you count Ryan, who looks like he can be that) and a couple more guys who contributed off the bench or on special teams. The only busts were Wheatley, Butler or guys who got injured (which was obviously a risk they knew about with Dowling).
I don't see the evidence he can't draft CBs, even if you COULD draw that conclusion from such a small sample size.
And of all those people, who made a big impact as a rookie, which is increasingly the focus of many here, the near term?
Edit -- and if Ryan is such a game changer, why isn't the consensus here to just hand him coverage responsibilities. The AFC Championship game is not that far in the rear view mirror that we don't remember Manning carved them up the instant Talib went down .
This is not an argument for overpaying Talib, paying a haul for Revis, or anything else. It's just a recognition of concern, and the fact we are not likely to get plug-and-play in May's draft.