If you’re a Redskins fan, you have to be somewhat excited. Not only because of the way the team continues to fight, but also because Vinny Cerrato finally resigned, whose years in Washington were filled with mediocre draft picks, horrendous free agent signings, and overall ineptitude from the general manager position. Soon after Cerrato left, the team signed Bruce Allen. With a last name like Allen, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he will be very well-liked in Washington. Allen’s father, George, is a Redskin legend. In seven years in Washington, George was 116-47, but just 2-7 in the playoffs. He won Coach of the Year twice, but never got it done when it counted most. Anyway, back to Bruce.

Bruce was an executive for the Raiders during the late 90’s. He joined in 1995, and even managed to win Executive of the Year in 2002, when Oakland represented the AFC in the Super Bowl. Following the 2003 season, he signed on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who crushed his Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. From 2004 to 2008, the Bucs were 33-31 with Allen, which, if he did in Washington, would make him nothing short of a miracle-worker. But let’s analyze this. The reason Cerrato was so bad was simple - mediocre draft picks, awful free agent signings, etc. Let’s see how good Allen was at that.

In 2004, Allen’s first draft, he took Michael Clayton first - a guy who had one great year, but has otherwise been a huge flop. He also drafted Marquis Cooper, Will Allen, Jeb Terry, Nate Lawrie, Mark Jones, Casey Cramer, and Lenny Williams. Of those eight draft picks, there is a combined one Pro Bowl appearance (Allen was an alternate in 2008), only two are with the team, and none currently play a prominent role. Just for laughs, let’s take a look at how Cerrato fared in the 2004 draft with Washington. He drafted Sean Taylor, Chris Cooley, Mark Wilson, and Jim Molinaro. Of those four picks, two are with the team, and there are a combined four Pro Bowls - none being as alternates. So, with four picks, Cerrato chose two quality players, averaging a Pro Bowl per pick, while Allen, with nine picks, chose eight flops and a mediocre defensive back. And I should point out that the Bucs had chances to draft guys like Shawn Andrews, Vince Wilfork and Steven Jackson in the first round, and quality players like Chris Cooley, Robert Geathers, Jared Allen and Michael Turner, and could’ve gotten Wes Welker, Willie Parker and Jason Peters as undrafted free agents, but declined.

The next year (2005 in case you didn’t know), the Bucs chose two decent players, but could have done much, much better. In the first round, they got Cadillac Williams, who was a tremendous rookie, but nothing more. He’s struggled with injuries, and flat out struggled this year. And with the fifth overall pick, they could’ve taken DeMarcus Ware (probably the most dominant defensive player in football), along with Shawne Merriman, Jammal Brown, Antrel Rolle, Roddy White, and even Logan Mankins. In the second round, they took Barrett Ruud, and I will applaud that pick. He’s a great linebacker, and while he’s never made the Pro Bowl, he’s definitely a solid run stuffer. But they had a better option. Several picks later, the Seahawks took USC’s Lofa Tatupu, who is a very similar player, but I think it’s safe to say Tatupu is better, overall. In the third round, they took Alex Smith, who is now an Eagle. Overall, this was a bad, bad draft. Ruud was the only good pick, and they could’ve done better there.

In ‘06, the Bucs, coming off a very good year, had the 23rd pick, and took Oklahoma guard Davin Joseph. I don’t think anyone can complain with that pick. He’s a Pro Bowler at the hardest position to get recognition - guard. But from then on, it was brutal for the Bucs. Then, they took tackle Jeremy Trueblood in the next round, a decent, not good, but decent pick. The rest of the draft was, how do I say this..awful? The Bucs took Maurice Stovall, Alan Zemaitis, Julian Jenkins, Bruce Gradkowski, T.J. Williams, Justin Phinisee, Charles Bennett, and Tim Massaquoi. Those names don’t ring a bell. Just a bad draft. Joseph and Trueblood were decent picks, but you’re supposed to add depth late. And he didn’t even get close to doing that.

The next season, the Bucs had the fourth overall pick following a 4-12 year, and took a pass-rushing defensive end out of Clemson, Gaines Adams. The rest is history, as they say - and the history isn’t very good. Adams never really made an impact, and is now a Chicago Bear. To think that the Bucs could’ve taken LaRon Landry, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch, Darrelle Revis, or even Jon Beason, all of which would be solid picks. It didn’t get much better. He took Arron Sears in the second round, who hasn’t been a bust, per say, but hasn’t lived up to his hype. And they could’ve taken Zach Miller, LaMarr Woodley, Sidney Rice, or David Harris. Quincy Black and Greg Peterson were both Bucs draft picks, and both didn’t amount to much.

In the ‘08 draft, Allen’s last draft, the Bucs made a pretty solid first round pick, taking cornerback Aqib Talib. He also took Jeremy Zuttah, Josh Johnson, and Cory Boyd. I’ll just say this - Allen’s last draft certainly wasn’t a very memorable one.

Comparing Cerrato and Allen’s drafts (since 2004, Allen’s first year in Tampa):

Cerrato: 31 picks, 15 current starters, 18 players on team (remember: one player not on team is Sean Taylor).
Allen: 38 picks, 12 current starters, 17 players on team

The numbers don’t lie.