Here’s the thing about how the draft works: It’s a collaborative process, and no one person is the cause of success nor the source of all blame. Also, let’s not get too worked up about the 2001 draft class; it wasn’t as special as it may feel.

The scouts all do their job and produce more reports than anyone knows what to do with, then they bring back names and evaluations for players they think could do well on the team. The director of college scouting compiles that information, and gets together with the GM (and, ostensibly, the head coach) to discuss specific players and the direction in which the team is going.

They assemble a draft board, and everyone has a say in which players are placed into which hierarchical group. When the team’s turn to draft comes around, they choose from the players remaining in the highest group, and the choice is the end result of a long, collaborative process.

Of course, the GM hires and fires the scouts and the coaches, so it does ultimately fall on his shoulders.

Funny thing, though, about that 2001 draft. Tony Softli had been hired as the director of college scouting the year before (presumably by GM Siefert), and Softli, Siefert and Hurney assembled that draft class. So if any single person could be credited with that draft, I’d put that on the scouting director. Then again, Softli also had a lot to do with assembling that stinker class of 2005, and he was on his way to St. Louis after that next draft (so we can thank him for Eric Shelton as well as back-to-back 3rd rounders Atiyyah Ellison ‘05 and Rashad Butler ‘06).

The new director of college scouting, Don Gregory, has only had two drafts, but they both share the same qualities of strong players in the first round (I’m optimistic, I know), getting great value in the second and third rounds, and decent developmental guys in the later rounds.

But keep in mind, and this is the important thing, 2001 was a great year for the positions we drafted. (That’s not entirely true; we got the only good linebacker in that draft).

Look at the Pro Bowl DTs taken before The Big Brown Machine. Richard Seymour, Damione Lewis (not really), Marcus Stroud, Casey Hampton. The next DT taken after KJ? Shaun Rogers. That’s five Pro Bowl DTs in the first two rounds.

Look at the Pro Bowl WRs taken before #89. Koren Robinson, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Chad Johnson, Chris Chambers. That’s five Pro Bowl WRs taken in the first two rounds, and then Smitty went in the third round.

Also, any discussion of the greatness of the 2001 draft should include the waste of a pick on Chris Wienke in round 4, and the complete misses in round 7 (Center Louis Williams? Who? Tight end Mike Roberg? Huh? What?). The draft is not just about what you do on the first day, it’s about the second day, too, and while I’d consider Jarrod Cooper and Dee Brown decent role players, let’s not forget that T.J. Houshmandzadeh was still out there and wasn’t drafted until round 7.

I figured there had to be another person involved. Nice analysis r3, you never disappoint. In NFL lore maybe the Panthers 2001 draft wasn’t special but for the Panthers it was #1. Of course this years draft class could end up being better.

Trying to protect the secondary. Relied too much on the front four to get pressure and they didn’t get it done. With these LB’s I don’t see why we shouldn’t blitz them more.