THE GENIUS OF OZZIE NEWSOME: The 10 Best & Worst Draft Picks

SCORING SYSTEM

Each individual pick will be scored based upon the years the player spent with the team that drafted him; the number of games started for that team; and the number of Pro Bowl nominations the player received during his career regardless of whether said nomination occurred while playing with the team that drafted him.

Teams will also be assessed a penalty for each player that they bypassed in the draft who ultimately went on to play in a Pro Bowl(s) if the player selected instead did not make the Pro Bowl at any point during their career.

This system is intended to grade the draft, the collective accomplishments of the scouting staff and front office on draft day. Whether a player leaves via free agency or for some other reason is irrelevant when scoring the organization on draft day. Therefore, future Pro Bowls earned by a player, even when they are no longer with the drafting organization, do factor into the quality of a particular draft class. Front office errors outside of the control of the scouts should not be weighed against them.

Years Spent with Drafting Team

·         Players selected in rounds 1-3 get 1 point per year with the team; rounds 4-7 get 2 points per year with team. Punters and kickers will only receive 1 point per year of service regardless of draft position.

Games Started

·         Players receive 2 points per start; punters and kickers only receive 1 point per start.

Pro Bowl Appearances

·         Players receive 10 points per Pro Bowl appearance.

Points deducted for passing on a better player in same round

·         If the Ravens pass on a player or players in the same round who eventually becomes a Pro Bowl player(s) and the player the Ravens selected is NOT a Pro Bowler, penalties will be assessed. A 10 point penalty will be assessed if the player plays a position not the same as the player the Ravens selected and a 12 point penalty if the player plays the same position as the player the Ravens selected. Just as with Pro Bowl appearances by Ravens, the penalty is multiplied by the number of years the passed on player makes the Pro Bowl. Penalties will not be assessed if a team passes on a punter or kicker that makes a Pro Bowl.

We have also consider the number of Pro Bowl players passed on by each team’s war room in exchange for less accomplished players and penalize those picks accordingly.

Our cumulative scores for all of the team’s historical drafts and how the Ravens have invested their draft picks can be found HERE.

Based upon our scoring system here’s a snapshot of the Ravens Best and Worst 10 draft picks during their 15 year history.

We will soon be presenting the best and worst by round and position along with our subjective take on the Ravens 10 best picks and 10 biggest draft day busts.