In light of the NFL draft nearing at a rapid pace I would like to highlight the history of our D-minded GM and his history as a player in the NFL draft. Thanks to him we have a solid defense, but a morbid offense at best. We got lucky for the first couple of weeks of the 2006 campaign, but then our true colors came out. We can argue until the cows come home about Angelo and our feelings about him, but instead I want to look at his resume. Let's start with 2002. He was hired in June 2001 after the 2001 draft when our previous GM went down in flames with David Terrell and Anthony Thomas. His draft yielded the following players.
Marc Colombo
O Tackle
Boston College
First Round, 29th Selection
Grade C
Colombo had talent and is starting for the Cowboys, but apparently his knees hated Chicago as both decided to blow out while he was here. Angelo saw the talent, but just got unlucky with his health and we couldn't keep him any longer.
Roosevelt Williams
Cornerback
Tuskegee University
Third Round, 72nd Selection
Grade F
I don't know what was up with him. I don't remember him as a player. He had a mediocre season with us in 02 and then a horrible season with Cleveland in 03. And now, according to ESPN last year "third" season on the Jets. Not a good move by mister Angelo. Made even more sad by the fact that the Eagles got Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, and Sheldon Brown in the first two round of this draft. There were good Secondary players to be had. Plus, Brian Westbrook went in this round after Williams. Man the Eagles got fat off of this draft!
Terrence Metcalf
O Guard
Ole Miss
Third Round, 93rd Selection
Grade C
He is still around, but has never panned out to be a great player.
Alex Brown
Defensive End
Florida
Fourth Round, 104th Selection
Grade A
A solid player and has been a starter for us. It appears that he will start next year and was especially great this year when our D was struggling with injuries. Here Angelo starts to rear his head as having a knack for late round D selections that pan out to be great.
Bobby Gray
Safety
Louisiana Tech
Fifth Round, 140th Selection
Grade D+
Isn't in the league anymore and was never a huge player on our team. Out of the league after three years. You may think I am nit picking this late, but at least the guy could be good at special teams, or at least still be in the NFL.
Bryan Knight
Linebacker
Pittsburgh
Fifth Round, 165th Selection
Grade C
Played a little bit for us in 2002 and 2003, but was never a great part of our team and was out of the NFL after 03.
Adrian Peterson
Running Back
Georgia Southern
Sixth Round, 199th Selection
Grade B+
I am giving Angelo a good grade here for identifying a good late round prospect. He is not going to be a starter any time soon, but he is a good Special Teams guy and a decent backup. The fact that he is still around is a good thing.
Bryan Fletcher
Tight End
UCLA
Sixth Round, 210th Selection (compensatory)
Grade C
Was never any use to us and didn't "make it" in the NFL until he played with the Colts in 2005. He is a capable back up and Special Teams player. This was a good pick, but just is unfortunate that it couldn't help us out.
Angelo really found a gem in Brown, but aside from that all these players are either marginal (Peterson, Metcalf) or starting for other teams (Gray, Colombo). He started to develop his knack for late round talent, and this will come out more in further years. However, he still has a hard time picking successful offensive players, especially linemen. Colombo never made it here and Metcalf is nothing to brag about. He signed Tait, and that was a good move, but he hasn't been able to draft a quality Guard or Tackle. Hopefully he can break that trend this year. If not, its going to be a long season. Feel free to comment on the players, and any thing I may have overlooked or if you felt I gave Angelo a unfair shot. Finally, keep on the look out for 03-07 in the coming days and weeks.