Analyzing donohoe's drafts

[Tar Heel Bill]

In looking at Donohoe's drafts over the past 5 years, i have concluded that his first year, 2001, was a good year and it was all downhill after that.

2001- Clements, Henry, Schobel, Edwards, Jennings

2002- Mike Williams - Could have had John Henderson or D.Freeney; Josh Reed and Ryan Denney in 2nd round. What was he smoking during that round? Could have had Clinton Portis, Fonoti, Deion Branch, Will Weatherspoon. And Coy Wire in the 3rd round? What was he drinking? Could have had pass rusher Alex Brown or Randy McMichael at tight end.

2003 - McGahee - Kelsey in the 2nd round(Could have had Jason Witten or Osi Umenyiora, DE, of Giants. Donohoe continues with the fine ganja......Crowell in 3rd and McGee in 4th.

** Bills should trade all 2nd round picks for more picks. Why is it that this team always drafts a bust in 2nd round, except for Thurman Thomas.***

2004 - Lee Evans and Losman in round one - Jury is still out, but could have had Vince Wolfork. And Tim Anderson in 3rd round.

 

Considering Donohoe drafted Josh Reed, Kelsey, Ryan Denney, and Coy Wire in 2nd rounds, not very impressive.

 

[2003Contenders]

I'd be inclined to flip this and say that he had one BAD year.

 

2001: As you stated, this was by all accounts a very good draft. TD moved up and down the board -- and wound up converting our original first rounder into Clements, Henry and Brandon Spoon.

 

2002: While I agree that this draft was TD's worst, primarily because of Mike Williams' being a bust, I think in hindsight that there was some wheat amongst the chaff. Recall that we were desperate for a QB in that draft -- and TD wound up trading for Drew without parting with a single pick in that draft. I know I know... he did trade away 2003's #1 pick, which could lead to another discussion regarding the value of trading Drew for the 2003 #1 (which I personally STILL feel was a good move). I still feel that Josh Reed holds some value, so I am unwilling to call him a bust, especially considering how much better he looked last year. The Denney pick wasn't a good one, but I think it was more TD trying to stick it to the Steelers, who were all set to take him. The Wire pick (Why is he still even on the team?) wasn't a very good one either.

 

2003: TD deserves high marks here for McGahee and McGee alone. Remember that we wound up with Willis BECAUSE of TD's decision to trade away Peerless, which was a great move. You said it yourself: four starters in McGahee, Crowell, Kelsay, and McGee. Granted, Kelsay hasn't lived up to expectations. But I'd have to definitely give this draft a passing grade.

 

2004: Evans has already proven his worth. If JP ever comes around, then this could prove to be a VERY GOOD draft. Tim Anderson showed me some real progress as the season wore on. Finally, remember the number of promising UDFA's that TD brought in that year (including Peters, Baker, and Greer) too.

 

2005: It is simply too early to tell. If Roscoe is the next Santana Moss we may be thanking TD for his farewell draft. It's too bad that Everette got hurt so early on, as we never really got a chance to see if he could be the answer to our non-pass-catching TE problem we've dealt with for so many years now. Let's hope he's ready to go by training camp. For all of our cries for OL help, what if Duke Preston turns out to be a reliable interior lineman? Or Geisinger? While it's true that this draft didn't help us right away, there are very few players taken in ANY NFL draft that make an immediate contribution. Considering that we had no #1 pick, that is even moreso the case. In that way, the final grade for the 2005 draft, much like the 2004 draft, rests on whether or not Losman is able to get the job done.