3 years later, was the 2016 draft that bad?

[mlhouse]

I agree with the MoBo.. worth a risk. and they didn't waste a 2nd year on him.

Beavers is the only major wiff.. need more out of a 4th rounder.

Treadwell. I wonder how good he could have been if he didn't have Diggs/Thielen ahead of him. when they are catching 200 balls how many are left for him? So far a fail, but I wonder if a change of scenery he couldn't be an alright WR (not 1st round though)

1. No, "MoBo" was never worth the risk. You could see he did not have the skills and experience. His highlights looked great but that was because he was playing against guys that would be backups on a bad D3 team. IF they wanted him, they should have brought him in as a UDFA, not used a draft pick on him.

2. Obviously Beavers was a whiff, but many draft "analysts" thought he was rising up the board. I saw mocks were he was a 2nd rounded. They were talking about what a great athlete he was; I could tell those people never saw him play a down.

3. I don't know about Treadwell. I was a huge fan and thought it was a great draft pick. He showed skills, particularly ball skills, that made him an elite college wide receiver. But when he played in the NFL, it seemed like he forgot all of them.

[mankatobjr]

I agree with the MoBo.. worth a risk. and they didn't waste a 2nd year on him.

Beavers is the only major wiff.. need more out of a 4th rounder.

Treadwell. I wonder how good he could have been if he didn't have Diggs/Thielen ahead of him. when they are catching 200 balls how many are left for him? So far a fail, but I wonder if a change of scenery he couldn't be an alright WR (not 1st round though)

1. No, "MoBo" was never worth the risk. You could see he did not have the skills and experience. His highlights looked great but that was because he was playing against guys that would be backups on a bad D3 team. IF they wanted him, they should have brought him in as a UDFA, not used a draft pick on him.

2. Obviously Beavers was a whiff, but many draft "analysts" thought he was rising up the board. I saw mocks were he was a 2nd rounded. They were talking about what a great athlete he was; I could tell those people never saw him play a down.

3. I don't know about Treadwell. I was a huge fan and thought it was a great draft pick. He showed skills, particularly ball skills, that made him an elite college wide receiver. But when he played in the NFL, it seemed like he forgot all of them.

A 6th round flyer is hardly worth a risk... especially on a team that didn't have many open roster spots. He had a small chance of being good, but what if he had been? The Vikings had first crack at him. Good teams mostly hit on the first 4 rounds.. and anything on the 5th after is roiling the dice.

[Why Not Us]

This has been the same as most drafts with the Vikings, a lot of hype early on and then you look back saying why did I think that draft was so good?

In 2013 draft gurus were super pumped about how we ripped everyone off and got 3 first round draft picks. Cordarrelle Patterson, Xavier Rhodes & Sharrif Floyd. We got a steal in Floyd, a #1 CB and a #1 WR all in a single draft. 2014 we got a game changing LB and franchise QB.

Not so much looking back.

2013 could have been Xavier Rhodes + any of these 2 guys: DeAndre Hopkins, Travis Frederick, Zach Ertz, Darius Slay, Kawann Short, Robert Woods, Le'Veon Bell, Jamie Collins, Travis Kelce, Tyrann Mathieu, Keenan Allen

2014 we took Barr over Aaron Donald, Odell Beckham, C. J. Mosley, Zack Martin, Taylor Lewan and then we wonder why our OL sucked (8 pro bowls between Marting and Lewan)

[Why Not Us]

1st round- Treadwell-- below average WR- will define the draft- I thought this year he could have a chance, but was wrong

A lot of crap talent evaluation of WRs in the 2016 draft:

1 15 Corey Coleman WR Baylor Cleveland Browns
1 21 Will Fuller WR Notre Dame Houston Texans
1 22 Josh Doctson WR Texas Christian Washington Redskins
1 23 Laquon Treadwell WR Mississippi Minnesota Vikings

2 40 Sterling Shepard WR Oklahoma New York Giants
2 47 Michael Thomas WR Ohio State New Orleans Saints
2 55 Tyler Boyd WR Pittsburgh Cincinnati Bengals

[flexbuffchest]

Many people thought after last year the 2016 Draft was terrible and not one player worth keeping (save for David Morgan)

Now that that class has played 3 season it doesn't look quite as bad... Minus Beavers and probably Treadwell.

1st round- Treadwell-- below average WR- will define the draft- I thought this year he could have a chance, but was wrong
2nd Round- Mack Alexander Above Average slot CB who finished the season one of the best CBs overall.
4th Round-- Willie Beavers.. major Fail
5th Round-- Kentrell Brothers--Core special teams guy for 3 season.. what you expect with a 5th rounder.
6th Round-- MoBo- nothing more needs to be said.
6th Round-- David Morgan. a really good blocking TE. good asset for a 6th.
7th Round- Stephen Weatherly-- a good rational DE. could still develope into a Starter, good on ST
7th Round- Jayron Kearse-- Great on ST, developed into a rotational 5th/6th DB

So you drafted 2 starters in Alexander and Morgan (in certain packages but play alot)
2 core ST players (Brothers and Kearse-- with Kearse being an adequate DB)
1 above average back-up DE with starting potential (weathelry)
an ok 4th WR. who if they had drafted in 2nd round people would be fine with (flip him and Alexander and he'd be seen differently)

Was this the Vikings best draft class? No. But not the fail we thought of after 2017 season.. and looking better than the 2017 draft (after Cook/Elflien)

Maybe the experts are right.. you really need to give a draft class 3 years before you can grade it.

Try one of the worst in the league.

[bubu dubu.]

No major impact player, but it wasnt terrible, however, give it another year or two, and there may be nothing left from that draft. A good draft should look like the 2015 draft (Waynes, Kendricks, Hunter, Diggs).

[Obi-Wan]

Good chance most will leave via free agency after 2019 season.

I'd assume Weatherly is in the plans if they are replacing Everson.

Can they afford Alexander?

Brothers is good, but he is replaceable. Depends how cheap he is.

If the guys you draft are too good you can't afford to sign them its a sign you drafted well.

But if you are getting use for 3 years out of anyone past the 5th round.. thats a good pick. (except Oline.)

I agree but many people on here would call it a bust draft since no one would be on the team anymore. One good example of this is 1995, 1st round pick Derrick Alexander had a decent last year with Vikings and signed a huge FA deal and then was injured. Corey Fuller left and got a big deal as well. Stringer died. Orlando Thomas was awesome and went to krap. RB James Stewart was promising and then broke leg. 7th rounder NT Jason Fisk had a long career as a NT. It was a solid draft. Many on here would disagree. Yes I know they should have taken Sapp instead.

[salamander]

I absolutely hated the Treadwell pick and loved the Mack Alexander pick. I was mocked and ridiculed.

i wasn't thrilled with the treadwell pick because it felt like a need-reach one by spielman again. i too liked the alexander pick mainly because of his story and that i thought it translated into a very good work ethic.

this board was constantly on mac for his poor play though. at the end of last year i said that i felt he was making progress and that this could be another year where he made a significant jump-and he played great football down the stretch. his play opened the eyes of PA and bercich who were on him constantly. they came around on alexander. i think there was one poster who said he was wrong about mac-but not i don't recall any others.

maybe it's time to admit that they might have gotten some real talent with that pick. if this year wasn't smoke and mirrors-and i don't think it was-it sure looks like they got themselves a solid football player at a crucial position. fingers crossed.

There really aren't many better sports stories than a guy who's constantly hated on by fans and then turning it around and becoming a great player.

Who's that Wild defenseman a bunch of years back who did that? I remember all the grief he used to get then he become a stud.

[Oriole81]

No major impact player, but it wasnt terrible, however, give it another year or two, and there may be nothing left from that draft. A good draft should look like the 2015 draft (Waynes, Kendricks, Hunter, Diggs).

Good? That draft was phenomenal.
You can't use that as a barometer for future comparison because that's so hard to replicate; you're only setting yourself up for disappointment if you do.

[Car Ramrod]

The Texans and Redskins sniped Fuller and Doctson right before our pick. I don't think that Treadwell was ever really "the" guy. I think the Vikes liked those two better.

Those two are busts also.

???

[Beef Supreme]

Another great one is the 2012 draft.


Both Matt Kalil and Blair Walsh looked like 10 year pro-bowlers after the first season. Who could predict their implosions?

1A Kalil
1B Smith
3 Josh Robinson
4A Jarius Wright
4B Rhett Ellison
4C Chris Childs
5 Robert Blanton
6 Blair Walsh
7 Audie Cole
7 Trevor Guyton

If those two don't flame out, that's 3 superstars (Kalil, Smith, and Walsh) and two contributors (Wright and Ellison). That's fantastic. And given what they did in their rookie years, I don't know that you can say Kalil and Walsh were bad picks. They clearly had the talent to warrant their selection. Something happened that I don't think you can predict with those two.

[twgerber]

Another great one is the 2012 draft.


Both Matt Kalil and Blair Walsh looked like 10 year pro-bowlers after the first season. Who could predict their implosions?

1A Kalil
1B Smith
3 Josh Robinson
4A Jarius Wright
4B Rhett Ellison
4C Chris Childs
5 Robert Blanton
6 Blair Walsh
7 Audie Cole
7 Trevor Guyton

If those two don't flame out, that's 3 superstars (Kalil, Smith, and Walsh) and two contributors (Wright and Ellison). That's fantastic. And given what they did in their rookie years, I don't know that you can say Kalil and Walsh were bad picks. They clearly had the talent to warrant their selection. Something happened that I don't think you can predict with those two.

Josh Robinson is still in the NFL playing for the Saints as a backup.
Jarius Wright is playing for Carolina
Rhett is with the Giants

[Beef Supreme]

Another great one is the 2012 draft.


Both Matt Kalil and Blair Walsh looked like 10 year pro-bowlers after the first season. Who could predict their implosions?

1A Kalil
1B Smith
3 Josh Robinson
4A Jarius Wright
4B Rhett Ellison
4C Chris Childs
5 Robert Blanton
6 Blair Walsh
7 Audie Cole
7 Trevor Guyton

If those two don't flame out, that's 3 superstars (Kalil, Smith, and Walsh) and two contributors (Wright and Ellison). That's fantastic. And given what they did in their rookie years, I don't know that you can say Kalil and Walsh were bad picks. They clearly had the talent to warrant their selection. Something happened that I don't think you can predict with those two.

Josh Robinson is still in the NFL playing for the Saints as a backup.
Jarius Wright is playing for Carolina
Rhett is with the Giants

Yeah, they hit on a lot of talent in the draft. Robinson may have gone a round early. But if Kalil and Walsh just maintained their rookie play level (not an unreasonable standard), that would have been an elite draft, right up there with 2015.

[salamander]

Another great one is the 2012 draft.


Both Matt Kalil and Blair Walsh looked like 10 year pro-bowlers after the first season. Who could predict their implosions?

1A Kalil
1B Smith
3 Josh Robinson
4A Jarius Wright
4B Rhett Ellison
4C Chris Childs
5 Robert Blanton
6 Blair Walsh
7 Audie Cole
7 Trevor Guyton

If those two don't flame out, that's 3 superstars (Kalil, Smith, and Walsh) and two contributors (Wright and Ellison). That's fantastic. And given what they did in their rookie years, I don't know that you can say Kalil and Walsh were bad picks. They clearly had the talent to warrant their selection. Something happened that I don't think you can predict with those two.

Man, I remember being so excited about Childs.

[Ash Ketchum]

NFL Draft success is almost a complete crapshoot regardless of who you are.

Also, so much hindsight is used to judge players that it’s laughable. David Carr might have turned into a Hall of Famer if he got drafted by Belichik instead of being thrown into an awful situation right out of the gate. Tom Brady might have been a used cars salesman had it not been for the situation he landed in.

Look LEAGUE WIDE at their draft history. There’s countless examples of Ponder-level whiffs and WAY worse than the likes of Beavers and Treadwell.

In Pittburgh, for every TJ Watt and Antonio Brown pick, there’s an Artie Burns (first round 2016), Jarvis Jones (first round 2013) and Sanquez Golson (second round 2015). There’s way more examples of players in Rounds 2-3 who didn’t pan out either, and this is one of the best drafting franchises of this era.

Saints have drafted great recently, but Andrus Peat is a bust from the first round in 2015. First rounder Stephone Anthony was a bust. Other “wasted picks” include Nick Toon, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Kenny Vaccarro, and Rick Leonard.

In New England, they don’t even have many of their recent draft picks on their roster anymore. Cyrus Jones, Chandler Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Malcolm Brown, Dom Easley, Jimmy G... all these guys were early draft picks since 2014, and are all gone.

If the GM has all other aspects of the franchise running smoothly: the coaching staff, the chemistry of the team, delegation of duties to all employees, listening to scouts and coaches, solid negotiation skills with contracts, managing the salary cap and just overseeing a professional, hard-working operation from top to bottom, that’s all I want the GM to do.

The draft will always be something where you misfire regardless of the work put in to scout and vet these players.

Nit picking Rick’s draft picks is like getting mad about a .325 MLB hitter and spending all your time whining about what went wrong on the failed at-bats.

[DonaldDouchebag]

I give it a D.

[mankatobjr]

NFL Draft success is almost a complete crapshoot regardless of who you are.

Also, so much hindsight is used to judge players that it’s laughable. David Carr might have turned into a Hall of Famer if he got drafted by Belichik instead of being thrown into an awful situation right out of the gate. Tom Brady might have been a used cars salesman had it not been for the situation he landed in.

Look LEAGUE WIDE at their draft history. There’s countless examples of Ponder-level whiffs and WAY worse than the likes of Beavers and Treadwell.

In Pittburgh, for every TJ Watt and Antonio Brown pick, there’s an Artie Burns (first round 2016), Jarvis Jones (first round 2013) and Sanquez Golson (second round 2015). There’s way more examples of players in Rounds 2-3 who didn’t pan out either, and this is one of the best drafting franchises of this era.

Saints have drafted great recently, but Andrus Peat is a bust from the first round in 2015. First rounder Stephone Anthony was a bust. Other “wasted picks” include Nick Toon, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Kenny Vaccarro, and Rick Leonard.

In New England, they don’t even have many of their recent draft picks on their roster anymore. Cyrus Jones, Chandler Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Malcolm Brown, Dom Easley, Jimmy G... all these guys were early draft picks since 2014, and are all gone.

If the GM has all other aspects of the franchise running smoothly: the coaching staff, the chemistry of the team, delegation of duties to all employees, listening to scouts and coaches, solid negotiation skills with contracts, managing the salary cap and just overseeing a professional, hard-working operation from top to bottom, that’s all I want the GM to do.

The draft will always be something where you misfire regardless of the work put in to scout and vet these players.

Nit picking Rick’s draft picks is like getting mad about a .325 MLB hitter and spending all your time whining about what went wrong on the failed at-bats.

I agree. Sometimes its the situation you are drafted in. You could be stuck behind a pro bowl player.. or your 3rd coach in 3 years and 3rd different system. Say what you want about Treadwell.. he is going in year 4 and 4th different OC. Plus (and 4th different QB) Plus he came in and got behind 2 great WR. Maybe if he was drafted in GB things would look different. (I don't know.. but there are many others like him)

And Agree. Had Tom Brady been drafted by Chicago he could have maybe played 2 seasons, bounced to a 2nd team and cut in training camp and 90% of us would have never heard his name.

I remember when Goff/Wentz were drafted. Wentz went to a team with a Head Coach who played QB at NFL, an OC who played QB at NFL and an expereinced QB Coach. Goff went to Rams with a head coach who specialized in Defense, an OC who was a Line/TE coach and an inexperienced QB coach who came from a boarding school high school (who did play in NFL). If Jeff Fisher gets another year who knows where Goff ends up. But teamed with the right coaches he looks good.

[RubeTube]

NFL Draft success is almost a complete crapshoot regardless of who you are.

Also, so much hindsight is used to judge players that it’s laughable. David Carr might have turned into a Hall of Famer if he got drafted by Belichik instead of being thrown into an awful situation right out of the gate. Tom Brady might have been a used cars salesman had it not been for the situation he landed in.

Look LEAGUE WIDE at their draft history. There’s countless examples of Ponder-level whiffs and WAY worse than the likes of Beavers and Treadwell.

In Pittburgh, for every TJ Watt and Antonio Brown pick, there’s an Artie Burns (first round 2016), Jarvis Jones (first round 2013) and Sanquez Golson (second round 2015). There’s way more examples of players in Rounds 2-3 who didn’t pan out either, and this is one of the best drafting franchises of this era.

Saints have drafted great recently, but Andrus Peat is a bust from the first round in 2015. First rounder Stephone Anthony was a bust. Other “wasted picks” include Nick Toon, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Kenny Vaccarro, and Rick Leonard.

In New England, they don’t even have many of their recent draft picks on their roster anymore. Cyrus Jones, Chandler Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Malcolm Brown, Dom Easley, Jimmy G... all these guys were early draft picks since 2014, and are all gone.

If the GM has all other aspects of the franchise running smoothly: the coaching staff, the chemistry of the team, delegation of duties to all employees, listening to scouts and coaches, solid negotiation skills with contracts, managing the salary cap and just overseeing a professional, hard-working operation from top to bottom, that’s all I want the GM to do.

The draft will always be something where you misfire regardless of the work put in to scout and vet these players.

Nit picking Rick’s draft picks is like getting mad about a .325 MLB hitter and spending all your time whining about what went wrong on the failed at-bats.

Great post here. It's kind of the luck of the draw.

[Obi-Wan]

NFL Draft success is almost a complete crapshoot regardless of who you are.

Also, so much hindsight is used to judge players that it’s laughable. David Carr might have turned into a Hall of Famer if he got drafted by Belichik instead of being thrown into an awful situation right out of the gate. Tom Brady might have been a used cars salesman had it not been for the situation he landed in.

Look LEAGUE WIDE at their draft history. There’s countless examples of Ponder-level whiffs and WAY worse than the likes of Beavers and Treadwell.

In Pittburgh, for every TJ Watt and Antonio Brown pick, there’s an Artie Burns (first round 2016), Jarvis Jones (first round 2013) and Sanquez Golson (second round 2015). There’s way more examples of players in Rounds 2-3 who didn’t pan out either, and this is one of the best drafting franchises of this era.

Saints have drafted great recently, but Andrus Peat is a bust from the first round in 2015. First rounder Stephone Anthony was a bust. Other “wasted picks” include Nick Toon, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Kenny Vaccarro, and Rick Leonard.

In New England, they don’t even have many of their recent draft picks on their roster anymore. Cyrus Jones, Chandler Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Malcolm Brown, Dom Easley, Jimmy G... all these guys were early draft picks since 2014, and are all gone.

If the GM has all other aspects of the franchise running smoothly: the coaching staff, the chemistry of the team, delegation of duties to all employees, listening to scouts and coaches, solid negotiation skills with contracts, managing the salary cap and just overseeing a professional, hard-working operation from top to bottom, that’s all I want the GM to do.

The draft will always be something where you misfire regardless of the work put in to scout and vet these players.

Nit picking Rick’s draft picks is like getting mad about a .325 MLB hitter and spending all your time whining about what went wrong on the failed at-bats.

Trying to use logic and reason with this crowd? If you do not get a QB like Tom Brady than you are a failure and should be fired. The backup offensive lineman are suppose to be as good as the starters. Every draft pick needs to be a pro bowler. If they are just a 4 year starter than they are a complete bust. If they get hurt by a butcher surgeon than that is Spielmans fault.

[mankatobjr]

NFL Draft success is almost a complete crapshoot regardless of who you are.

Also, so much hindsight is used to judge players that it’s laughable. David Carr might have turned into a Hall of Famer if he got drafted by Belichik instead of being thrown into an awful situation right out of the gate. Tom Brady might have been a used cars salesman had it not been for the situation he landed in.

Look LEAGUE WIDE at their draft history. There’s countless examples of Ponder-level whiffs and WAY worse than the likes of Beavers and Treadwell.

In Pittburgh, for every TJ Watt and Antonio Brown pick, there’s an Artie Burns (first round 2016), Jarvis Jones (first round 2013) and Sanquez Golson (second round 2015). There’s way more examples of players in Rounds 2-3 who didn’t pan out either, and this is one of the best drafting franchises of this era.

Saints have drafted great recently, but Andrus Peat is a bust from the first round in 2015. First rounder Stephone Anthony was a bust. Other “wasted picks” include Nick Toon, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Kenny Vaccarro, and Rick Leonard.

In New England, they don’t even have many of their recent draft picks on their roster anymore. Cyrus Jones, Chandler Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Malcolm Brown, Dom Easley, Jimmy G... all these guys were early draft picks since 2014, and are all gone.

If the GM has all other aspects of the franchise running smoothly: the coaching staff, the chemistry of the team, delegation of duties to all employees, listening to scouts and coaches, solid negotiation skills with contracts, managing the salary cap and just overseeing a professional, hard-working operation from top to bottom, that’s all I want the GM to do.

The draft will always be something where you misfire regardless of the work put in to scout and vet these players.

Nit picking Rick’s draft picks is like getting mad about a .325 MLB hitter and spending all your time whining about what went wrong on the failed at-bats.

Trying to use logic and reason with this crowd? If you do not get a QB like Tom Brady than you are a failure and should be fired. The backup offensive lineman are suppose to be as good as the starters. Every draft pick needs to be a pro bowler. If they are just a 4 year starter than they are a complete bust. If they get hurt by a butcher surgeon than that is Spielmans fault.

until all 22 starters make the Probowl simultaneously (all aquired via draft) some people won't admit they did a good job. These people value the term "1st Round Pick" over actual players.

Take 2015. The Vikings got Diggs, Hunter, Kendricks in the draft. Had they drafted Treadwell that year in 1st.. some people would call that draft a bust.

For the most part I think the Vikings do a good job drafting.. and they don't hold onto bad draft choices and force it. (You could maybe argue Treadwell). But look at Ponder. most teams would have played him for 4 years.. the Vikings saw it wasn't going to work.. signed Cassell, then drafted Teddy.

The worse thing you can do with a draft is not admit a drafted player failed and keep playing them.

[Ash Ketchum]

NFL Draft success is almost a complete crapshoot regardless of who you are.

Also, so much hindsight is used to judge players that it’s laughable. David Carr might have turned into a Hall of Famer if he got drafted by Belichik instead of being thrown into an awful situation right out of the gate. Tom Brady might have been a used cars salesman had it not been for the situation he landed in.

Look LEAGUE WIDE at their draft history. There’s countless examples of Ponder-level whiffs and WAY worse than the likes of Beavers and Treadwell.

In Pittburgh, for every TJ Watt and Antonio Brown pick, there’s an Artie Burns (first round 2016), Jarvis Jones (first round 2013) and Sanquez Golson (second round 2015). There’s way more examples of players in Rounds 2-3 who didn’t pan out either, and this is one of the best drafting franchises of this era.

Saints have drafted great recently, but Andrus Peat is a bust from the first round in 2015. First rounder Stephone Anthony was a bust. Other “wasted picks” include Nick Toon, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Kenny Vaccarro, and Rick Leonard.

In New England, they don’t even have many of their recent draft picks on their roster anymore. Cyrus Jones, Chandler Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Malcolm Brown, Dom Easley, Jimmy G... all these guys were early draft picks since 2014, and are all gone.

If the GM has all other aspects of the franchise running smoothly: the coaching staff, the chemistry of the team, delegation of duties to all employees, listening to scouts and coaches, solid negotiation skills with contracts, managing the salary cap and just overseeing a professional, hard-working operation from top to bottom, that’s all I want the GM to do.

The draft will always be something where you misfire regardless of the work put in to scout and vet these players.

Nit picking Rick’s draft picks is like getting mad about a .325 MLB hitter and spending all your time whining about what went wrong on the failed at-bats.

Trying to use logic and reason with this crowd? If you do not get a QB like Tom Brady than you are a failure and should be fired. The backup offensive lineman are suppose to be as good as the starters. Every draft pick needs to be a pro bowler. If they are just a 4 year starter than they are a complete bust. If they get hurt by a butcher surgeon than that is Spielmans fault.

until all 22 starters make the Probowl simultaneously (all aquired via draft) some people won't admit they did a good job. These people value the term "1st Round Pick" over actual players.

Take 2015. The Vikings got Diggs, Hunter, Kendricks in the draft. Had they drafted Treadwell that year in 1st.. some people would call that draft a bust.

For the most part I think the Vikings do a good job drafting.. and they don't hold onto bad draft choices and force it. (You could maybe argue Treadwell). But look at Ponder. most teams would have played him for 4 years.. the Vikings saw it wasn't going to work.. signed Cassell, then drafted Teddy.

The worse thing you can do with a draft is not admit a drafted player failed and keep playing them.

Rhodes
Smith
Kendricks
Barr
Hunter
Cook
O’Neill
Diggs
Thielen
Rudolph

Is the nucleus that Rick drafted (or at least had a hand in drafting). That’s a solid core right there that was from the draft.

Obviously it would have been better if a franchise QB was part of that list, but finding a franchise QB in the draft takes luck too.

Are the Colts front office people genius scouts because they were lucky and sucked enough to get the #1 pick the year Luck was coming out?

Do you think New England knew Tom Brady was the GOAT when they drafted him in the 6th?

No, a certain part of the draft is just making educated guesses on who you think will pan out.