Path to The Draft Aftermath

[Chopper0080]

Do you, and others, think a 4th round pick can be dismissed so easily? Seems to me that if you want to build through the draft that a team needs those 4th round selections to contribute. Every year.

I believe one of the things helping the Cards being more competitive is that they have been getting players like Greg Toler and Sam Acho instead of Elton Brown and Nate Dwyer in the 4th rounds.

Green Bay is often touted as a team that has been one of, if not the best team, built through the draft. They had six of their 4th round picks on the roster last season with four of them starters.

On the other hand it might be only picks 1-3 that are critical and anything you get out of 4-7 is a bonus. The Cards had only 4 players start for them last season taken after the 3rd round (not counting UDFA's). And, something I didn't realize until today, they had 8 former 1st round selections starting last season. 5 of ours and 3 of other teams.

Oh well, just something to discuss during baseball season.

I think that rounds 1-3 are key and 4-7 are bonus picks, but that being said, the more you miss high, the more you have to hit on the lower picks. If you are pulling 3 starters out of every draft, that is a good start. From there, anything else is great and just helps keep financial costs down because rookies are cheaper than FA vets.

 

[Duckjake]

I think that rounds 1-3 are key and 4-7 are bonus picks, but that being said, the more you miss high, the more you have to hit on the lower picks. If you are pulling 3 starters out of every draft, that is a good start. From there, anything else is great and just helps keep financial costs down because rookies are cheaper than FA vets.

I agree. But this is what gets me confused about building through the draft. 3 starters a year and it would take 7 years to get 21. To even get to 12 would take 4 years. And by then the coach is fired for not winning.

I'd like to hear some of ASFNs thoughts on how you build through the draft.

Try to get a core of 8,9,10 guys you drafted 1-3, sort of like what the Cards had last year?
Make trades to get extra 2nd and 3rd round picks?
?????

 

[MadCardDisease]

I disagree with the Godell thing. I found it very uncomfortable when the NY fans booed Godell. I take it as uneducated fans taking to a mob mentality. The fact of the matter is that under Godell the NFL has become a year round juggernaut. The rating on this years draft were through the roof. He isn't going anywhere soon and he make the commish's from other sports look like lost children.

I agree that the NFLN has amazing draft coverage. I love that they refrained from spoiling the picks. We had to wait till the Commish or whoever officially anounced the pick. That is the way it should be. I also love Mayock and his amazing analysis on pretty much every draft pick. He is by far the best in the business. With Eison providing the comic relief and Mayock provide the substance they make a great team that is fun to watch.

What I admire most about Mayock is that he refuses to grade the draft when it is complete. Draft grades are absolutely foolish when you have yet to see the product at an NFL level. Kudos to Mayock for sticking to his guns and pretty much mocking the "draft grading" process at the conclusion of the draft.

 

[Chopper0080]

I agree. But this is what gets me confused about building through the draft. 3 starters a year and it would take 7 years to get 21. To even get to 12 would take 4 years. And by then the coach is fired for not winning.

I'd like to hear some of ASFNs thoughts on how you build through the draft.

Try to get a core of 8,9,10 guys you drafted 1-3, sort of like what the Cards had last year?
Make trades to get extra 2nd and 3rd round picks?
?????

You are going to have natural roster turnover and you can't build exclusively through the draft. That is why new coaches tend to add more free agents than longer tenured coaches. They are trying to fill in the gaps that are left by the draft. As teams develop stability, more and more of their roster should come from the draft because the system is in place.

IMO, the draft should be used to find as many players as you can who can make your team. The higher the pick, the higher the expectations, snap contributions and position value should be. The draft should always be a nice mix of immediate ability and potential. There is nothing wrong with drafting the Justin Bethel's in the 6th/7th round and all they turn out to be are special teams players. Those have value. If our 5th rounder Stinson only turns out to be as good as Frostee Rucker, that is ok. There is value in that. IMO, first three rounds should be starter potential players and rounds 4-7 should be players who can make your team in some way.

 

[Cardiac]

I disagree with the Godell thing. I found it very uncomfortable when the NY fans booed Godell. I take it as uneducated fans taking to a mob mentality. The fact of the matter is that under Godell the NFL has become a year round juggernaut. The rating on this years draft were through the roof. He isn't going anywhere soon and he make the commish's from other sports look like lost children.

Very much agree with this and can't figure out why Godell is so hated. He doesn't have a salary of ~ 40 mil, IIRC it's about 4 mil, the owners loved what he has done sooooooooooo much that they gave him a ~ 30 mil bonus for how he has driven revenue etc.

I agree that the NFLN has amazing draft coverage. I love that they refrained from spoiling the picks. We had to wait till the Commish or whoever officially anounced the pick. That is the way it should be. I also love Mayock and his amazing analysis on pretty much every draft pick. He is by far the best in the business. With Eison providing the comic relief and Mayock provide the substance they make a great team that is fun to watch.

What I admire most about Mayock is that he refuses to grade the draft when it is complete. Draft grades are absolutely foolish when you have yet to see the product at an NFL level. Kudos to Mayock for sticking to his guns and pretty much mocking the "draft grading" process at the conclusion of the draft.

I prefer NFL as well but still do enjoy Kiper. I watched ESPN live and taped NFLN this year. Next year I will do the opposite and probably keep it that way going forward.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

I watched NFL network for the entire draft. I really enjoyed Mayock and crew and the tone they set. Will watch them again next year.

I used to watch ESPN every year but I'm glad I changed this year and will watch NFLN next year also.