Bauman, Russell, Betts: Wasted Picks?
 

In 2002, the Skins drafted:

Ladell Betts: 2nd Round
Rashad Bauman: 3rd Round
Cliff Russell: 3rd Round

What are people's thoughts on these picks - In the 20/20 of hindsight:

Were they good picks?

Will any pan out as being worth the cost?

Do you think they are just wasted picks?

I think the consensus is that Russell is a washout.

I don't know about Bauman - will he ever be more than a competent to good nickel back? Is he even that? If so, why load up on DB's of questionable quality? Not referring to Springs as one of the questionable CB's, but by getting Springs are the Skins acknowledging that Bauman can't be a starter?

As for Betts, obviously, he is no more than 2nd string right now - but say Portis gets injured, was Betts worth the 2nd rounder? Does he have the talent to step in and be a starting quality back? If given the opportunity, could he be a 1,200 yard back?

I look back at these picks and think "What a waste of high picks". Just wondering if anyone disagrees or thinks I am being to hasty.

I think that Bauman and Betts are capable players, Russell will be bagging groceries come September though.. Bauman was never thought of as more than a 3rd CB anyway because of his size, but his cover skills and tackling have been sufficient for his role.. I don't recall him ever getting really beaten badly like some others (sorry Ade Jimoh) or whiffing on tackles like David Terrible.. As for Betts, he showed some talent on the occasions he played his rookie year and was healthy.. I think that is going to be the key, can he stay healthy enough to contribute if needed.. If so, he and Portis would be a nice 1-2 punch allowing Portis to get some rest or come out late in games where the score is out of hand (hopefully in our favor! :D )

Russell is the only one of the group I would call a wasted pick, but even then that's the price you pay in the draft. Some guys you gamble on and sometimes you come up short.

Even if Bauman never becomes anything more than a quality nickel back I don't think he's a waste. These days every team needs at least 3 quality corners.

As for Betts it's too early to write him off just yet. If he has another injury-laden season in '04 it might be time to move on. He still has potential, hopefully this staff can harness it. Out of the current group of backs we have he stands the best chance to get significant playing time behind Portis, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Cartwright move ahead of him.

All we have done the last couple of years is waste picks. Betts and Russell were drafted much too early for their projections, I think Betts was a projected fifth rounder, and it was just Dan's obsession with offense. Add Taylor Jacobs to that list as well, think where we could be if we had drafted d linemen with all of those picks.

A lot of folks thought betts was drafted too high. I always wondered about that pick, because he was not a good fit for spurrier's offense either.

[QUOTE=Bergman14]All we have done the last couple of years is waste picks. Betts and Russell were drafted much too early for their projections, I think Betts was a projected fifth rounder, and it was just Dan's obsession with offense. Add Taylor Jacobs to that list as well, think where we could be if we had drafted d linemen with all of those picks.[/QUOTE]
I had seen Betts projected as a third rounder, but there had been a run on RB's that round with 2 taken in the previous five picks (including one Clinton Portis). The 2002 draft hasn't yielded many d-linemen after the selection of Betts, with only Akin Ayodele of Jacksonville getting any serious playing time - and that at linebacker. So if we'd drafted d-linemen instead of the above three players, we'd have 3 young backups instead of old backups - [u]if[/u] the previous coaching staff was able to "coach 'em up" enough to stay on the roster.

Is Betts a bust? Maybe. I'm not convinced he was the best RB on last year's team, and he ain't close to it now. Is Bauman a bust? No - he's no star, but he's a capable nickel back, and (fingers crossed) when we are holding onto a lead and run a primarily nickel coverage, he'll get a chance to shine. Is Russell a bust? Probably. His only weapon is his speed, and I'd say he couldn't catch a cold, but he probably wouldn't catch the joke.

We should probably leave Taylor Jacobs off the list. A healthy training camp could make him more valuable than the previous three combined.

Russell seems like a wasted pick. I know he's had injuries but even when healthy he hasn't shown he can do anymore than run fast

Bauman hasn't shown me he can be a starter in this league but Matty brings up a good point about every team needing at least 3 DBs

Betts was a Marty pick and I think if Marty were still here he'd have a much more prominent role. That being said I think under Gibbs he can be a key contributor, provided he turns his cell phone off and stays healthy

Betts was actually a Spurrier era pick, not Marty

I think Bauman did alright last year, he is just as capapble as Walt Harris. Betts was a good pick and Russell got hurt that happens alot in the NFL.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Betts was actually a Spurrier era pick, not Marty[/QUOTE]

Ok, I stand corrected. Wonder why I thought he was part of that Gardner/Smoot draft

I wouldn't call Russell a washout, seeing as how ineffective our passing game has been the past couple of years. He's not been able to get much time on the field due to injuries and then the wideouts in front of him are not slouches. He's probably a wasted pick just because we keep on adding wideouts.

Betts, I hate how he was finishing runs last year, but he showed signs of being an effective change of pace guy. I really like his potential in goal line and short yardage situations, he's got nice size and decent moves. I look for him to really make a mark alongside Portis.

Bauman is the nickel back, that should say plenty about him. I think he's a good enough back as well as a spot starter.

[QUOTE=smootsmack]Ok, I stand corrected. Wonder why I thought he was part of that Gardner/Smoot draft[/QUOTE]
It's easy to get them mixed up, the Betts pick didn't make much sense back then considering Spurrier didn't have much use for "power backs"

Betts was drafted to be Davis' successor, but with more speed and pass-catching ability, which made him fit better for Spurriers offense. That said, I think will will do very well spelling Portis, as long as he can stay healthy. But like Matty, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rock move ahead of him. I'd say the jury is still out, but I'm leaning towards calling him a good pick...just maybe a little too high.

As others have said, Bauman is a solid nickel back, not great, but solid. Good pick.

Russell will be gone during training camp cuts. Bust. I still wouldn't say he was really a wasted pick though...every pick is a gamble.

My and Meat Loaf's two cents
 

I think we took Betts a round too early, but he may prove to be a very capable backup, so I'm not too upset with that pick. Bauman was good value as a 3rd and you can never get enough good corners. He has proven to be good but not excellent. Russell appears to be a bust and it's a shame we used a third on a bust. Third rounders should at least end up being contributors, so that pick really disappoints me. Someone in the scouting department really dropped the ball on that one.
So the way I see it, as my old friend Meatloaf used to say, two oughta three ain't bad.... :headbange

I have alsway's liked Bett's a lot, bauman is a capable 3rd corner, russell may be a waste, but I think with the kind of speed he possess it was worth taking a flyer on him, I was kind of hoping we try to covert him to CB, it's easier than playing WR.

Betts might be a OK back up HB. The Rest SUCK!!!!! Waste of money and pick!!!

You're always going to have your bad drafts, no matter how much research you do. Betts and Bauman are probably career back-ups. Russell is a blazer with poor route-running skills but those are the kind of risks you take with fifth rounders or whatever he was. You win some, you lose some. I think we had a good draft this year, despite its small size.

i wouldn't say Betts is a bust, he is still capable of being a very good back-up running back..Bauman still needs some experience and could actually be a good back up when needes.. Now Russell, MAJOR BUST!! For a guy with his crazy speed, if only he could catch like a WIDE RECIEVER should be able to do!! DUH... Think he SHOULD think about what supermarket he'll rather bag groceries at... maybe too high of picks tho for all three..

You have to include Taylor Jacobs as a bust up to now. He did nothing last year. Betts has been a no show for two years now. Russell is not very good.
This problem of wasted picks started after Charlie Casserly was wrongly shown the door after the 1999 season.
Dan Snyder has even admitted that one of his first mistakes as an owner was when he fired Casserly and kept Norv Turner.
Snyder and Bag "O" Doughnuts Cerrato took over and have done a terrible job with any pick that is lower than a second round pick. Of all those lower picks only Fred Smoot, Darnerian McCants and Rock Cartwright are any good. All the rest have ranged from average to terrible. That is four drafts, 2000-2003 (not including this years).
The Redskins had 21 picks from 2000-2003 that were not 1st round picks, we only have three good players to show for those 21 picks. 3 out of 21, that is not very good. This is why our salary cap is tapped put and we still need 2-3 good d-lineman to round out our roster.

I can give Jacobs the benefit of the doubt for now. His freak injury really set him back and once he got healthy he was buried on the depth chart.

I think we could see big things from him this year.

Personally I think Bett's could be a very good starter some where, obviously not with us, as for Jacob's what kind of opportunity did he really have last year? There are a lot of big time bailey fan's here, and bailey said he could be a top 5 WR [ I believe that is what he said, something to that effect ] to many people want result's yesterday, and it doesn't alway's happen that way, there are plenty of star's who took time to develope, you have to be able to judge thier talent, production doesn't alway's tell the story.

Joe could probably add some insight here in regards to Jacobs. He was sharp in training camp last year and in minicamps thus far.

Way before i wasnt saying that these were wasted picks as in they are busts, im saying they were stupid picks when there were areas of greater need

Flat out...Ladell Betts is a bust. I've never seen a supposed power back never break a tackle in his NFL career...lol. I mean seriously, he does well to find space, but I've never once seen him break, a tackle or even so much as move a pile forward. He's wack.

Bauman...I don't really know.

Russel...I think he'll be out of the league after training camp

Jacobs had a terrible rookie campaign and I'll be surprised if he makes the team this year.

[QUOTE=jdlea]Jacobs had a terrible rookie campaign and I'll be surprised if he makes the team this year.[/QUOTE]

That's a really bold statement. You really think he's going to be cut?

It wouldn't surprise me in the least. I don't really see that fire in him. Even when he was at Florida he didn't show me a whole lot of heart, I don't think Gibbs is going to like him. Really, you have to look at our receiving corps, we have Coles, Gardner, McCants, Thrash and maybe one more spot, but we're going to carry 4 TE/H-Back players, maybe a receiver will go since the H-Backs also play the slot...I think.

i don't think he's gonna be cut just for the simple fact we used a second last year on him... way too early to cut him imo.

[QUOTE=jdlea]Flat out...Ladell Betts is a bust. I've never seen a supposed power back never break a tackle in his NFL career...lol. I mean seriously, he does well to find space, but I've never once seen him break, a tackle or even so much as move a pile forward. He's wack.

Bauman...I don't really know.

Russel...I think he'll be out of the league after training camp

Jacobs had a terrible rookie campaign and I'll be surprised if he makes the team this year.[/QUOTE]

I have to say jdlea, I really diagree on both Bett's and Jacob's, in his rookie year Bett's was breaking tackles every time he touched the ball, in fact he was drawing comparison's to S. Davis for his ability to step out of tackles without slowing down, he's been stuck under SS for 2 year's and had some unfortuanate injuries which have slowed him, he will be a very good back, unfortuantly he now has Portis in front of him, so eventually it will be for someone else, What was so terrible about Jacob's rookie year? You do know he had a freak injury? And aware of how much that can set a rookie back? Especially in SS's chaotic world of offense, and I will take all bet's that taylor makes the team this year, the kid is highly motivated and is one of the hardest worker's you will find, as well as he is all buisness, he is about succeeding in the NFL and doing whatever it takes to get there, I would be surprised if he wasen't the #2 reciever before the first 4 games are over, he's going to leave Gardner in the dust.

[QUOTE=offiss]I have to say jdlea, I really diagree on both Bett's and Jacob's, in his rookie year Bett's was breaking tackles every time he touched the ball, in fact he was drawing comparison's to S. Davis for his ability to step out of tackles without slowing down, he's been stuck under SS for 2 year's and had some unfortuanate injuries which have slowed him, he will be a very good back, unfortuantly he now has Portis in front of him, so eventually it will be for someone else, What was so terrible about Jacob's rookie year? You do know he had a freak injury? And aware of how much that can set a rookie back? Especially in SS's chaotic world of offense, and I will take all bet's that taylor makes the team this year, the kid is highly motivated and is one of the hardest worker's you will find, as well as he is all buisness, he is about succeeding in the NFL and doing whatever it takes to get there, I would be surprised if he wasen't the #2 reciever before the first 4 games are over, he's going to leave Gardner in the dust.[/QUOTE]

I have to say Offiss, I completely and respectfully disagree with you. Even despite his injury, Jacobs last season played in 4 regular season games. He caught a whopping 3 receptions. This despite playing in an offense geared to pass first and run second. This is not good for our top draft pick. The point of this thread was wasted picks and what pissed me off about this wasted pick is U of Florida has a reputation around the league that it's recievers that are drafted high do not do well, because of their chuck and duck system. The Redskins ignored this when they could have drafted safety Mike Doss or WR Anquan Boldin who had great rookie seasons. They did not need years to adjust, unlike Betts and Jacobs. Doss was in on 101 tackles and helped his team get one games from the Superbowl.
Our greatest draft need in 2003, like this year, is defense. But Snyder and Cerrato like to draft offensive skill players.
Regarding the injuries to Betts and Jacobs, I feel some players are more fragile than others. Some players get hurt all the time, like Trung Canidate and (during his redskins career) Ladell Betts. I don't care how much talent a guy has, if he only plays 6-9 games a year, it is not worth it.
Regardind Betts "breaking tackles evertime he touched the ball", I am not sure which L. Betts I watched, because he is good , but not that good.

Betts is too injury prone, and thats gonna kill his chanes of being a legitamete starter in the NFL. He could be a nice change of pace back, or a 3rd and 1 back, but the injurys are gonna prevent him from being a every down back.

Bauman is tough to say, he hasent really had a huge chance yet, but has played some nice Nickle and gotten a few picks, so he hasent been a waste. However, nothing great has come out either.

Russell - Wasted Pick. Nothing really more to say than that.

Jacobs - CUT??? CUT??? Are you freaking kidding me. First of all, you cant judge his rookie year in the slightest. He got KO'ed from Preseason until I think maybe the Dallas game, where he stepped in and got a few touches. Then wsent he hurt again?
In addition, wasent the whole buzz around our first mini-camp was that Taylor Jacobs looked awsome? I mean, I'm not saying that hes a Pro-Bowler or anything, but theres no way in hell this guy gets cut.

[QUOTE=Gmanc711]
......In addition, wasent the whole buzz around our first mini-camp was that Taylor Jacobs looked awsome? I mean, I'm not saying that hes a Pro-Bowler or anything, but theres no way in hell this guy gets cut.[/QUOTE]

Even Trung Canidate looks good every year in these non-contact, shorts and helmets work outs. Do not judge Jacobs to much from these non-contact practices. Let see how he does once the hitting starts. Will he stay healthy and look as confidant as he did this spring? I hope so....

[FONT=Georgia]Let me preface this by saying that my research is limited!

I your #2 draft pick is not starting, then it was a weak pick. There are 22 starting positions on offense and defense, and at best you can fill them up with 5-10 #1 picks. The skins have 5 (Ramsay, Gardner, Samuels, Arrington, Taylor) they have drafted, I am sure we have traded for others, like Springs, Upshaw, Wynn, (Candidate?). This is about 8-9 First Rounders on the team.

The skins have 5 (Jensen, Raymer, Smoot, Betts, Jacobs) players they drafted in the 2nd round. They have acquired 3 others (Griffin, Washington, Portis). For a total of 8 second rounders. That is a total of 17 players in the 1st and 2nd. Of those 17, 12-13 are starters. That would still leavel 9-10 open positions.

By looking at our drafts for the 1st and 2nd rounds the last five years, and what player's we've been able to retain, I would say that out of a standard possible 10 players drafted, we have been able to retain 3 top notch players (Arrington, Samuels, and Jensen), the jury is still out on four of them (Ramsay, Smoot, Jacobs, and Taylor), with 2 seemingly servicable players (Betts and Gardner). The only player we haven't retained is Champ.

If out of the the bottom 6 we get 4 more top notch players, I think we have done extremely well in the draft...I think that is a possiblity with Ramsay, Smoot, Jacbos and Taylor....

Sorry for the long writeup![/FONT]

[QUOTE=lifetimeskin][FONT=Georgia]Let me preface this by saying that my research is limited!

I your #2 draft pick is not starting, then it was a weak pick. There are 22 starting positions on offense and defense, and at best you can fill them up with 5-10 #1 picks. The skins have 5 (Ramsay, Gardner, Samuels, Arrington, Taylor) they have drafted, I am sure we have traded for others, like Springs, Upshaw, Wynn, (Candidate?). This is about 8-9 First Rounders on the team.

The skins have 5 (Jensen, Raymer, Smoot, Betts, Jacobs) players they drafted in the 2nd round. They have acquired 3 others (Griffin, Washington, Portis). For a total of 8 second rounders. That is a total of 17 players in the 1st and 2nd. Of those 17, 12-13 are starters. That would still leavel 9-10 open positions.

By looking at our drafts for the 1st and 2nd rounds the last five years, and what player's we've been able to retain, I would say that out of a standard possible 10 players drafted, we have been able to retain 3 top notch players (Arrington, Samuels, and Jensen), the jury is still out on four of them (Ramsay, Smoot, Jacobs, and Taylor), with 2 seemingly servicable players (Betts and Gardner). The only player we haven't retained is Champ.

If out of the the bottom 6 we get 4 more top notch players, I think we have done extremely well in the draft...I think that is a possiblity with Ramsay, Smoot, Jacbos and Taylor....

Sorry for the long writeup![/FONT][/QUOTE]
It would appear that the voice of reason uses a fancy font! ;)

He's absolutely right. We can't expect to have all of our top draft picks, plus all of our free agent acquisitions, plus the players we've traded for all start. It would be a thirty man lineup. Players like Jacobs and Betts may be quality players, but who are they going to knock out of the lineup? As for the idea that we should have addressed defensive line needs, examination of the 2002 draft doesn't show any starters drafted after Betts, much less Bauman and Russell.

I guess the irony is that Betts and Jacobs have seen their playing time and perhaps even their jobs threatened by a couple of later round draft "steals" in Rock and McCants

[QUOTE=Defensewins]I have to say Offiss, I completely and respectfully disagree with you. Even despite his injury, Jacobs last season played in 4 regular season games. He caught a whopping 3 receptions. This despite playing in an offense geared to pass first and run second. This is not good for our top draft pick. The point of this thread was wasted picks and what pissed me off about this wasted pick is U of Florida has a reputation around the league that it's recievers that are drafted high do not do well, because of their chuck and duck system. The Redskins ignored this when they could have drafted safety Mike Doss or WR Anquan Boldin who had great rookie seasons. They did not need years to adjust, unlike Betts and Jacobs. Doss was in on 101 tackles and helped his team get one games from the Superbowl.
Our greatest draft need in 2003, like this year, is defense. But Snyder and Cerrato like to draft offensive skill players.
Regarding the injuries to Betts and Jacobs, I feel some players are more fragile than others. Some players get hurt all the time, like Trung Canidate and (during his redskins career) Ladell Betts. I don't care how much talent a guy has, if he only plays 6-9 games a year, it is not worth it.
Regardind Betts "breaking tackles evertime he touched the ball", I am not sure which L. Betts I watched, because he is good , but not that good.[/QUOTE]

Well at least I am getting some respect DW thank you! :thumb: here's the thing, what reciever excelled in SS offense? None! The QB was to busy getting cremated every pass play, but if you saw 2 of his 3 catches you could make a case that he made 2 of the most difficult catches of any reciever on our team last year, I personally didn't wan't to draft him as well, for the same reason's you presented, and I also wanted Doss, but Doss isn't a world beater, but he will probably be better than what we had last year, You also have to take into account that not taking Doss really opened the door for us to take taylor, who will be an absolute monster for us, and will make Doss look like a nobody, Anquan? Who new? How many other team's passed on him before Arizona selected him? They got lucky, good job by Arizona, but that doesn't mean we did a bad job with that, some times a player slip's under the radar, nobody I know of was pushing for the guy, as for Jacob's I have no doubt in my mind he will be outstanding for us, he's a Gibb's kind of guy, good charactor and hard worker, I think we will be the ones who got lucky with a Florida pick.

Respectfully submitted on this day 5/20/04 By Douglas C. Niedermier sergent of arm's. :silly:

I think Bauman is only a wasted pick because we just signed Harris and Brown. Ive always had highhopes for Bauman. I mean, he entered the league by having Darrel Green be his personal mentor. Then learned under champ and smoot. Whens hes been in hes made some big plays, and more importantly hes one of the few DBs on our team (other than Smoot and Bailey, im talking about the backups) that hasnt given up a ton of big plays. He was hurt last year which foreced Ade Jimoh and Todd Franz to step in, and noffense to their fans but they gave up plenty of yards and scores when they were in.

I wouldn't count out Bauman. Brown's low signing bonus makes him cutable if he's outplayed, and Harris's contract has built-in provisions for him spending this season on IR. Bauman should see some PT - especially in Williams's scheme, which can employ up to 6 DB's.

I think that Betts and Russell were both picked to satiate Spurrier, and not because they were the best players on the board at that point in time.

Dan Snyder has always tried to give his coaches the players they wanted, and this has not always been the smartest thing to do.

This has been one of my criticizms of Snyder - that in letting the coach dictate the flow of a draft, he is forgetting the fact that some people are paid to coach a team and some people are paid to create a team.

The most successful NFL franchises have clear delineations between the coach and general manager.

We still don't have that and it is a chronic problem that will ail us until Danny realizes he is not a professional general manager.

Whether getting Brunell for Gibbs is a smart idea remains to be seen, but I don't know that anyone would argue with Gibbs for the time being.

That being said, Bauman can hit. I think he is going to be a great nickel back.

The verdict is still out on Betts - remember - it took Stephen Davis a few years before he emerged as a top flight back.

As for Russell, I really have trouble seeing him being on this team for much longer.

I'd also like to mention that if Ramsey ends up starting, with Bauman as a nickelback and Betts is a solid contributor, that means that 3 out of the 4 picks are contributors - which isn't a bad ratio at all.

Now if we would just have a friggin' draft with more than 3 or 4 picks, I'd be happy.