A Brief History of John Schneider and 1st Round Picks

2012

First, Schneider traded down three spots with Philadelphia, securing 4th and 6th round picks to move from the 12th pick to the 15th pick. With the pick, Philadelphia took DT Fletcher Cox, who made the Pro Bowl in 2015.

At 15, Schneider surprised everybody once again by taking West Virginia defensive end Bruce Irvin to shore up their mediocre pass rush. Irvin had character issues before his time in Huntington, but he made an effort to straighten out his life at WVU.

Irvin was a unique athlete with the potential to be a special player. His combination of explosion and speed was rare for a draft prospect. As expected, Irvin dominated the NFL combine, as his 4.50 40 yard dash, 123-inch broad jump, and 6.70 three cone was the best among defensive ends in 2012.

However, his character issues and misuse in West Virginia’s unorthodox defense led to him being undervalued by the draft media. Seattle got the last laugh, as Irvin enjoyed a productive career in Seattle. He was an instrumental part of Seattle’s dominant pass rush that led them to two straight Super Bowl appearances. His career as a Seahawk included 22.0 sacks and eight of them as a rookie.

This offseason, Irvin left Seattle with big shoes to fill next season after he signed a 4 year, 37 million dollar contract with the upstart Oakland Raiders.

Next: The huge mistake