With the 2011 regular season freshly over it is time to go back and evaluate every team’s draft classes based on performance this year. I will use a formula to grade each pick and calculuate a final grade for each team. Today it’s a team who made the playoffs for the first time in ages, the Detroit Lions.
ROUND 1 – graded from a 0-5 scale
ROUND 2 – graded from a 0-4 scale
ROUND 3 – graded from a 0-3 scale
ROUND 4 – graded from a 0-2 scale
ROUND 5 – graded from a 0-1 scale
ROUND 6 & 7 – no scale, point awarded if player was productive
*I reserve the right to award a bonus point to any player who outperformed their draft position.*
FINAL GRADING SCALE
90-100 – A
80-89 - B
70-79 - C
60 – 69 - D
0-59 - F
2011 Draft Class
Round 1: Nick Fairley DT, Auburn – 15 Tackles, 1 Sack
Analysis: Fairley was hurt in camp and missed the first 6 games of the season. He didn’t do much upon his return either.
Grade: 2.5/5
Round 2: Titus Young WR, Boise St. – 48 Rec, 607 Yds, 6 TDs
Analysis: Young made a signifcant impact in the Lions offense despite it being loaded with talent and with targets hard to come by.
Grade: 4/4
Round 2: Mikel LeShoure RB, Illinois - Missed Season
Analysis: LeShoure was hurt in the preseason and missed the entire year. It’s a shame too, because the Lions really could have used him.
Grade: 0/2 (scale lowered due to injury)
Round 5: Doug Hogue LB, Syracuse - 6 Tackles
Analysis: Hogue appeared in 13 games, I’m gonna assume most of that being on special teams. The Lions at least got a little from this pick.
Grade: .5/1
Round 7: Johnny Culbreath OT, South Carolina St. – Placed on I.R.
Analysis: Culbreath was placed on IR ending his season before it even got started.
Grade: 0/0
TOTAL SCORE 7/12
FINAL GRADE: 58% F
Analysis: The Lions get a little screwed here with this F grade. They had two of their top three picks miss time with injuries but they do have to be a little concerned with Fairley’s underwhelming performance. Titus Young is going to be a great slot receiver for this team and he has game changing speed. LeShoure will had a powerful element to their backfield once he’s healthy. This is a class whose grade I expect to jump quite a bit in the future but based on an injured plagued first season can be deemed nothing but a failure.
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