The giants a surprises

The draft NFL offers teams the ultimate opportunity to improve, but few do.

For three days this week, the 32 teams will select players for whom they feel good and who are excited to be part of their team, but it usually takes a few years to see if the selections work. This is our fifth annual review of how teams have worked over the past five (2014-18) to determine who is doing what and who is turning the wheel.

The rankings are based on: the number of games selected by the repechage, the appearances at the Pro Bowl, the selections of the first All-Pro team and the rewards such as MVP and Rookie of the Year. We have also taken into account the team's winnings over the past five years, as losing team players tend to have an easier route to playing time.

Here is the ranking from best to worst, with the ranking of last year in parentheses:

1. Heads (2)

Pro Bowlers: 5
Best choice: Patrick Mahomes (2017, first round)
Worst choice: Phillip Gaines (2014, second)

The only team to have drafted an MVP in the past five years has won the title this year. Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt and Marcus Peters have all been excellent choices. They have not all worked in Kansas City, but you can not argue with the choices.

2. Cowboys (1)

Pro Bowlers: 6
Best choice: Zack Martin (2014, first)
Worst choice: Randy Gregory (2015, second)

Jerry Jones has built a strong team through the repechage. The 2016 project was huge, with Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. It looks like they've added another strong piece in 2018 with Leighton Vander Esch, who created the Pro Bowl as a rookie.

3. Rams (4)

Pro Bowlers: 4
Best choice: Aaron Donald (2014, first)
Worst choice: Greg Robinson (2014, first)

Back-to-back selections by Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley in the early rounds in 2014 and '15 gave the Rams building blocks on either side of the ball. Jared Goff looks like a goalkeeper and the appearance of this year's Super Bowl has been crowned by many of these choices.

4. The bears (19)

Pro Bowlers: 7
Best choice: Tarik Cohen (2017, fourth)
Worst choice: Kevin White (2015, first)

General Manager Ryan Pace traded last year for Khalil Mack, but his work in the repechage really helped build the division champion from last year. Cohen, Eddie Jackson and Mitch Trubisky, all taken in 2017, look like long-term stars for the team.

5. Raiders (5)

Pro Bowlers: 3
Best choice: Khalil Mack (2014, first)
Worst choice: Mario Edwards (2015, second)

Poor Reggie McKenzie. He did a good job rebuilding the Raiders' lineup – landing Mack, Derek Carr and Amari Cooper between 2014 and 2015. Jon Gruden is undoing everything the old GM had built. Mack is one of the best choices of the last five years.

6. Jaguars (10)

Pro Bowlers: 4
Best choice: Jalen Ramsey (2016, first)
Worst choice: Blake Bortles (2014, first)

The Bortles era in Jacksonville is finally over. He showed some promise but never justified his third place overall in 2014. Jacksonville has landed some key defensive pieces in the project, such as Ramsey, Telvin Smith, Myles Jack and Yannick Ngakoue.

7. Falcons (6)

Pro Bowlers: 6
Best choice: Vic Beasley (2015, first)
Worst choice: Jalen Collins (2015, second)

Atlanta has recruited Pro Bowl players in the 2014, 15 and 16 versions. They have not landed superstars, but have built a solid core around Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, whom they've already recruited .

8. The giants (11)

Pro Bowlers: 3
Best choice: Odell Beckham Jr. (2014, first)
Worst choice: Ereck Flowers (2015, first)

Giants fans may think that it's too high for Big Blue, but consider this: only three teams have recruited two players who have won the rookie of the year title in the last five years , and the Giants are part of it. They are tied for the least choice during this period with 31.

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9. Titans (14)

Pro Bowlers: 2
Best choice: Kevin Byard (2016, third)
Worst choice: Bishop Sankey (2014, second)

Byard and Jack Conklin were both the first All-Pro team. Taylor Lewan is another part of their foundation they found in the project. The jury is still on quarterback Marcus Mariota, and its development is key to evaluating this draft period of Tennessee.

10. Browns (27)

Pro Bowlers: 4
Best choice: Joe Schobert (2016, fourth)
Worst choice: Johnny Manziel (2014, first)

One of the worst writing teams is becoming one of the best and it shows in an improved list. Myles Garrett, Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward all look like potential stars in Cleveland.

11. Saints (28)

Pro Bowlers: 4
Best choice: Alvin Kamara (2017, third)
Worst choice: Stanley Jean-Baptiste (2014, second)

Another team that has had some bad drafts over the past decade but has recently changed the game. The 2017 draft class, led by Kamara and Marshon Lattimore, is one of the best of the past five years.

12. Vikings (3)

Pro Bowlers: 4
Best choice: Anthony Barr (2014, first)
Worst choice: Laquon Treadwell (2016, first)

Minnesota was a solid list thanks to the repechage at the beginning of this decade, but they began to slip. The window closes on their current group of players.

13. Ravens (13)

Pro Bowlers: 1
Best choice: C.J. Mosley (2014, first)
Worst choice: Breshad Perriman (2015, first)

Raven drafts are about quantity, not necessarily about quality. They have recruited only one Pro Bowl player in the last five years – Mosley. But their 48 choices are in third place in the NFL since the start of the season and they have recruited a lot of starters.

14. Dolphins (17)

Pro Bowlers: 3
Best choice: Jarvis Landry (2014, second)
Worst choice: Charles Harris (2017, first)

The Dolphins took some good players, but they did not last in Miami for a variety of reasons. Landry and Jay Ajayi are two of three Pro Bowl players they have recruited and no longer play in South Florida.

15. Steelers (9)

Pro Bowlers: 4
Best choice: Ryan Shazier (2014, first)
Worst choice: Senquez Golson (2015, second)

The key to the Steelers' ability to survive their recent drama will be the development of recent breeding projects. In 2017, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner, on whom the Steelers expect to become stars.

16. Texans (16)

Pro Bowlers: 3
Best choice: Jadeveon Clowney (2014, first)
Worst choice: Kevin Johnson (2015, first)

Houston took the big step in the 2017 draft to land Deshaun Watson. Until now, this movement seems strong. Their future depends on its development and construction around it.

17. Seahawks (21)

Pro Bowlers: 2
Best choice: Tyler Lockett (2015, third)
Worst choice: Malik McDowell (2017, second)

Seattle built their Super Bowl team through the repechage, but has since fallen. Part of the problem was not choosing the first round in 2014, '15 and '17.

18. Packers (8)

Pro Bowlers: 2
Best choice: Davante Adams (2014, second)
Worst choice: Jason Spriggs (2016, second)

Part of the drama surrounding Aaron Rodgers and former coach Mike McCarthy was caused by the lack of talent around Rodgers. Green Bay loses the best of his quarter.

19. chargers (12)

Pro Bowlers: 4
Best choice: Joey Bosa (2016, first)
Worst choice: Jeremiah Attaochu (2014, second)

The Chargers have landed leading players with Bosa, Melvin Gordon and Derwin James, but they do not have much depth. They had 33 choices in the last five years. Only two teams had fewer.

20. Buccaneers (24)

Pro Bowlers: 3
Best choice: Mike Evans (2014, first)
Worst choice: Roberto Aguayo (2016, second)

Bruce Arians resumes training that does not have many stars. Jameis Winston, ranked No. 1 overall in 2015, remains a question mark.

21. 49ers (26)

Pro Bowlers: 2
Best choice: George Kittle (2017, fifth)
Worst choice: Reuben Foster (2017, first)

No team has had more draft picks in the last five years than the 49ers with 52 players. They do not have great results to show for these numbers. They selected two Pro Bowl players and no first-team All-Pro players.

22. foals (32)

Pro Bowlers: 1
Best choice: Darius Leonard (2018, second)
Worst choice: Phillip Dorsett (2015, first)

Indianapolis was one of the worst football selection teams until last year. Chris Ballard won the 2018 draft with Quenton Nelson and Leonard, who looked like long-term breeders for his team.

23. panthers (20)

Pro Bowlers: 1
Best choice: Trai Turner (2014, third)
Worst choice: Kony Ealy (2014, second)

Carolina is tied for the fewest choices, 31, in the last five years. The Panthers did not do much with these picks. An alignment that was good enough to win the NFC in 2015 has slowly deteriorated with some bad drafts.

24. Cardinals (7)

Pro Bowlers: 1
Best choice: David Johnson (2015, third)
Worst choice: Troy Niklas (2014, second)

Only two teams have had fewer choices than the Cardinals in the last five years. Arizona wrote well at the beginning of the decade, but it has declined recently, so the Cardinals will be writing No. 1 this year.

25. Lions (18)

Pro Bowlers: 1
Best choice: Eric Ebron (2014, first)
Worst choice: Ameer Abdullah (2015, second)

Here's what it was bad for the Lions: Ebron is the only player they have recruited in the last five years to participate in the Pro Bowl, but he did it with the Colts last year.

26. Red skins (22)

Pro Bowlers: 1
Best choice: Brandon Scherff (2015, first)
Worst choice: Su'a Cravens (2016, second)

Daniel Snyder's team has not been able to solve this problem for a while. They tried to steal Nick Saban's success by hiring five Alabama players in the repechage during that period, but it did not work.

27. Jets (23)

Pro Bowlers: 2
Best choice: Jamal Adams (2017, first)
Worst choice: Christian Hackenberg (2016, second)

The 2014 draft class for 12 people (taken by former GM John Idzik) now has only one player in the team. Current Executive Director Mike Maccagnan is hoping that Sam Darnold will be a good start to improve his writing.

28. Eagles (15)

Pro Bowlers: 1
Best choice: Carson Wentz (2016, first)
Worst choice: Marcus Smith (2014, first)

It all depends on how Wentz develops for this team. The injuries have slowed his progress, but he looks like a star. The time of Chip Kelly makes lower the final note.

29. Bengals (25)

Pro Bowlers: 0
Best choice: Tyler Boyd (2016, second)
Worst choice: Cedric Ogbuehi (2015, first)

This is never a good sign when rumors are circulating about your first round pick of two years ago, as with John Ross. New coach Zac Taylor will have to find players.

30. Broncos (30)
Pro Bowlers: 0
Best choice: Matt Paradis (2014, sixth)
Worst choice: Paxton Lynch (2016, first)

John Elway had the golden touch when he started directing, and that helped Denver win the Super Bowl 50. But he struggled recently, and the Broncos have little to show recent plans.

31. Patriots (29)

Pro Bowlers: 0
Best choice: James White (2014, fourth)
Worst choice: Dominique Easley (2014, first)

The Patriots proved you did not have to draw well to win the Super Bowl. Make sure you have Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, and everything will be fine. In their defense, the success of the Patriots led them to the late drafting. Their first overall pick was 45.2, the lowest in the NFL.

32. Invoices (31)

Pro Bowlers: 0
Best choice: TreDavious White (2017, first)
Worst choice: Sammy Watkins (2014, first)

Invoices Managing Director Brandon Beane is trying to dispel major mistakes of the previous regime, such as the big business for Watkins in 2014.

Best choice in:

2014: Aaron Donald, Rams
2015: Todd Gurley, Rams
2016: Tyreek Hill, Chiefs
2017: Alvin Kamara, Saints
2018 Darius Leonard, Colts