Five years after the event took place, it's safe to say the 2009 NFL Draft was not very good. In fact, it was probably the worst draft of the century. At least that's what SB Nation's Dan Kadar wrote earlier today. Consider:
Only one top-10 pick from that year has made the Pro Bowl. Conversely, seven of the first 10 picks in 2010 have gone to a Pro Bowl. The turnover of the players picked that year has been swift as well; just 13 of the first 32 picks are still with the team that drafted them. Some of them -- Larry English in San Diego, Brandon Pettigrew in Detroit, Peria Jerry in Atlanta -- are low-impact players.
Yikes. Fortunately for the Philadelphia Eagles, this wasn't a problem. The first two picks the Eagles made in that horrendous draft are still on the team and they've proven to be very talented players: wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy.
McCoy, who was the Eagles second round pick at No. 53 overall, is a flat out superstar at the running back position. Some would even say he's the best running back in the entire NFL. Given his dominant 2013 performance, it's hard to argue against that. Since being drafted in 2009, McCoy has made 60 starts (74 games played) and recorded a total of 5473 rush yards on 1149 attempts (4.8 average), 39 rush TDs, 2127 yards on 272 receptions (7.8 average), 10 receiving TDs, 7600 total yards from scrimmage, and only 10 fumbles.
McCoy is actually the only player from the 2009 draft that has been named All-Pro more than once (2011, 2013). He's also one of three players that's been named All-Pro at least once with the team that drafted them. (H/T Acme Packing Company)
Jeremy Maclin re-signed with the Eagles this offseason on a one-year contract this offseason after missing all of 2013 with an ACL injury. Maclin hasn't been the superstar that McCoy has been but he's put up some impressive numbers nonetheless. In 57 career starts (59 games played), Maclin has recorded 258 career receptions for 3453 yards (13.4 average) and 26 TDs. He's also recorded 6 carriers for 30 yards, bringing his career yards from scrimmage up to 3483.
Maclin is among a group of only nine WRs in league history to record at least 55 receptions and 750 yards in each of his first four seasons. He is also one of just five WRs to ever reach 250 catches, 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns before his 25th birthday.
The rest of the Eagles 2009 draft class wasn't very productive. TE Corenlius Ingram was an exciting prospect but couldn't stay healthy. Macho Harris at safety was a failed experiment. Fenuki Tupou is out of the league. Brandon Gibson looking promising (relative to being a 6th round pick) but was dealt to the Rams for Will Witherspoon. Gibson is currently with the Dolphins as a 3rd or 4th string receiver. Paul Fanaika started 16 games on the Cardinals offensive line last season. Arizona had one of the worst OLs in the NFL. Moise Fokou made 22 starts and played in 43 games for Philly. He looked like a solid linebacker until the wide nine came to town and Fokou didn't fit the team's system anymore. Fokou was a good selection as far as late seventh round picks go. He started 12 games for the Titans in 2013.
It's also worth noting that the Eagles picked up veteran Jason Peters by trading pick No. 28 to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for the Future Hall of Fame left tackle. Peters has been nothing short of amazing during his Eagles tenure.
Funny enough, the Eagles have added some notable players from the 2009 draft class to their roster through free agency. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins was drafted by the Saints as a cornerback at No. 14 overall. Outside linebacker Connor Barwin was drafted No. 46 overall by the Houston Texans. CB Bradley Fletcher was a third round pick by the Rams, TE James Casey a 5th round pick by the Texans, and LB Jason Phillips a 5th round pick by the Ravens. And let's not forget about Mark Sanchez! The Jets traded up to No. 5 overall in order to draft him.
Another bonus to the Eagles 2009 draft class is that it was easily the best in the NFC East. Second best goes to the New York Giants, who ended up taking Hakeem Nicks and William Betty. Nicks was a productive starter but signed with the Colts this offseason after a dreadful 2013 performance. (Here's the part where I remind you that Maclin has scored a TD more recently than Nicks.) Washington ended up with Brian Orakpo, whom they hit with the franchise tag this offseason. Last and certainly least was the good ol' Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones' team had 12 picks that year, more than any NFL team. None of them still remain on the roster. Their best player was arguably Victor Buttler, who only made two career starts (but played in 64 games) for the Cowboys.
So in what turned out to be a pretty terrible draft class, I would say that the Eagles made out just fine.