Revisiting the pretty bad 2015 draft class

[Albany,n.y.]

Looking back to the draft held 5 years ago, many teams came out disappointed in the results.  A 1st round pick is supposed to be a difference maker & be with the team beyond 5 years, yet of the 32 picks, due to injuries, busts & free agents looking to move on, only 7 are still with the team that drafted them.  Even worse, of the top 10, only 1 player is still on his drafted team.  The 1st 2, QBs Winston & Mariotta fell out of favor & were not wanted back by their teams after 5 seasons. Any QB at the top of the draft who is jettisoned after 5 years is a wasted pick.  

  

The Bills, who didn't have a 1st rounder, didn't pick a single player of much consequence and none are still with the team.  2nd rounder Darby was traded after 2 seasons for a 1 year rental of Matthews and a 3rd round pick (H. Phillips).  Due to injuries he has been a disappointment and recently signed with his 3rd team as a UFA.  3rd rounder Miller lasted 4 up & down seasons with the Bills and lasted only 1 year with Cincinnati after signing with them.  He also is now on his 3rd team.  The rest of the picks were JAGs who have bounced around with only 1 of the remaining 4 still (barely) in the league.  

 

Ironically, one of the best picks of that draft was Minnesota's 5th rounder, WR Stefon Diggs. While he too is no longer with his original team, Minnesota got a haul of draft choices from the Bills.  The players from the 2015 draft currently on the Bills are Diggs, Yeldon, Morse, Feliciano, & undrafted Spain, so the Bills got something out of the class of 2015 .  

[DrDawkinstein]

The lack of talent in the 2015 class was one of the reasons Whaley was more comfortable trading away that 1st in order to move up in 2014. Folks saw that stinker class coming miles away.

 

Too bad he didn't pick Mack in 2014 like he should have.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by DrDawkinstein

[JustWinPlease]

6 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

The lack of talent in the 2015 class was one of the reasons Whaley was more comfortable trading away that 1st in order to move up in 2014. Folks saw that stinker class coming miles away.

 

Too bad he didn't pick Mack in 2014 like he should have.

 

 

That's giving Whaley an awful lot of credit...I think he made the trade because he thought he had to, in order to get his young QB a WR.

No way do I think he knew enough about the 2015 draft class to make that kind of decision.

[BuffaloBillies]

I actually liked Darby. I thought he was well above average when we traded him. Too bad he had that ugly injury in Philly.

[DJB]

40 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

The lack of talent in the 2015 class was one of the reasons Whaley was more comfortable trading away that 1st in order to move up in 2014. Folks saw that stinker class coming miles away.

 

Too bad he didn't pick Mack in 2014 like he should have.

 

 

 

Had he chosen Mack instead he might still have a job here. 

 

Trading up wasn't the poor decision, the poor decision was taking Sammy

[MJS]

Just out of curiosity, how do the surrounding drafts stack up as far as those still with their team or turned out to be good players?

[DrDawkinstein]

44 minutes ago, JustWinPlease said:

That's giving Whaley an awful lot of credit...I think he made the trade because he thought he had to, in order to get his young QB a WR.

No way do I think he knew enough about the 2015 draft class to make that kind of decision.

 

It isnt giving him much credit. Most GMs know what the next class is looking like, and usually even 2 classes out.

 

I specifically remember talk from that weekend out of the Bills that they werent thrilled with the way the 2015 was looking, so it made it easier to make the trade. Might even be able to find articles that show the quotes (although it seems most have been archived from my quick googling).

 

Yes, getting a WR for his QB was the main part of it. But the looks of the 2015 class made the decision easier.

 

Whatever you think about his all-around GM abilities, Whaley and his team were great scouts and always had a good idea of what the next year's class looked like.

Edited April 3, 2020 by DrDawkinstein

[Hatszel]

30 minutes ago, JustWinPlease said:

That's giving Whaley an awful lot of credit...I think he made the trade because he thought he had to, in order to get his young QB a WR.

No way do I think he knew enough about the 2015 draft class to make that kind of decision.

I think Whaley gets a bad rap.   He did what he could with each Coaching staff and tried to get them what the coach wanted.  I agree that when the trade went  down it should have been Mack to trade up by giving up a 1 to get a receiver in a receiver heavy draft was foolish.   In the draft simulators that year I traded back and would have drafted Martin, Evens and Bryant with the first 3 picks.

 

[DrDawkinstein]

9 minutes ago, DJB said:

 

Had he chosen Mack instead he might still have a job here. 

 

Trading up wasn't the poor decision, the poor decision was taking Sammy

 

Eh, doubtful, and rightfully so. He'd be better thought of by the fans, but the entire FO needed to be rebuilt with the Pegulas taking over and wanting to change the culture. That's tough to change if you keep people from the bad times. Even if they did their job well.

 

As much as I liked Whaley, I'm happy the did a wholesale change over and brought in Beane. The entire aura in the offices at OBD needed to change, and to do that you need to exorcise all the ghosts.

[msw2112]

I liked Whaley, and the Watkins trade notwithstanding, he brought some good talent to the roster.  The defense under Schwartz was excellent.  Whaley's downfall was due to 2 things:  1)  his inability to find a franchise QB, a sure GM killer; and 2) getting stuck with Rex and not having the clout (or desire) to stop that hiring from happening.  Despite liking Whaley, I am glad that team moved on and think that the current regime is much better.

[Mark Vader]

The best thing about that draft was watching Jim Kelly walk out on stage to announce the pick.

[Rigotz]

47 minutes ago, Hatszel said:

I think Whaley gets a bad rap.   He did what he could with each Coaching staff and tried to get them what the coach wanted.  I agree that when the trade went  down it should have been Mack to trade up by giving up a 1 to get a receiver in a receiver heavy draft was foolish.   In the draft simulators that year I traded back and would have drafted Martin, Evens and Bryant with the first 3 picks.

 

 

-He helped hire a dumpster fire head coach.

-He traded a future first round pick for a WR that is significantly worse than many players drafted after him.

-He put us in salary cap hell with massive contracts to guys like Dareus

-He established zero culture 

-He never made the playoffs

 

Maybe he "gets a bad rap" because he was a horrible GM.

The 5 things above are the 5 most important things a GM can do and he failed at all of them.

[Bill from NYC]

1 hour ago, JustWinPlease said:

That's giving Whaley an awful lot of credit...I think he made the trade because he thought he had to, in order to get his young QB a WR.
 

Correct! He also made the trade because he was one to give away the store. People still occasionally post good things about Whaley and make excuses for him but he was a disaster. If he was any good he would have an NFL job by now.

 

In the credit where it is due department, the man sure was a great dresser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fergie's ire]

28 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

I liked Whaley, and the Watkins trade notwithstanding, he brought some good talent to the roster.  The defense under Schwartz was excellent.  Whaley's downfall was due to 2 things:  1)  his inability to find a franchise QB, a sure GM killer; and 2) getting stuck with Rex and not having the clout (or desire) to stop that hiring from happening.  Despite liking Whaley, I am glad that team moved on and think that the current regime is much better.

I agree.  To me, it seemed like Whaley was always good at getting coaches what they wanted.  You want Shaq Lawson?  I'll get him for you.  You need a TE for your offense to run, Roman?  I'll get you Clay.  The problem was that he always seemed like an errand boy...like the coaches assistant.  The Pegulas made it sound like that dynamic was going to change after they fired Rex and that Whaley would be largely in charge of finding his replacement....but then they fell in love with McD....and at that moment, I think Whaley's fate was sealed.  

[Kirby Jackson]

2 hours ago, JustWinPlease said:

That's giving Whaley an awful lot of credit...I think he made the trade because he thought he had to, in order to get his young QB a WR.

No way do I think he knew enough about the 2015 draft class to make that kind of decision.

FWIW, teams are ready for the 2021 draft now. They’ve scouted everyone and have books on the players. Obviously things change but they 100% know the strengths, weaknesses and depth of the draft the following year. They haven’t finished their work but have a pretty good sense of what it will look like. BLESTO and National meetings are right after this draft I think 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Kirby Jackson

[Albany,n.y.]

22 hours ago, fergie's ire said:

I agree.  To me, it seemed like Whaley was always good at getting coaches what they wanted.  You want Shaq Lawson?  I'll get him for you.  You need a TE for your offense to run, Roman?  I'll get you Clay.  The problem was that he always seemed like an errand boy...like the coaches assistant.  The Pegulas made it sound like that dynamic was going to change after they fired Rex and that Whaley would be largely in charge of finding his replacement....but then they fell in love with McD....and at that moment, I think Whaley's fate was sealed.  

Since none of us know what McDermott said in his long interview I'll take a guess at how he started & why the Pegulas fell in love with him:  "Thank you for this interview.  The biggest problem with this organization is you have a losing culture.  If I owned this team the 1st thing I'd do is fire Doug Whaley.  He was part of the team that drafted EJ Manuel and traded an extra #1 and more picks for Sammy Watkins. Heck, you won't even let the guy speak in public anymore, why is he still here? I know a guy down in Carolina named Brandon Beane who is a great public speaker and a great football mind.  Hire me and I'll get him here.  Now let's talk about my plans for coaching this team..."  

[Phil The Thrill]

On 4/3/2020 at 11:57 AM, Albany,n.y. said:

Looking back to the draft held 5 years ago, many teams came out disappointed in the results.  A 1st round pick is supposed to be a difference maker & be with the team beyond 5 years, yet of the 32 picks, due to injuries, busts & free agents looking to move on, only 7 are still with the team that drafted them.  Even worse, of the top 10, only 1 player is still on his drafted team.  The 1st 2, QBs Winston & Mariotta fell out of favor & were not wanted back by their teams after 5 seasons. Any QB at the top of the draft who is jettisoned after 5 years is a wasted pick.  

  

The Bills, who didn't have a 1st rounder, didn't pick a single player of much consequence and none are still with the team.  2nd rounder Darby was traded after 2 seasons for a 1 year rental of Matthews and a 3rd round pick (H. Phillips).  Due to injuries he has been a disappointment and recently signed with his 3rd team as a UFA.  3rd rounder Miller lasted 4 up & down seasons with the Bills and lasted only 1 year with Cincinnati after signing with them.  He also is now on his 3rd team.  The rest of the picks were JAGs who have bounced around with only 1 of the remaining 4 still (barely) in the league.  

 

Ironically, one of the best picks of that draft was Minnesota's 5th rounder, WR Stefon Diggs. While he too is no longer with his original team, Minnesota got a haul of draft choices from the Bills.  The players from the 2015 draft currently on the Bills are Diggs, Yeldon, Morse, Feliciano, & undrafted Spain, so the Bills got something out of the class of 2015 .  

Doug Whaley - what a bad GM.  I am so glad he’s gone

22 hours ago, fergie's ire said:

I agree.  To me, it seemed like Whaley was always good at getting coaches what they wanted.  You want Shaq Lawson?  I'll get him for you.  You need a TE for your offense to run, Roman?  I'll get you Clay.  The problem was that he always seemed like an errand boy...like the coaches assistant.  The Pegulas made it sound like that dynamic was going to change after they fired Rex and that Whaley would be largely in charge of finding his replacement....but then they fell in love with McD....and at that moment, I think Whaley's fate was sealed.  

I’m sorry but Whaley was a NOT a GM.  He had a shoddy draft record and left the Bills in cap hell.  Oh he also never could find the team a QB.  Worse yet, he just never seemed to be able to have a long term plan or vision like were seeing now, and it cost him.  

 

For everyone who wants to defend Whaley - why is he not working in the NFL and instead banished to the island of XFL misfit toys?
 

John Dorsey was fired in KC and was hired shortly after in Cleveland

Brian Gaine was hired almost instantly after getting fired in Houston.

Why not Doug?

[BuffaloBills1998]

On 4/3/2020 at 10:26 AM, msw2112 said:

I liked Whaley, and the Watkins trade notwithstanding, he brought some good talent to the roster.  The defense under Schwartz was excellent.  Whaley's downfall was due to 2 things:  1)  his inability to find a franchise QB, a sure GM killer; and 2) getting stuck with Rex and not having the clout (or desire) to stop that hiring from happening.  Despite liking Whaley, I am glad that team moved on and think that the current regime is much better.

Yeah but Whaley wanted Hue Jackson lol. And Whaley was the one who immediately said no to bringing back Reich

Edited April 5, 2020 by BuffaloBills1998

[ehfeuh57]

before injuries Darby excelled what you would expect from his draft spot

[T master]

Whaley had some good points to his tenure of being a GM the guy wasn't afraid to wheel & deal it's just who ever was giving him his inside info apparently wasn't real good & he wasn't good at deciphering that info not to mention who ever was over seeing the construction of the contracts at that time was dumber than a box of rocks & put the team in cap hell .

 

The one thing that Whaley failed miserably at was letting the coaches change all the good things that the team had going for it at the time the new HC was hired, allowing Rex to first change a top 5 defense that had been drafting players for a 4/3 & playing a 4/3 at a very high level to change to a base 3/4 then fire the guy that was making it work was just ignorant !

 

If it ain't broke don't fix it he should have as the GM tell who ever came in the D is fine don't touch it be a HC & use what you have at your disposal & just make th team better allow those in place that are doing a good job to continue doing what they are doing & move forward but because Rex changed all the crap he did it put the team & Whaley by allowing it to happen on the unemployment line .

 

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by T master