5 Players From the 2011 Draft Who Have Surpassed Their Draft Potential

With NBA experts already working on their draft boards, I thought I would take a look at some of draft day's biggest surprises. These players were drafted this past summer and have exceeded all expectations.

1. Iman Shumpert:
Drafted by New York with the 17th overall pick, tons of raw talent, and has shown tons of poise while stepping up in the wake of Jeremy Lin's Injury. For the whole season he's been averaging nearly 10 ppg and 3 apg and in the wake of Lin's absence; nearly 11 and 4. Not too shabby for a 17th overall pick, not to mention he beat out Baron Davis on the depth chart.




2. MarShon Brooks:
Originally drafted by the Celtics to be Ray Allen's succeeder and was traded to the Nets who have apparently used the athletic sharp-shooter well as he is averaging 12 points 2 assists and 3 boards a game. It would be a serious shame to see a talent like Brooks wasted on a team going nowhere like The Nets but hopefully for his sake; he will either get traded or be a valuable piece in a future [not probable] dynasty which can maybe be built around Dwight Howard in.....


3. Kenneth Faried:
Nicknamed "The Manimal",  Kenneth Faried was drafted with the 22nd overall pick by Denver and averages 9 points, 7 boards, 1 block and half a steal a game. He can hopefully become a valuable player in Denver's franchise; providing a defensive force to an offensive-minded team with great perimeter players like Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari. He has made some excellent progress and will most likely develop into a true defensive talent.


4. Chandler Parsons:
The 6'9 guard/forward was drafted 38th overall in the 2nd round by the Houston Rockets. He averages 9 points nearly 5 boards a game to go along with a .461 field goal percentage this season. In my opinion he's one of the biggest draft day steals from this past summer and will someday work his way into a regular spot into Houston's starting lineup.




5. Isaiah Thomas Jr:

The son of Isaiah Thomas the Piston's legend and worst coach of The Knicks in the history of the universe was the last overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft and has proven himself worthy of a 1st round pick averaging nearly 11 points, almost 4 assists and 2 and a half boards a game to go along with a .444 shooting percentage making himself the biggest draft day steal of this past summer. With apparent 1st round talent; Isaiah has made 29 other teams cringe or passing up on him in the 2nd round or even the mid-to-late 1st round.

NFL Free Agency

I'm going to grade all of the recent free agency moves:

Randy Moss signing with the 49ers:

Grade: B+

Moss will hopefully bring some depth to a pretty bad 49ers receiving core.

Vincent Jackson with the 'Bucs:

Grade: B-

This could end up being an A+ if Jackson ends up being the player he should but he's been pretty undisciplined so this will be interesting.

Carl Nicks signing also signing with Tampa:

Grade: A+

Nothing can go wrong here. He'll also probably open up the screen game for Tampa since he is one of the most athletic linemen in the league.

Dolphins trade Brandon Marshall to The Bears for 2 3rd round picks:

Grade for Miami: B-

This can end up being the best trade all offseason for Miami if they get Peyton. This trade happened right after a 6 hour meeting with Peyton meaning Peyton didn't like Marshall.

Grade for Bears: A-

No matter how well this trade works out for Miami, it will still be a good trade for Chicago [after the suspension]. They gave up two 3rd round pics for a pro-bowl wideout.

Jason Campbell with Chicago:

Grade: B

Chicago seemed like a playoff caliber-team until Jay Cutler broke his thumb and Chicago had no decent back-ups. This gives Chicago a starting-caliber backup who lead Oakland to a nice year until breaking his collarbone and leading The Raiders to put him in this position.

Cortland Finnegan signing with St. Louis:

Grade: B+

Cortland boost up a pretty bad secondary and as long as he doesn't get into fist fights with star wideouts; he's a great cornerback who can shut down a receiver physically and mentally.

Reggie Wayne re-signs with Indianapolis:

Grade: D

Why didn't The Colts cut him when they cut Clark and Addai? Why would they want to keep an aging wide receiver who clearly isn't the same receiver he used to be for 3 more years? Why would Reggie even want to come back to a team who is rebuilding and won't be done until he retires? This is just a horrible all-arounf deal!!

Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan signing with Washington:

Grade: B+

Washington is trying to keep up [passing-wise] with the rest of the NFC East and this deal did not hurt their case. Garçon had a spectacular year last year....with Curtis Painter as his quarterback!! Even though Morgan may be a question mark, I think it'll pay off.

Brandon Carr signing with Dallas:

Grade: A

With a weak secondary probably the reason that they didn't make the playoffs, Dallas boosted their secondary by adding one of the best corners in the league with Carr.

Peyton Hillis signing with Kansas City:

Grade: C+ / B-

For most other teams; this would be a definite F, but it makes sense for Kansas City because this is becoming a 2 back league and Peyton can be a good blocking running back [due to his experience as a fullback] and can take some of the work-load off of Jamal Charles.

Martellus Bennet signing with The Giants:

Grade: B

When two of New York's tight-ends went down with torn ACL's it seemed that New York would draft Georgia tight-end Orson Charles who reminded a lot of people of Vernon Davis. But when he got arrested for DUI, New York and it's high standards for character fell out of him and decided to take the free-agent route and found Bennet.

Peyton Manning signing with Denver:

Grade: A+

Anytime that you can sign a future hall of fame quarterback; you'd be stupid not to.

Tim Tebow signs with The Jets:

Grade: C-

Not quite sure about this one as it will only add MORE turmoil to an uncontrollable egotistic Jets locker room but; they wanted a wildcat "quarterback" and got one.

David Garrard signs with Miami:

Grade: C+

Now, disgruntled Dolphin fans have watched their beloved organization swing and miss for: Jim Harabaugh, Peyton Manning & Matt Flynn in the past 2 years. How's Jeff Ireland feeling now that his team has signed a washed-up out of shape quarterback instead of one of the all time greats at the position? Not too thrilled I'd say.