Breaking Down The 2011 NFL Draft

Posted on by

When you think about legendary NFL draft classes, the 2011 draft should be the first one that comes to mind. It had everything you could ever want,elite players up and down the board. We even got to see Pro Bowlers being drafted in the later rounds. It has a plethora of future Hall of Famers, regular season and Super Bowl MVPs, and five players with over 100 career sacks. You may think the 1983 draft might be better. I’ll be honest, it has a solid case, but let me break down this historic class for you.

The top six picks were Cam Newton, Von Miller, Marcell Dareus, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, and Julio Jones. Those six players combined for 10 First-Team All-Pro selections and 35 Pro Bowl selections. Yup, that’s right,35 Pro Bowl selections. It’s absolutely mind-boggling. And that’s only the first six players. I’m just getting started. Yeah, this class is that stacked.

Cam Newton was one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in his prime and won MVP in 2015. Von Miller is one of the best pass rushers from the 2010s, he has 129.5 career sacks and beat Newton’s Panthers in Super Bowl 50, where he won Super Bowl MVP. Marcell Dareus was an elite defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills for several years. A.J. Green was one of the top wide receivers of the 2010s, he finished his career with over 10,000 receiving yards and 70 touchdowns. Patrick Peterson was one of the premier cornerbacks during the 2010s; he made eight Pro Bowls and was a three-time All-Pro, racking up 36 interceptions in his career. Julio Jones led the NFL in receiving yards twice and was just an absolute monster. He was a physical specimen and could just do it all. Julio finished his career with 13,703 receiving yards, good for 16th all-time.

If you think those players were good, this draft gets even better. The Dallas Cowboys took left tackle Tyron Smith ninth overall, and he was one of the best tackles in the league for over a decade. He is an eight-time Pro Bowler, even while battling injuries. Two picks later came J.J. Watt. Yup, JJ Watt was in this draft class. Watt may arguably be the best player out of the entire class. Before he was riddled with injuries, Watt was not only the best defensive player in the NFL, he may have been the best overall player in the NFL. He won Defensive Player of the Year three times in his first five seasons and was a First-Team All-Pro in four straight seasons. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment may not even be winning a certain award—Watt was the runner-up for MVP in 2014, and even to this day, many fans think he was robbed. He would have been just the third defensive player to ever win MVP.

Related : Ranking The 5 Best NFL Draft Classes Since 2000

Watt and Miller weren’t the only prominent pass rushers taken in the first round. Ryan Kerrigan, Cameron Jordan, and Robert Quinn also found NFL homes in 2011.

Every draft class has busts. You know this, it’s inevitable, but when a draft class is as stacked as this one, drafting a bust has to hurt a little more. Outside of Newton, the quarterbacks weren’t necessarily superstar caliber, maybe not even star caliber. The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Andy Dalton in the second round, and the San Francisco 49ers also took Colin Kaepernick in the second round. Other than that, the QBs selected were rough. But when it comes to quarterbacks, teams get desperate. The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Blaine Gabbert 10th overall. The Minnesota Vikings drafted Christian Ponder 12th. Yikes.

The thing that made this draft class so special was all the talent being taken in the later rounds. The first round is supposed to produce Pro Bowl-caliber players, that’s why they’re drafted so high. The same can’t usually be said for players taken in the fourth, fifth rounds, and beyond. But there’s a reason this draft will go down in history.

Julius Thomas was a key part of the Broncos’ record-setting season in 2013. He had 12 touchdowns in both 2013 and 2014 and was taken in the fourth round. Speaking of that 2013 season, the Seahawks dominated the Broncos 43–8 in the Super Bowl, in large part due to their legendary defense, the “Legion of Boom.” The face of that defense was Richard Sherman, who was taken in the fifth round. Sherman, in my opinion, was the best cornerback of the 2010s. He made five Pro Bowls and was named a First-Team All-Pro three times. You probably know Jason Kelce as the brother of Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, but Kelce is also one of the best centers of all time—and he was taken in the sixth round.

I could keep going on about the amazing talent drafted in 2011, but I think you get the point—the 2011 draft is the best ever.Do you think we’ll see a draft class top this? If so, do you think it’ll happen anytime soon? Let me know in the comments below.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *