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Best/worst draft pick made by every current GM

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If there's a lesson to be learned from the draft picks listed below, it's that general managers generally don't keep their jobs long enough to make more than one colossally bad pick.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Doug Whaley (2013) Kiko Alonso (2nd rd 2013) EJ Manuel (1st rd 2013)

The Bills shocked the football world by reaching for Manuel at 16th overall. Then they cut the cord on him faster than any first-round quarterback in recent memory. Alonso was a Rookie of the Year contender before tearing his ACL as a sophomore, then netted the team LeSean McCoy in a trade.

Miami Dolphins

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Dennis Hickey (2014) WR Jarvis Landry (2nd rd 2014) OT Billy Turner (3rd rd 2014)

Hickey has only one draft class to his name. He traded down in a receiver-rich draft and found value in Landry. Developmental player Turner played in just two games as a rookie, then converted to guard.

New England Patriots

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Bill Belichick (2000) QB Tom Brady (6th rd 2000) WR Chad Jackson (2nd rd 2006)

It may have been mentioned once or twice: Tom Brady was a sixth-round pick.

The Patriots traded their second- and third-round picks to the Packers to move up 16 places for Jackson at 36th overall. The Packers selected Greg Jennings at the Patriots' original slot. Ouch.

New York Jets

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Mike Maccagnan (2015) - -

The coming draft will be Maccagnan's first with the Jets.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Ozzie Newsome (1996*) LB Ray Lewis (1st rd 1996) QB Kyle Boller (1st rd 2003)

Will a "new" franchise ever get a better start than Newsome grabbing Jonathan Ogden with the fourth overall pick and Lewis with the 26th overall in 1996?

*Newsome was formally named GM in 2002 but ran the Ravens' drafts as VP of player personnel beginning in 1996.

Cincinnati Bengals

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Mike Brown (1991) WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (7th rd 2001) QB Akili Smith (1st rd 1999)

Smith's status as mega-bust hurts even more when considering that Brown turned down a trade offer of nine draft picks (including three first-rounders) from the Saints, who coveted Ricky Williams.

Cleveland Browns

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Ray Farmer (2014) OT Joel Bitonio (2nd rd 2014) QB Johnny Manziel (1st rd 2014)

Farmer's only been at the helm for one draft and he's already staring at the possibility of two monumental busts in Manziel and Justin Gilbert.

Pittsburgh Steelers

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Kevin Colbert (2000) DE Brett Keisel (7th rd 2002) WR Limas Sweed (2nd rd 2008)

Colbert has a heck of a resume, but finding an eight-year starter in the seventh-round is the crown jewel.

AFC South

Houston Texans

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Rick Smith (2006) DE J.J. Watt (1st rd 2011) DE Sam Montgomery (3rd rd 2013)

Arian Foster doesn't qualify because he was undrafted. Montgomery was cut as a rookie after he and two other rookies were reportedly caught smoking pot the night before a game.

Indianapolis Colts

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Ryan Grigson (2012) WR T.Y. Hilton (3rd rd 2012) DE Bjoern Werner (1st rd 2013)

Drafting Andrew Luck with the first overall pick was a slam dunk decision any GM (or fan, for that matter) could've made in his sleep so Grigson doesn't get too much credit there. It's worth noting that Grigson's worst draft decision, trading a first-round pick for Trent Richardson, doesn't qualify for this list.

Jacksonville Jaguars

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
David Caldwell (2013) RB Denard Robinson (5th rd 2013) OT Luke Joeckel (1st rd 2013)

Taking college quarterback Robinson with plans to convert him to running back was a bold move that's panned out. Joeckel isn't a bust, and may wind up as a useful starter, but the Jaguars expected more from the second overall pick.

Tennessee Titans

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Ruston Webster (2012) QB Zach Mettenberger (6th rd 2014) WR Justin Hunter (2nd rd 2013)

Entering his fourth draft as GM, Webster is still searching for his first true impact player. There isn't a GM in football with a worse drafting record, but trading a future third-round pick to move up for Hunter stands out as Webster's biggest blunder.

AFC West

Denver Broncos

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
John Elway (2011) LB Von Miller (1st rd 2011) CB Kayvon Webster (3rd rd 2013)

Miller shot up draft boards after a dominant Senior Bowl performance and Elway keenly recognized the hype was entirely warranted.

Kansas City Chiefs

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
John Dorsey (2013) RB Knile Davis (3rd rd 2013) OT Eric Fisher (1st rd 2013)

Fisher hasn't been a total bust, but he hasn't approached living up to his status as the first overall pick.

Oakland Raiders

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Reggie McKenzie (2012) LB Sio Moore (3rd rd 2013) QB Tyler Wilson (4th rd 2013)

Wilson was cut before his rookie season could begin, an inexcusable outcome for a fourth-round pick.

San Diego Chargers

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Tom Telesco (2013) WR Keenan Allen (3rd rd 2013) LB Jeremiah Attaochu (2nd rd 2014)

None of Telesco's picks are substantial successes nor failures to date.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Jerry Jones (1989) OL Larry Allen (2nd rd 1994) DE Shante Carver (1st rd 1994)

Improbably, both Jones' best and worst picks came from the same draft.

New York Giants

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Jerry Reese (2007) RB Ahmad Bradshaw (7th rd 2007) LB Clint Sintim (2nd rd 2009)

Though injuries shortened his career, Bradshaw played a key role in each of the Giants' two Super Bowl wins during Reese's tenure. Not bad for a last-round pick.

Philadelphia Eagles

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Chip Kelly (2015*) - -

The coming draft will be the first over which Kelly has total control.

*Kelly has final say over the Eagles' personnel decisions as de facto GM.

Washington Redskins

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Scot McCloughan (2015) - -

The coming draft will be McCloughan's first with the Redskins.

NFC North

Chicago Bears

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Ryan Pace (2015) - -

The coming draft will be Pace's first with the Bears.

Detroit Lions

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Martin Mayhew (2008) LB DeAndre Levy (3rd rd 2009) WR Titus Young (2nd rd 2011)

The vastly underrated Levy is considered by some analysts to be the best all-around linebacker in football. Young flamed out in spectacular fashion, likely due to mental health issues the Lions didn't identify before the draft.

Green Bay Packers

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Ted Thompson (2005) QB Aaron Rodgers (1st rd 2005) QB Brian Brohm (2nd rd 2008)

Rodgers was Thompson's first pick as GM. Not a bad start. The Brohm pick is one of few blemishes on the record of the NFL's best personnel man.

Minnesota Vikings

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Rick Spielman (2012) K Blair Walsh (6th rd 2012) WR Cordarrelle Patterson (1st rd 2013)

Spielman has made plenty of first-round picks (seven in three years) and most have proven wise, if unspectacular. Patterson stands out as one selection the Vikings would surely choose to undo.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Thomas Dimitroff (2008) QB Matt Ryan (1st rd 2008) C Peter Konz (2nd rd 2012)

Dimitroff found the franchise quarterback he desperately needed without trading up from the third overall pick. He deserves some credit for it.

Carolina Panthers

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Dave Gettleman (2013) CB Bene Benwikere (5th rd 2014) G Edmund Kugbila (4th rd 2013)

Benwikere graded out as a top-20 cornerback as a rookie. That's rare even for first- and second-round picks at the position, let alone fifth-rounders.

New Orleans Saints

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Mickey Loomis (2002) WR Marques Colston (7th rd 2006) DT Jonathan Sullivan (1st rd 2003)

The Saints had two first-round picks to play with in 2003 and traded both to move up to select Sullivan. He went on to record just 1.5 sacks and 77 tackles in three years.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Jason Licht (2014) WR Mike Evans (1st rd 2014) G Kadeem Edwards (5th rd 2014)

Evans is a budding superstar, Edwards is a project who didn't appear to make much progress as a rookie.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Steve Keim (2013) RB Andre Ellington (6th rd 2013) G Jonathan Cooper (1st rd 2013)

When spending a top-ten pick on a guard, he better become a perennial All-Pro. Cooper isn't even a starter.

St. Louis Rams

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Les Snead (2012) DT Aaron Donald (1st rd 2014) WR Tavon Austin (1st rd 2013)

The Rams used the eighth overall pick in 2013 to select a gadget player. The pick stands as one of the worst of the past decade.

San Francisco 49ers

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
Trent Baalke (2011) QB Colin Kaepernick (2nd rd 2011) WR A.J. Jenkins (1st rd 2012)

Speaking of the worst picks of the past decade, Jenkins didn't catch a pass in his one year with the 49ers before the team gave up on him. Try to find a bigger bust.

Seattle Seahawks

GM Best Pick Worst Pick
John Schnieder (2010) QB Russell Wilson (3rd rd 2012) G John Moffitt (3rd rd 2011)

Schneider has hit so many draft home runs it's hard to pick just one. Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor were both fifth-round picks and would easily be the best pick for half the GMs on this list.

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