5. John Elway – I’m going to catch a lot of heat for this, as the Broncos have performed terribly lately. At one point Trevor Siemian was the starting quarterback, and Elway shoulders the blame for a lot of this. Elway also won two AFC championships and one SuperBowl ring as GM, successfully courting Peyton Manning and signing key free agents for that run. Critics will say that Peyton won the Broncos that SuperBowl, but Aaron Rodgers hasn’t won a title since 2011 and he’s a similar talent to Manning. Elway may be fired for the Broncos recent failures, but he was pivotal in attracting Manning to Denver in the first place and securing that Title. Elway (ironically) clearly needs help identifying top Quarterback talent, but most NFL teams haven’t experienced a Superbowl win as recently as Denver has (2016).
4. John Dorsey – No SuperBowl wins to Dorsey’s name, but Dorsey was involved with the then-controversial move to draft Patrick Mahomes II (with the Chiefs) and current Cleveland 6-ft-tall QB Baker Mayfield with the Browns. Maybe more importantly, Dorsey is responsible for bringing Cleveland back into the conversation of NFL relevance going 7-8-1 in 2018 (after winning one game in the previous two seasons combined). Dorsey is succeeding where so many previous General Managers have failed in resurrecting the city of Cleveland.
3. Howie Roseman – Roseman built a 2017 Eagles roster that beat Bill Belichick’s Patriots with a backup Quarterback. They went back to the playoffs in 2018 and still boast one of the deepest roster in Football. The Eagles are inconsistent, but they can beat anyone when they turn it on. Roseman was also involved in the decision to draft Carson Wentz, one of the league’s best Quarterbacks. Wentz, a North Dakota State QB, was far from a sure thing.
2. John Schneider – Jon Schneider traded a third round pick (the Seahawks will likely received a third round compensatory pick if they let Clowney leave in the offseason), Barkevious Mingo (first round bust), and Jakob Martin (sixth round pick in ’18) for Jadeveon Clowney. Jon Schneider traded Frank Clark, a former second round pick, for a first round pick, a second round pick and a swap of third rounders. Jon Schneider drafted Russell Wilson in the third round. He drafted future hall of famer Cornerback Richard Sherman in the FIFTH ROUND. He drafted 99 overall (Madden) inside linebacker KJ Wright in the fourth round. He drafted safety Kam Chancellor (one of the league’s top safeties until his retirement) in the fourth round. Jon Schneider drafted running back Chris Carson in the 7TH ROUND, Carson is very quietly one of the best backs in Football. John Schneider even was responsible for trading draft picks for underperforming Buffalo Bill Marshawn Lynch, who ushered in an era of physical Seahawk football. The Seahawks have two SuperBowl appearances and one SuperBowl win under Schneider’s leadership. Schneider continues to amaze me with the trades, draft picks, and deals he pulls off every year. He would be my far away number one GM on this list, if it weren’t for the actual number one.
1. William Stephen Belichick – Bill Belichick is not a great drafter. He routinely whiffs on early draft picks ( 1st round pick Dominique Easley never worked out, 1st round pick N’Keal Harry is on I/R, 2nd round pick 2018 Duke Dawson was on IR last year and is now a Bronco.) He usually signs some nobody white-guy reject from some under-performing team and uses him as a key role player in a championship run (Danny Amendola, Rex Burkhead, Chris Hogan, Wes Welker). Bill almost never pays stars. He paid LeGarrette Blount, one of the league’s most productive runners, about $2.4 million for his TWO YEARS in New England. He’ll gladly ship off an unhappy talent for a mid round draft pick and a six-pack of Sam Adams. One of Bill’s most underrated moves is convincing Quarterback Tom Brady to take a paycut for most of his career so Belichick could afford the depth he needed to build a title contender or at worst a playoff heavyweight.
Honorable Mention: Saints GM Mickey Loomis, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert
Gridiron Seasonal 