Let's Be Honest About........The 2011 NFL Draft

The 2011 NFL Draft was one that saw prospects turn into one-in-a-generation talents or massive busts. Many believe that this was the draft that turned the corner into what the NFL is today. Here are five truths about the 2011 NFL Draft.

CAM NEWTON WAS AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Cam Newton was a highly recruited quarterback who went to the University of Florida to replace Tim Tebow. Unfortunately, Newton was kicked out of the school due to "borrowing a laptop". After a year of Junior College, Newton would attend Auburn. Let's point out that before he would to that, his draft prospects were meek. So in 2010, he decided to have one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history. He swept nearly every individual award, including the Heisman Trophy and won a national championship. This season propelled his draft prospects into a top-10 pick. The Carolina Panthers had the #1 pick and in a "back to the drawing board" phase. New coach Ron Rivera was looking at a defensive, impact player for his 4-3 scheme. He took a gander at Texas A&M edge rusher Von Miller, since the Panthers thought Jimmy Clausen was the quarterback of the future (hehehehe). Weeks before the draft, mocks even thought Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert would be the #1 pick (once again, hehehehe). The Panthers settled on Newton and he became one of the greatest players in franchise history with an NFL MVP award and Super Bowl appearance in 2015 to boot.

THE TEXANS GAMBLED ON J.J. WATT.........AND IT PAID OFF

Houston had the #11 pick in the draft and was perplexed on what to use it on. They needed some defensive help, especially in the front seven. Watt was a tight end at Central Michigan when he made a decision that would change his career going forward. He would walk-on at the University of Wisconsin to play at defensive end. So, he basically started from scratch to play and attend his home state university. People tend to forget that Watt is a Wisconsinite and not from Texas. Watt would show promise at the position in the two years at Wisconsin, and even though his college stats didn't have eye-popping results, he was climbing on draft boards due to his high ceiling. The Texans had a playmaking defensive end in place with Mario Williams and could use another playmaker at the other end position. The Texans decided to take Watt at #11 and considered him a "project" who could hopefully pan out. Seeing all the individual accomplishments Watt has achieved in the next level, it's safe to say the Texans made the right gamble.

MARK INGRAM SHOULD HAVE BEEN A TOP 15 PICK

In college, Ingram was the star running back of the mighty University of Alabama. In 2009, he would win the Heisman Trophy and a national championship in his sophomore season. By the way, he's the first player from that storied program to win the Heisman. Weird, huh. His junior season wasn't as impactful since he was sharing duties with Trent Richardson. Ingram would forgo his senior season to enter the draft. The problem with this was the experts considered Ingram to be too small (5'9" 215) and somewhat slow (4.5 in the 40 yard dash). Also the NFL was looking at faster and bigger backs to complement their offenses. Ingram was considered a throwback: north-south, run between the tackles type of back that the league was shying away from. These observations caused Ingram to fall to the #28 pick to the New Orleans Saints. It was a perfect situation since the Saints wanted to replace Pierre Thomas. Ingram started off slowly in his first three seasons, but became Drew Brees's safety value both in the running and passing game throughout his Saints career. In 2017, the Saints drafted Alvin Kamara to complement Ingram in the running game, the same situation he was in at Alabama with Trent Richardson. At age 30, Ingram was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. Oh, and Trent Richardson was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the #3 pick in the 2012 draft. Speaking of which....

THE BROWNS COULD HAVE EASILY WON THIS DRAFT

At #6, the Browns were in this position, because they're the Browns. With a slew of talent there for the taking, the Falcons and GM Thomas Dimitroff wanted to move up to select a certain player. Roddy White was getting older and Atlanta wanted a younger playmaking receiver for quarterback Matt Ryan. So they decided to mortgage their first round pick and fourth round pick that year plus a first and fourth in 2012 to move up to #6 and select Alabama wideout Julio Jones. Jones is considered a future Hall of Famer. The Browns had multiple picks.....and whiffed on most of them. In the 3rd round, they selected USC tight end Jordan Cameron. They tried to call and congratulate him, but instead called Cameron Jordan. Yes, that actually happened. Also, they could have selected Cam Jordan at 21, but elected to take Baylor defensive lineman Phil Taylor. Phil Taylor flopped. Times haven't changed for this franchise.

THE 2011 NFL DRAFT WAS THE PLATFORM OF THE NFL TODAY

Out of the 32 players drafted in the first round, 16 of them would become Pro Bowlers (50%). The #1 pick, Newton won NFL MVP in 2015. The #2 pick, Von Miller, was named Super Bowl MVP against Newton in Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos. The aforementioned Watt is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and a Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient. The first seven picks were Pro Bowlers, especially the oft-troubled Aldon Smith. He is trying to make a comeback with the Dallas Cowboys after a four year absence. The lower rounds saw more Pro Bowlers. A certain fifth round pick named Richard Sherman has become one of the best shutdown corners in the league and a Super Bowl champion. Even the sixth round had a couple of Pro Bowl stalwarts. And most of the first round talent is still going strong in the league after almost a decade.

Weird fact: As of this writing, Newton was released by the Panthers this off-season and is still a free agent. Blaine Gabbert, considered one of the biggest flops in this year's draft is employed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Figure that one out.

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