Man, this took forever to do. I think I've spent a week on this and nearly stopped and gave up but here it is:
SFL Draft Gems- Historical Listing & Where Are They Now
Part of me really loves the Draft Gem idea and part of me cringes at the thought of it sometimes. I love the idea that a GM could potentially get a good starter late in the draft. I also like having GM’s be rewarded sticking around the draft and picking even in the late rounds. It scares me that the rich could get richer and you could maybe have an SFL champion strike gold and repeat because of a draft gem. I am afraid that if the cards were to be laid perfectly a GM could get the ultimate unstoppable player. I know it has only happened once and that was back in NAFL when (if I recall correctly) a large slow WR got matched up with a small speedster who was a KR. It gave someone a 6’4 or 6’5 99 SPD, 99 SPD, 99 ACC WR. I guess that is part of the excitement though. So even if some do not care for it, no one can say the idea is not exciting. I am in shock that I won a Draft Gem with pick 7.27 this year. Now granted my guy is not going to be an elite SFL HOF’er but for me the true excitement is the fact the pick was originally Will Cook’s & Will himself had to announce that I had won it. OH what a feeling!
I thought it would be fun to take a historical look back at all of our Draft Gems and do a quick summary on how they have performed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2003 Draft Gem:
WR LaTerrence Dunbar |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=2227&skin=lp
5’10”, 196 # from TCU | Drafted 7.2 by the Pittsburg Steelers
SPD went from 87 to 97, AWR went from 44 to 54, AGI went from 85 to 98, ACC went from 88 to 96 & CTH went from 64 to 74
History: Dunbar went from a nothing to a true someone. He had four seasons of 50+ catches, 4 seasons of 1000+ yards and scored 60 career TD’s. His career totals include 517 catches for 8795 yards & 58 receiving TD’s. Dunbar spend five seasons with the Pittsburg Steelers and GM Tim Miller before being traded to the Tampa Bay Bucs and GM Bill Ryan. After two years with the Tampa Bay Bucs, new Bucs GM Bryan Mellon traded Dunbar to the Kansas City Chiefs and GM Tim Miller for MLB Wil Witherspoon and a 7th round draft pick. Dunbar also played two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and GM Brady Tinnin as well a single season for the Dallas Cowboys and GM Will Cook.
Best Season: 2011- 65 catches for 1064 yards and 11 TD’s (Cincinnati Bengals)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004 Draft Gem:
LT Jim Molinaro |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?first_name=jim&last_name=Molinaro
6’6”, 299 # from Notre Dame| Drafted 5.22 by the Indianapolis Colts
STR did not change at 90, AWR went from 52 to 61, AGI went from 56 to 67, PBK went from 77 to 79 & RBK stayed at 82
<Best Season: 2005- 23 pancakes vs 1 sack allowed
Molinaro, unfortunately did not have much of an SFL career. He was moved from LT to LG and gained stats in just two seasons he totaled 61 pancakes and 5 sacks allowed. He stayed on the Colts roster the whole four years of his contract but was never signed by another team during any free agent period.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2005 Draft Gem:
WR Reggie Brown |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=2762&skin=lp
6’1”, 194 #from Georgia | Drafted 4.28 by the Baltimore Ravens
SPD went to 90, AWR went to 60, AGI went to 89, ACC went to 90 & CTH went to 87
Best Season: 2005- 66 catches for 811 11 yards, 4 TD’s & 4 drops
Brown ended up being a more than serviceable possession receiver for the Ravens. I would not say he ended up havig a great career but he played 7 season with never catching less than 20 passes and having less than 380 yards receiving. The only team Brown played for was the Baltimore Ravens. His career stats include 299 catches for 4566 receiving yard and 26 TD’s.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2006 Draft Gem:
FS Jarrad Page |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=3145&skin=lp
6’0”, 225 # from UCLA | Drafted 7.01 by the Buffalo Bills
SPD went to 88, AWR went to 60, ACC went to 89, CTH went to 66 & TAK went to 65.
Best Season: 2012- 67 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 5 interceptions for 94 interception return yards, 1 defensive TD, 11 deflection and catches allowed.
Page was never traded from one team to another. He played the first four years of his career with the Buffalo Bills then four with the Denver Broncos followed by single seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans and The Dallas Cowboys. He will most likely retire after this season but could end up being signed by a team in first come first serve free agency due to him having 90 AWR and being able to mentor. His career stats include 575 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 5 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 17 interceptions for 187 yards, 115 deflections and 1 defensive TD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007 Draft Gem:
QB Tyler Thigpen |
https://sfl football.com/player.php?id=3826&sub=prog&skin=lp
6’1”, 216 # from Colgate | Drafted 6.06 by the Baltimore Ravens
AWR went to 75, THP went to 92, THA went to 88, AGI went to 56 & ACC went to 56.
Best Season: 2012- 307 of 494 passing attempts for a comp rate of 62%, 4474 passing yards, 35 TD’s, 14 int’s, sacked only 20 times & had a QB rating of 103.8.
Thigpen has been the Draft Gem who has made the largest impact on the league. All 11 of his seasons have been played with the Ravens. He is still going fairly strong at 34 years old and with 95 AWR, 85 THP and 93 THA his career will continue even if it is as a backup or mentor. His career stats include 2140 of 3740 passing for a comp rate of 57%, 31,200 yards passing, 226 passing TD’s, 123 int’s and a QB rating of 91. *Update: Since I began this article the Ravens have traded Thigpen to the Seattle Seahawks. Thigpen will mentor newly drafted Seahawk QB Josh Rosen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 Draft Gem:
WR Jaymar Johnson |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=4094&skin=lp
6’0”, 176 # from Jackson State | Drafted 5.08 by the Houston Texans
SPD went to 93, AWR went to 53, AGI went to 93, ACC went to 94 & CTH went to 78
Best Season: 2015- 65 catches, 1226 receiving yards & 9 TD’s
Johnson was able to have a successful SFL career despite not having an ideal frame. He has posted over 1000 receiving yards in two seasons; 2009 and 2015. He played his first four seasons with the Houston Texans then a season with the New England Patriots, the next season with the Indianapolis Colts, two seasons with the New York Giants then back to the Colts for another season and was signed as a free agent in week 3 last season by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Texans sent Johnson and a 4th round pick to the Patriots for a 2nd round pick. The Patriots sent Johnson to the Colts for a 3rd round pick. The Colts traded Johnson to the Giants for a 4th round pick. The Giants sent Johnson, a 4th and a 5th back to Colts for 3rd, 5th and 6th round draft picks. He is currently a free agent and with SPD, AGI, ACC and CTH all under 90 and being 32 years old he may have played his last SFL game. Johnson’s career stats include 415 catches for 6949 yards and 50 TD’s.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009 Draft Gem:
DT Michael Bennett |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=4539&skin=lp
6’4”, 274 # from Texas A&M | Drafted 7.32 by the Tennessee Titans
STR went to 99, AWR went to 61, AGI went to 75, ACC went to 70 & TAK went to 85
Best Season: 2014- 26 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumbles and 1 deflection
Bennett received a huge boost in attributes but has never been one to record tons of stats. He spent his first two seasons on the Titans roster followed by four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and then four with the San Diego Chargers. Bennett is currently a free agent and with attributes such as 95 STR and 90 TAK he may find his way onto a roster by the start of the 2018 season. The Titans made out well as they traded Bennett for a 2nd round pick to the Cardinals after the 2010 season. Bennett’s career stats include 160 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 28 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumbles recovered.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 Draft Gem:
SS Major Wright |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=3145&skin=lp
6’0”, 205 # from Florida | Drafted 6.25 by the Miami Dolphins
SPD went to 94 from 82, AWR went to 61 from 60, ACC went to 95 from 88, CTH went to 65 from 56 & TAK stayed at 65
Best Season: 2015- 74 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 6 int’s, 1 defensive TD and 18 deflections
Wright has proved to be one of the top Draft Gems thus far, possibly behind only Ravens QB Tyler Thigpen. He will be entering his 9th season but still boasts attributes of 93 SPD, 91 AWR and 94 ACC. This multiple time pro bowler has career stats that include: 523 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 14 int’s for 273 int yards, 98 deflections and 4 defensive TD’s. GM Darren Roberts made out well with Wright as he was traded soon after the draft to THIS GUY (GM Mellon and the Tampa Bay Bucs) alng with 4th and 5th round draft picks from for the Bucs 1st round pick. GM Mellon traded Wright after 6 seasons to the Cowboys for a 1st round pick. The Cowboys traded Wright to the Broncos for a 1st and 4th round pick. Rumors out of Denver suggest Wright is set to mentor promising rookie Jessie Bates this season.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 Draft Gem:
RT James Carpenter |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=5366&skin=lp
6’0”, 305 # from Alabama | Drafted 4.2 by the San Fran 49’ers
STR went to 96, AWR went to 59, AGI went to 72, PBK went to 83 & RBK went to 85
Best Season: 2017 – 61 pancakes & 0 sacks allowed
Carpenter had what I would consider a rock career (3 years) in San Fran. He had seasons of 41 pancakes and 7 sacks allowed, 63 pancakes and 7 sacks allowed and 62 pancakes and 6 sacks allowed. He followed that up with an equally of worse season with Denver with 62 pancakes and 8 sacks allowed. He was then signed by the Tennessee Titans in 2015 who helped him fix his issues on the way to 54 pancakes and 1 sack allowed. The last two years while with the Raiders have been much better as he has totaled 126 pancakes and just 4 total sacks allowed including 0 last year. Denver received him and a 5th from San Fran for another player and a 2nd. The Titans traded him to the Raiders for (you guessed it) a trade involving a 1st round pick. At 29 years old he continues to be strong and will enjoy 1 more season before SFL forced regression.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012 Draft Gem:
WR La Von Brazill |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?first_name=&last_name=brazill
5’11”, 192 # from Ohio | Drafted 7.12 by the New Englanf Patriots
SPD went to 91, AWR went to 62, AGI went to 91, ACC went to 91 & CTH went to 82
Best Season: 2016- 71 catches, 1169 receiving yards & 7 TD’s
Brazill has done extremely well considering he was originally drafted in the 7th round. Two of his first 4 years in the league consisted of season with 500+ receiving year. In 2015 the Redskins signed him to a 3 year deal. In 2016 he was great catching over 70 passed for just over 1100 yards, scoring 7 TD’s and contributing in the ground attack with adding 15 pancakes. With no attribute that is overly impressive it is safe to say Brazill has made the most of his opportunities. I would think this might be his last season as any type of impactful SFL player though since he has regression set to occur after this season.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 Draft Gem:
DT Kapron Lewis-Moore |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=5906&skin=lp
6’4”, 298 # from Notre Dame | Drafted 4.11 by the Washington Redskins
STR went to 84, AWR went to 84, AGI went to 84, ACC went to 84 & TAK went to 66
Best Season: 2014- 40 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 int’s and 1 deflection
I really liked Lewis Moore as soon as he was announced as the draft gem. He was moved to RE and I think he makes for a great 3-4 DE. He enjoyed a very successful four years in Washington totaling 141 tackles and 46 sacks. His 2 interceptions in 2016 were very impressive since he is a DE. The site is not specific on what the trade involved when he was sent from the Redskins to the Chargers last year but the move paid off for San Diego as Lewis Moore made 29 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery has he helped the Chargers to the playoffs. With 90+ AWR Lewis Moore is now mentor eligible at only 28 years old.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014 Draft Gem:
DT Dominique Easley |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=6494&skin=lp
6’2”, 263 # from Florida | Drafted 4.25 by the San Fran 49’ers
STR went to 96, AWR went to 55, AGI went to 74, ACC went to 78 & TAK went to 78
Best Season: 2015- 38 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks & 2 fumble recoveries
Easley is one of the smallest DT’s in he league but haa enjoyed a successful career thus far. He was re-signed by the 49’ers last year so he has four more years on his contact and looks to continue to be part of the 49’ers starters come game day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015 Draft Gem:
SS Jordan Richards |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?first_name=&last_name=richards
5’11”, 210 # from Stanford | Drafted 6.19 by the San Diego Chargers
SPD went to 94, AWR went to 52, ACC went to 95, from 88, CTH went to 72 & TAK went to 83
Best Season: 2017- 84 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 3 int’s & 9 deflections
Richards has been very good in his first three years. He’s moved around quite a bit. The Chargers traded him to the Tennessee Titans for a 1st round pick. The Titans then traded him to the Pittsburg Steelers for a deal involving another 1st round pick. The Steelers traded him this offseason to the New York Jets for another SS plys pick 2.16 as well as a 2019 3rd round pick.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016 Draft Gem:
QB Jacoby Brissett |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=7425&skin=lp
6’3”, 231 # from North Carolina State | Drafted 6.18 by the Green Bay Packers
AWR went to 52, THP went to 98, THA went to 85, AGI went to 55 & ACC went to 65.
Best Season: n/a | He was a spot starter his rookie year and is currently a backup for the Tampa Bay Bucs so there is not enough date to have a “best season” yet.
Brissett did not get the advantage a great gem companion, especially when it came to AWR and ACC. He should however be a capable backup QB for a few more seasons. He attempted 250 passes for the Packers in his rookie year of 2016 due to starter Andrew Luck getting injured. The results were not good with 8 TD’s, 17 int’s and 34 sacks to go with a QB rating of just 50.1. Last year he was a bit better in less time with the Bucs with 53 pass attempts, 5 TD’s, 2 int’s, 9 sacks and a QB rating of 81.6. This preseason QB Mellon of the Bucs gave the starting spot to Brissett where he led the Bucs to a 3-1 record but did not put up good personal stats and earned less than 1 full progression point. He is expected to tbe the Bucs QB2 this season. He was traded from the Packers to the Bucs after his rookie season for veteran QB Kevin Kolb.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 Draft Gem:
WR Mack Hollins |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=7795&skin=lp
6’4”, 221 # from North Carolina | Drafted 5.2 by the New Orleans Saints
SPD went to 93, AWR went to 63, AGI went to 93, ACC went to 99 & CTH went to 85
Best Season: I doubt 2017 will be Hollis’ “best season” but it was a great one catching 55 passes for 916 yards an 4 TD’s.
Hollins has a chance to be one of the best SFL Draft Gems of all time. He is a 6’4”, 220 # WR who with attribute boosts would max out with 96 SPD, 97 AGI & 99 ACC. He is going to be special. Unfortunately
THIS guy gets to watch him at least twice a season as he is a division rival.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018 Draft Gem:
DT Maurice Hurst |
https://sfl-football.com/player.php?id=8149&skin=lp
6’2”, 280 # from Michigan | Drafted 7.27 by the Tampa Bay Bucs
STR went to 93, AWR went to 73, AGI went to 71, ACC went to 73 & TAK went to 74
Best Season: n/a
It finally happened, it finally happened, it finally happened …… I was lucky enough to draft a gem! This guy is going to be the piece to bring home a final SFL championship, oh wait. Wait, wait, wait this guy still sort of sucks even after being named the SFL Draft Gem. Big deep sigh, well, I am at least going to try and create a cheap starter out of Hurst. He has been moved to RE where he lost 4 AWR. He got 2 of those back from training camp and earne a whopping 1 progression point in preseason so he will have 71 AWR o being his career with. DE, especially RE is not a spot where AWR is really coveted but that along with 94 STR and 75 TAK might be enough to equal a low level starting RE in a 3-4 defense. We will see what happens. I have my eye on a couple free agent DE’s already though.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is interesting that our draft Gems seem to be overwhelming WR’s, DT’s or Safeties. Here is the breakdown:
QB’s: 2
RB’s: 0
FB’s: 0
TE’s: 0
WR’s: 5
OT’s: 2
OG’s:
C’s: 0
DT’s: 4
DE’s: 0
OLB’s: 0
MLB’s: 0
FS/SS: 3
K’s: 0
P’s: 0
The top 3 SFL Draft Gems in my opinion have been/will be:
1.) Tyler Thigpen- QB
2.) Mack Hollis WR
3.) Major Wright- SS
The worst 3 SFL Draft Gems in my opinion have been/will be:
1.) Jim Molinaro- LT
2.) Maurice Hurst- DT
3.) Jacoby Brissett- QB
