1997 Tennessee Oilers Draft

by Jimmy on May 7, 2008 1:24 PM CDT in Draft Grades Comment 14 comments

Over the next few weeks I am going to take some time to look back at the drafts this franchise has completed since the move to Tennessee following the 1996 season. There will be a poll with each draft that will allow you to assign the grade that you find appropriate.

Round 1 Pick #18- Kenny Holmes, DE, Miami

Holmes was a decent player for the Oilers/Titans for 5 years. He signed an overpriced contract with the New York Giants after the 2000 season. Holmes hasn't played in the league since 2003, and finished his career with 250 tackles and 38.5 sacks.

Grade: C

Round 2 Pick #46- Joey Kent, WR, Tennessee

This has to be one of the worst picks in franchise history. Kent barely even made it to the Titans era. He appeared in 30 games in 3 years and had 1 career TD reception.

Grade: F-

Round 3 Pick #75- Denard Walker, CB, LSU

Despite the fact that Walker is most known for his non-pass defense/fall down in the Super Bowl, Walker wasn't terrible. He was pretty bad, but he wasn't terrible. He played 9 seasons in the league and picked off 13 passes.

Grade: C

Round 3 Pick #81- Scott Sanderson, OT, Washington State

This was another bad pick. Sanderson never amounted to much as an NFL tackle. He was in the league for 7 years and started 6 games. More years in the league than games started is never a good stat.

Grade: F

Round 4 Pick #98- Derrick Mason, WR, Michigan State

Mason is obviously the saving grace of this draft. Mason took a few years to develop, but he busted on the scene in 1999 when he set the NFL record for all-purpose yards in a season. D Mase is still putting up solid numbers (1,087 yards and 5 TDs in 2007). It would be nice if he was still a member of the Titans.

Grade: A+

Round 4 Pick #107- Pratt Lyons, DE, Troy State

Raise your hand if you remember anything about Lyons. No one...OK. Lyons did record 4.5 sacks in his 3 years with the franchise. He was waived before the 2000 season after missing the entire 1999 season after being injured in a car wreck. The grade is a little softer on him since the wreck ended his career.

Grade: D

Round 5 Pick #143- George McCullough, DB, Baylor

This was another pick that was pretty much wasted. McCullough was in the league for just 5 years and never started a game.

Grade: F

Round 6 Pick #181- Dennis Stallings, LB, Illinois

Here is another guy that didn't contribute much, if any. Stallings didn't make 28 appearances in his first 2 season, but I would suspect it was just on special teams. 6th rounders aren't expected to do great things, but they need to be in the league more than 2-3 years.

Grade: F

Round 7 Pick #217- Armon Williams, DB, Arizona

Williams appeared in 6 games in 1997 and was never heard from again.

Grade: F

This was not Floyd Reese's best effort. Out of 9 picks there were only 3 that made any kind of contribution to the franchise.

Overall grade: D

Poll

Grade the 1997 Tennessee Oilers Draft

A

1 votes

B

7 votes

C

23 votes

D

36 votes

F

19 votes

86 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 14 comments

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Comments

Typo in the poll..

Or at least I would assume that is the case, unless you want us to grade last years draft too..

by CoryC123 on May 7, 2008 6:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It was a typo

Thanks for pointing it out

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles

by Jimmy on May 7, 2008 7:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not Joey's fault

Joey Kent was just never given the opportunity to perform. Yeah, that’s what it was.

by Kayne on May 7, 2008 7:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles

by Jimmy on May 7, 2008 7:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with Kayne

F-? That’s a little strong!

I still wear my Kent jersey.

Proud Member of the Michael Griffin Man-Crush Club!

by gramsey712 on May 8, 2008 9:29 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If I could give him a Z I would

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles

by Jimmy on May 8, 2008 10:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm curious...

What’s a good hit-rate for the draft?

.500?
.333?

Anyway, I thought this was a C- draft. Certainly not wonderful, but Holmes and Walker weren’t bad picks, and Mason was obviously very good. Plus some of those O-Linemen must have been at least decent to have stayed around that long.

DannoE

Go read FRIDAY MAD SCIENCE at www.paperbackreader.com
Go Titans!

by DannoE on May 8, 2008 9:46 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think .500 would be a B

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles

by Jimmy on May 8, 2008 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It would be interesting to benchmark...

...the “hit rate” across a couple of teams to try to find out what the difference between good, normal, and bad is.

One thing I like about the new GM is his willingness to bring in FAs for specific needs and cut draft picks who bust. I mean, in theory you’d probably like to have a better hit rate on your draft piocks, but in practice as long as you can field a successful team and manage your cap, you’re good to go.

A case in point is today’s article on the D-Line in the Tennessean. There are a LOT of D-Linemen in TN right now and at least some standouts. It wouldn’t amaze me to see Bryce Fisher get cut this year—if all goes well with the new D-Line draft picks. That might seem silly and/or wasteful, but why keep an underachiever if you don’t have to? And the Titans DON’T have to, either for cap reasons or necessity of depth. So being able to cut that guy is actually a good thing, as long as the team has the cap space to take the hit and still retain talent at his position.

DannoE

Go read FRIDAY MAD SCIENCE at www.paperbackreader.com
Go Titans!

by DannoE on May 8, 2008 1:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Did you notice B. Fisher wasn't even mentioned in that article?

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles

by Jimmy on May 8, 2008 1:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not until you mentioned it.

His status right now seems to be “insurance.” If all else fails, he’s here. But he doesn’t seem like anybody’s first choice. And, of course, the BEST insurance is the insurance you never need.

DannoE

Go read FRIDAY MAD SCIENCE at www.paperbackreader.com
Go Titans!

by DannoE on May 8, 2008 2:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Damn I hope this year's draft ends up a WHOLE LOT BETTER than '97

Please allow me to adjust my pants, so that I may dance the good time dance - Clutch

by August West on May 8, 2008 10:15 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I had to rate it a C

I think you were a little hard on Sanderson. He was playing behind a HOF’r. He was Bruce Matthews reliever and provided depth at the position. I think he logged quite a few playing minutes even though he rarely started.

McCullough was pretty descent on special teams and for a #5 pick you can hope for better but be satisfied with that.

Yeah, Kent was a bust but D-Mas was a hidden gem and Holmes probably was as responsible for the Freak’s rookie season as anything because that’s who the opponents game planned for until Kearse became a known quantity.

Not a great draft but I think better than a D.

by Titanfan on May 8, 2008 10:20 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs