NFL players drafted in 2014 and 2015 are still in their mid-20s. So it stands to reason that each member of those top 10 classes should still be anchoring the rosters of the teams that selected them.
Right? Not exactly.
With Blake Bortles, Kevin White and Ereck Flowers all being flushed in the past week, nine of those 20 top-10 picks now have been moved or been allowed to move on from the teams that drafted them. Two are with their third team. One — 2014 eighth overall pick Justin Gilbert — has been out of the league since 2016.
Food for thought when discussing Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr and whether his sack stats are flashy enough on one of the league's top defenses. In 2014, the Vikings had the eighth overall pick. They wanted Barr. Cleveland wanted Gilbert bad enough to trade up one spot. Five years later, Barr has more Pro Bowls (four) than Gilbert had starts (three) in his two seasons with the Browns.
MARK CRAIG
