Looking back at the best 3 and worst 3 picks of the 2015 NFL Draft

Editor’s note: In conjunction with the Trib’s coverage leading up to the April 25 start of the NFL Draft, we’ll look back at the three best and three worst picks of each draft across the league over the past five years.

Though the story has yet to be completely written, the 2015 draft isn’t destined to be remembered as one of the NFL’s best. The Heisman-winning quarterbacks taken with the top two picks haven’t been awful, but perhaps the best you can say about them is they’ve been underwhelming.

That’s a word that can be used to characterize the draft overall. Of the 256 players taken, just six have made it to multiple Pro Bowls. Three of those six, for a variety of reasons, already were let go by the team that drafted them. Another was an extremely rare circumstance of a guard taken with the fifth overall pick.

That leaves two others who happen to running backs. If the 2015 draft has a legacy, it’s the return of that position. The 2013 draft was the first of the modern era not to have a running back taken in the first round. The 2014 draft became the second.

The 2015 draft not only included two taken among the top 15 picks, those two became stars. Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon have combined for five Pro Bowl berths in their eight combined seasons and are on the short list of the game’s best backs. They paved the way for the subsequent high draft choices used on Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette and Saquon Barkley.

In honor of their combined role in the rebirth of the draft-coveted running back, an unprecedented tie atop the “best of” list for draft picks across the league four years ago:

3 best

1 (tie). Todd Gurley, RB

10th overall, Rams

Who knew when Gurley and Gordon were taken five picks apart by franchises 1,500 miles apart that both would stay with those teams — but in a different city and set to share a home stadium? Gurley has been marginally more productive of the two, totaling 6,430 yards from scrimmage and 56 touchdowns.

1 (tie). Melvin Gordon, RB

15th overall, Chargers

Over the past three seasons, Gordon has 4,372 yards from scrimmage and 38 touchdowns. Gordon had the second-most productive rushing season in NCAA Division I history as a senior at Wisconsin. He joins Gurley and Arizona third-round pick David Johnson as 2015 running back draftees who are as dangerous catching passes as they are rushing.

3. Byron Jones, DB

27th overall, Cowboys

A position switch from safety ignited Jones’ career last season, when he emerged as one of the league’s best cornerbacks (Pro Bowl, second-team All-Pro) and is on track for a big payday next spring.

3 worst

1. Ereck Flowers, OT, 9th overall, Giants

Flowers was a major disappointment in New York, and he’s on his third team after being released during his fourth season. The Giants tried a position change to the right side but ultimately gave up on the big tackle from Miami who (per Pro Football Focus) gave up more QB pressures than any tackle in the NFL since he entered the league.

2. Kevin White, WR, 7th overall, Bears

Injuries have been the biggest strike against the former West Virginia star, but even if the ailments solely can be attributed to bad luck, it’s safe to say 25 catches over four seasons is unacceptable for a top-10 pick.

3. Dante Fowler, DE, 3rd overall, Jaguars

Fowler’s career has been plagued by everything from a season lost to a torn ACL to a guilty plea on a battery charge to a suspension to a midseason trade. He has shown flashes of his pedigree at times (eight sacks for a dominant team defense in 2017) and was part of the Rams’ Super Bowl team last year, but as the third overall pick, Fowler has been a disappointment.

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