Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
I always look forward to BA&SK's Draft pressers because not only are they excited and very outspoken about what their process is and what their thinking is going into the draft, but because they tend to drop some hints as to what we could expect. This year's presser was perhaps more revealing, imo, than any of the ones before.
* Top 120 List---I think this is so smart because teams can over do it in terms of the numbers of players they scout, so it is much better to do their complete homework on a selection of players than try to do too much and thus not get to know all they really need to know about certain players in advance.
* "Immediate Impact Player at #29"---they are hoping for that and they do not care about what position it is---like BA said, "Drafting early for needs will get you broke and fired." "Take the talent," he avowed. Steve Keim hopped in and said, "Your needs in April and never what your needs are in October (implying injuries)." "You never have enough talent," Keim affirmed.
* Will they possibly look to trade up? "Always," SK said.
* Will they look to trade down? SK said that because the roster is already so deep, trading down is not necessarily the best route because only a select few rookies are likely to make the roster. BA said, "When the roster is this deep, you don't have to reach for players out of need."
* Leadership. Again Keim stressed this as a priority when drafting players---and that players can be vocal leaders or leaders by example, but he want self-starters who have a passion for the game and for the daily process.
* Personal Character and Football Character Grades. It was superb to learn about this---grading each player from A to F in both character categories. What Steve Keim concluded is that "college kids make plenty of mistakes, but if their football character is so high then we could feel more comfortable about drafting that player."
* Not Listening to Draft Pundits. Keim said he avoids listening to what the pundits say because he always wants to keep an open mind and wants to trust his belief in the player, to trust his eyes when watching the player and to trust the team's process. Keim lauded his staff and the scouts---says the lines of communication, the conversations and debates have created outstanding relationships and trust.
* How Far Along The Player Is Mentally---it seems BA&SK are stressing this aspect more than ever because they feel that some of the players they drafted have not been able to do this as well as they had hoped or expected and thus they want to do a better job of knowing how mentally adaptable the draftees are.
* QBOF In This Draft? SK said that at #29 he would have to have a full belief in that player---if there was any hesitation, then no, he wouldn't pick a QB there. BA said that he thought this was one of the deepest QB drafts in a long time---he said that "there are a number of 6-5 guys with big arms...and whether they will be there when we pick, we don't know." But, the consensus was that yes a QBOF could be taken in this draft.
* Center In This Draft? The indication was that if they don't draft one early, they have their eyes on a number of college non-centers whom they project as centers in the NFL.
* 5th Year Option for First Rounders. SK said that's a huge bonus---which makes him a little more leery about trading out of the 1st round.
Quick Interpretations:
1. Unless a great deal comes along---we are staying true to the Draft Board at #29 and drafting BPA---and it could be at any position. They really like the 5th year option for 1st rounders and understandably so. If they could move down 1 or 2 spots and stay in the 1st round, i think they would do that for sure, unless they were worried the Panthers or Broncos were moving up to take their guy.
2. They will draft a QB, the question is when and where. At #29? I would say that is doubtful because I would imagine SK has question marks about any of the QBs not named Goff or Wentz. At #92? Quite possible depending on what QBs are still on the board. At $128 or #167 or #170? I think that by then a QB will be taken for sure. They seem very determined to draft one.
3. Because they talked about converting some college non-centers into centers, i think they will not draft a C in round one because they are high on a few others later in the draft, probably Day 3. I am also convinced at this point that they intend for A.Q. Shipley to be the starter until the point in time that a young center is ready.
4. Because they talked so much about "high football character" i think that is a hint that players like OLB Noah Spence and DT Robert Nkemdiche are very much in play at #29.
5. I think BA&SK are of the mindset that rookies need to be molded and thus if they feel that a rookie is better off playing a different position, like, for example, T Spencer Drango moving to C, or FS T.J. Green moving to CB, they are more than willing to invest the time and patience to do so. As they did covering S Deion Bucannon to WILB and in converting LT D.J. Humphries to RT (which btw is more challenging than one would think).
I think it is quite possible that this draft will be chock-full of surprises. BA&SK want to make a first round splash this time around. I think they believe they have learned something from the past three drafts and now they are going to put that learning to the test.
* Top 120 List---I think this is so smart because teams can over do it in terms of the numbers of players they scout, so it is much better to do their complete homework on a selection of players than try to do too much and thus not get to know all they really need to know about certain players in advance.
* "Immediate Impact Player at #29"---they are hoping for that and they do not care about what position it is---like BA said, "Drafting early for needs will get you broke and fired." "Take the talent," he avowed. Steve Keim hopped in and said, "Your needs in April and never what your needs are in October (implying injuries)." "You never have enough talent," Keim affirmed.
* Will they possibly look to trade up? "Always," SK said.
* Will they look to trade down? SK said that because the roster is already so deep, trading down is not necessarily the best route because only a select few rookies are likely to make the roster. BA said, "When the roster is this deep, you don't have to reach for players out of need."
* Leadership. Again Keim stressed this as a priority when drafting players---and that players can be vocal leaders or leaders by example, but he want self-starters who have a passion for the game and for the daily process.
* Personal Character and Football Character Grades. It was superb to learn about this---grading each player from A to F in both character categories. What Steve Keim concluded is that "college kids make plenty of mistakes, but if their football character is so high then we could feel more comfortable about drafting that player."
* Not Listening to Draft Pundits. Keim said he avoids listening to what the pundits say because he always wants to keep an open mind and wants to trust his belief in the player, to trust his eyes when watching the player and to trust the team's process. Keim lauded his staff and the scouts---says the lines of communication, the conversations and debates have created outstanding relationships and trust.
* How Far Along The Player Is Mentally---it seems BA&SK are stressing this aspect more than ever because they feel that some of the players they drafted have not been able to do this as well as they had hoped or expected and thus they want to do a better job of knowing how mentally adaptable the draftees are.
* QBOF In This Draft? SK said that at #29 he would have to have a full belief in that player---if there was any hesitation, then no, he wouldn't pick a QB there. BA said that he thought this was one of the deepest QB drafts in a long time---he said that "there are a number of 6-5 guys with big arms...and whether they will be there when we pick, we don't know." But, the consensus was that yes a QBOF could be taken in this draft.
* Center In This Draft? The indication was that if they don't draft one early, they have their eyes on a number of college non-centers whom they project as centers in the NFL.
* 5th Year Option for First Rounders. SK said that's a huge bonus---which makes him a little more leery about trading out of the 1st round.
Quick Interpretations:
1. Unless a great deal comes along---we are staying true to the Draft Board at #29 and drafting BPA---and it could be at any position. They really like the 5th year option for 1st rounders and understandably so. If they could move down 1 or 2 spots and stay in the 1st round, i think they would do that for sure, unless they were worried the Panthers or Broncos were moving up to take their guy.
2. They will draft a QB, the question is when and where. At #29? I would say that is doubtful because I would imagine SK has question marks about any of the QBs not named Goff or Wentz. At #92? Quite possible depending on what QBs are still on the board. At $128 or #167 or #170? I think that by then a QB will be taken for sure. They seem very determined to draft one.
3. Because they talked about converting some college non-centers into centers, i think they will not draft a C in round one because they are high on a few others later in the draft, probably Day 3. I am also convinced at this point that they intend for A.Q. Shipley to be the starter until the point in time that a young center is ready.
4. Because they talked so much about "high football character" i think that is a hint that players like OLB Noah Spence and DT Robert Nkemdiche are very much in play at #29.
5. I think BA&SK are of the mindset that rookies need to be molded and thus if they feel that a rookie is better off playing a different position, like, for example, T Spencer Drango moving to C, or FS T.J. Green moving to CB, they are more than willing to invest the time and patience to do so. As they did covering S Deion Bucannon to WILB and in converting LT D.J. Humphries to RT (which btw is more challenging than one would think).
I think it is quite possible that this draft will be chock-full of surprises. BA&SK want to make a first round splash this time around. I think they believe they have learned something from the past three drafts and now they are going to put that learning to the test.
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