An Unforgettably Forgettable Draft

The year 2009, by all standards, was a bad year for the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite being the first year for the Haley-Pioli combination that we fans have come to like, the season was a disaster and the Chiefs only finished with 4 wins. Between those twelve losses was the Larry Johnson debacle, the Dwayne Bowe suspension, and the Chan Gailey firing, but before all of that, we had the 2009 draft.

The reason I reopen this wound is because of the recent release of Aaron Maybin, the 11th overall pick of the 2009 draft. 

After just two seasons of extreme disappointment, the Bills of all teams figured that they were better off without Maybin than they would be trying to give him a shot at redemption in his third season. Many people in football tell you that you can't judge a player until after his third season, which is usually indicative of the type of player he'll turn out to be. Maybin, who recently signed with the Jets, will get that chance of redemption, but not with the team that drafted him.

So were the Bills in the wrong for cutting their top 2009 draft pick?

It was probably premature on the Bills part, but I'm not sure if I can necessarily blame them. In fact, I'm not entirely sure if I could blame a lot of teams if they cut their 2009 first round draft picks. That's just how bad the whole thing has been so far.

Just look at the number 1 overall pick: Matthew Stafford. The guy came out of Georgia with the most upside at the QB position and has looked good in the games he has played in. Unfortunately for the Lions, he's only played in 13 games in two seasons and has been overshadowed by the other two QB's taken in the first round that same year (Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman). Stafford was nearly flawless in his first preseason game this season, going 6 of 7 for two touchdowns; but talent was never his problem. So far in his first two seasons, I think it's fair to say Stafford has been a disappointment. 

Disappointment is a word you hear a lot when talking about this first round.

A friend of mine who is a Chiefs fan says that instead of taking the player we did (which I will address later on), we should have taken linebacker Aaron Curry, who went right after the Chiefs picked to the Seahawks. And I ask why? Because we would complain about Curry slightly less? Curry, the number 4 overall pick, had 73 tackles and 3.5 sacks. This is only 2.5 sacks more and 11 tackles less than undrafted free agent Jovan Belcher, who also joined his first NFL team in 2009 but for a lot less money.

In fact, six linebackers went in the first round and of those six, only three have had good seasons (Brian Orakpo - #13, Brian Cushing - #15, Clay Matthews - #26). The other three linebackers - Aaron Curry (#4), Aaron Maybin (#11), and Larry English (#16) - combined for 96 tackles and 6.5 sacks last season. That combined number is still 38 tackles shy of Brian Cushing's rookie number of 134 and 4.5 shy of Orakpo's rookie sack total. So in their sophomore season, a season that should show improvement, these three high draft picks have failed to live up to their status.

A high number of wide receivers were taken in the first round that year: Darrius Heyward-Bey (#7), Micheal Crabtree (#10), Jeremy Maclin (#16), Percy Harvin (#22), Hakeem Nicks (#29) and Kenny Britt (#30). Of these six wide receivers, only Nicks has a 1,000 yard season (in 2010) and only Maclin has a double digit touchdown season (10 in 2010). And the top pick of these, Heyward-Bey, has only 490 yards and 2 touchdowns in two seasons combined.

And don't even get me started on running backs - Knowshon Moreno (#12), Donald Brown (#27), and Chris "Beanie" Wells (#31). None have a 1,000 yard season, none have more than 7 touchdown runs in a season, and out of the 6 combined seasons of opportunity, only twice have these backs played an entire season. 

Now I will address the issue that every Chiefs fan is tired of hearing: Tyson Jackson. Jackson was the third overall pick of the 2009 draft and has been underwhelming ever since. Every Chiefs fan has heard the old cliche about this being a make-or-break season for Jackson. And while this is true, this is also true for all the other first round picks that have yet to prove themselves from that same draft. We've come to learn that other options might have been better for the third pick (B.J. Raji at #9), but hindsight is 20/20. 

So let's just see what Jackson, and the rest of his underachieving class, can do this season before we throw them under the bus completely. After all, haven't their salaries garnered such patience?