Interesting side note from Trib

[jonzr]

Here is a look at how the Steelers have used draft picks since 2007, the first year general manager Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin worked together. First-round picks are in parentheses:

QB: 1
RB: 4 (Rashard Mendenhall, 2008)
TE: 2
WR: 5
OL: 8 (Maurkice Pouncey, 2010)
DL: 5 (Ziggy Hood, 2009; Cameron Heyward, 2011)
LB: 8 (Lawrence Timmons, 2007)
DB: 7
Specialists: 1

Read more: Draft offers Steelers options to shore offensive line - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_787130.html#ixzz1pgR3WM98

[Finnegans Wake]

True, but a R2 pick ain't the same dog as a R7 pick.

Be interesting to see those picks then multiplied by the standard trade value chart and tabulated.

Get on that, jonzr, will ya?

[jonzr]

I'll keep my eye out for another side note.

[Finnegans Wake]

OK, my brain was fee-ried this afternoon so to keep my eyeballs from spinning clockwise and, concurrently, widdershins, I did the trade value thingey I was hectoring jonzr to do.  

Total number of draft picks by position is essentially worthless, and you see that here.  Broken down by total trade value points and percent of total.  Also subdivided OL, DL, LB, DB...  Nothing too surprising.


TOTAL: 6,971.8

QB: 1 (29) - 4.2%

2008, 5.156, Dennis Dixon. QB, Oregon - 29


RB: 4 (800) - 11.5%

2008, 1.23, Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois - 760
2009, 5.169, Frank Summers, RB/FB, Nevada-Las Vegas - 23.8
2010, 6.188, Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech - 16.2
2011, 7.232, Baron Batch, RB, Texas Tech, 0


TE: 2 (205) – 2.9%

2007, 3.77, Matt Spaeth, TE, Minnesota – 205
2009, 7.241, David Johnson, TE, Arkansas State - 0


WR: 5 (735.4) – 10.5%

2007, 7.227, Dallas Baker, WR, Florida, 2
2008, 2.53, Limas Sweed, WR, Texas, 370
2009, 3.84, Mike Wallace, WR, Mississippi, - 170
2010, 6.195, Antonio Brown, WR, Central Michigan - 13.4
2010, 3.82, Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Southern Methodist - 180


OL: 8 (1476) – 21.2%

OT: (349) – 5.0%

2008, 4.130, Tony Hills, T, Texas - 42
2010, 5.151, Chris Scott, T, Tennessee – 31
2011, 2.63, Marcus Gilbert, T, Florida - 276


OG: (225) – 3.2%

2007, 5.156, Cameron Stephenson, G, Rutgers - 29
2009, 3.79, Kraig Urbik, T, Wisconsin – 195
2011, 6.196, Keith Williams, G, Nebraska - 13


C: (902) – 12.9%

2009, 7.226, A.Q. Shipley, C, Penn State - 2
2010, 1.18, Maurkice Pouncey, C, Florida - 900


DL: 5 (1239.4) – 17.8%

DE: (1239.4) – 17.8%[/b]

2007, 4.132, Ryan McBean, DE, Oklahoma State - 40
2009, 6.205, Ra'Shon Harris, DT, Oregon - 9.4
2009, 1.32, Ziggy Hood, DT, Missouri – 590
2010, 7.242, Doug Worthington, DE, Ohio State - 0
2011, 1.31, Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State - 600

NT: (0) – 0.0%


LB: 8 (2,149.8 ) – 30.8%

OLB: (1074.8 ) – 15.4%

2007, 2.46, LaMarr Woodley, LB, Michigan - 440
2008, 6.188, Mike Humpal, OLB, Iowa, 16.2
2008, 3.88, Bruce Davis, LB, UCLA - 150
2010, 4,116, Thaddeus Gibson, LB, Ohio State - 62
2010, 2.52, Jason Worilds, LB, Virginia Tech - 380
2011, 5.162, Chris Carter, LB, Fresno State - 26.6

ILB: (1075) – 15.4%

2007, 1.15, Lawrence Timmons, LB, Florida State - 1050
2010, 5.166, Stevenson Sylvester, LB, Utah - 25


DB: 7 (267.2) – 3.8%

CB: (253.4) – 3.6%[/b]

2007, 5.170, William Gay, CB, Louisville - 23.4
2009, 5.168, Joe Burnett, DB, Central Florida - 24.2
2009, 3.96, Keenan Lewis, DB, Oregon State, 116
2010, 5.164, Crezdon Butler, DB, Clemson - 25.8
2011, 4.128, Cortez Allen, DB, The Citadel - 44
2011, 3.95, Curtis Brown, DB, Texas - 20

S: (13.8 ) – 0.2%

2008, 6.194, Ryan Mundy, FS, West Virginia - 13.8


Specialists: 1 (70) – 1.0%

2007, 4.112,Daniel Sepulveda, P, Baylor - 70

So, e.g., despite a decent number of DBs taken, total slice of pie is under 4% of draft budget, whereas DL & LB are nearly 50%.

Another consideration when looking:  OT, OG, CB, DE, OLB, ILB, S all have two starters.  So, divide total allocation by half to get real investment.  1.6% per starting OG.  No fucking wonder that position sucks.  0.1% per safety: old and thin, could have told ya.  Decent investment in RB, but it's all Mendy; take him out and we're fishing for bottom-feeders.  

Best ROI, hands down: Antonio Brown.  And too some decent UDFA, but AB is the best ROI in the Colbert-Tomlin era.

Surprisingly high number of very bad ROI: Sweed, Spaeth, Urbik, Davis; some (Worilds) yet TBD.  

[pensodyssey]

Surorise, surprise.  We've fantastically at LB and WR, with the exceptions of Sweed and Baker.

[jonzr]

Good stuff.  I'd forgotten AB was a 6th rounder.  That's some damn fine ROI.  No doubt the miss on Urbik hurt the OL.  And the miss on Sweed was eventually allayed by the hit on AB.  But there was no make up hit in the OG area.

[Finnegans Wake]

Urbik's been a decent starter for the Bills, so that was a whiff all around. 

This year's picks will have about 1327.2 trade value points, which makes sense (1327.2/8299 = 16.0%, almost exactly 1/6, Tomlin's 6th draft  year).  I've extrapolated the draft spots based on the distribution of 2011 comp picks, and the idea that we will have two (basically worthless) comps in R7.  Asterisked spots are estimates, the others not:

1.24 - 740
2.56 - 340
3.88 - 150
*4.121 - 52
*5.155 - 29.4
*6.189 - 15.8
*7.227 - 0
*7.244 (Spaeth/Bears) - 0
*7.250 (Eason/Cards) - 0