10 year reunion

Like a ten year high school reunion you aren’t sure if you want to attend, I’ve decided to take a look back at the NFL draft class of 2000 and see what that class looks like as we prepare to head into the 2010 NFL season. For the sake of space I will only be looking at the first round, and Mr. Irrelevant.

1. Cleveland Browns- Courtney Brown

2. Washington Redskins – LaVar Arrington

3. Washington Redskins – Chris Samuels

4. Cincinati Bengals – Peter Warrick

5. Baltimore Ravens – Jamal Lewis

6. Philadelphia Eagles – Corey Simon

7. Arizona Cardinals – Thomas Jones

8. Pittsburgh Steelers – Plaxico Burress

9. Chicago Bears – Brian Urlacher

10. Baltimore Ravens – Travis Taylor

11. New York Giants – Ron Dayne

12. New York Jets – Shaun Ellis

13. New York Jets – John Abraham

14. Green Bay Packers – Bubba Franks

15. Denver Broncos – Deltha O’Neal

16. San Francisco 49ers – Julian Peterson

17. Oakland Raiders – Sebastian Janikowski

18. New York Jets – Chad Pennington

19. Seattle Seahawks – Shaun Alexander

20. Detroit Lions – Stocker McDougle

21. Kansas City Chiefs – Sylvester Morris

22. Seattle Seahawks – Chris McIntosh

23. Carolina Panthers – Rashard Anderson

24. San Francisco 49ers – Ahmed Plummer

25. Minnesota Vikings – Chris Hovan

26. Buffalo Bills – Erik Flowers

27. New York Jets – Anthony Becht

28. Indianapolis Colts – Rob Morris

29. Jacksonville Jaguars – R Jay Soward

30. Tennessee Titans – Keith Bulluck

31. St Louis Rams – Trung Canidate

Mr. Irrelevant – Mike Green Chicago Bears

So not horrible classes in the first round, 13 of the 31 first round picks (41%) have been selected to at least one Pro Bowl. However taking a closer look at these players showed a trend that kind of surprises me. Of 31 selections only 10 players still play in the NFL and only two for their original teams. This class also features one player in jail (Burress) one in the Indoor Football League (Warrick) and one free agent (Lewis). Mr. Irrelevant Mike Green also no longer plays in the league. I always used to think that the players that held out for money were just greedy, but after writing and researching this it became clear to me they should hold out for money, hold out for as much as they want. Coaches bounce around from team to team for a long time, owners will own their teams for decades. It’s very clear these players only have a small window to earn their money. Granted I’ll be working into my 60’s to make even half of what they will make, but I don’t have to contend with a broken down body and possibly life long physical injuries as part of my job. So from now on to players I say go out and grab that cash and hopefully we will see you on the field in ten years.