Quality trumps quantity
Draft board won't have many names
By Ethan J. Skolnick | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
April 19, 2008
Tony Sparano acknowledged it. Jeff Ireland, too.
Even after a slew of free-agent acquisitions, the Dolphins still need reinforcements or replacements all over the field.
How do the Dolphins approach making additions?
Through subtraction.
They already purged the organization of players for philosophical, contractual or performance reasons. And, in preparation for next weekend's NFL Draft, the Dolphins have been trimming something else:
Their draft board.
"Our draft board will not have a lot of names of players on it," Bill Parcells said, upon his January introduction as Dolphins president of football operations. "It will be a much-reduced number. We're going to try to make our scouts be decisive and committed to people rather than just being able to pile guys into a category."
Parcells said he would establish the parameters, and then empower someone else to implement and execute his less-is-more philosophy. That person became Ireland when Parcells hired his protégé away from the Dallas Cowboys to serve as the general manager. Ireland was on the Cowboys' scouting staff when Parcells arrived in 2003.
Parcells' influence?
"We kind of shrunk the draft board down a little bit," Ireland said.
According to others in that organization, the Cowboys under Parcells limited their list to between 100 and 120 prospects — less than half of the number of total draft slots. This year, teams will make 252 selections over the seven rounds, including compensatory picks.
"I doubt most teams have anything close to that number on the board," Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson said.
Parcells' teams are more discerning than most, however.
Phil Savage, the Cleveland Browns' GM, said he tries to "whittle it down to about 150 guys. Sometimes you have to go outside of that 150, but on rare occasions." Carl Peterson, who serves as the Kansas City Chiefs GM among his other roles, also put his number at "about 150."
"We don't put a whole lot of players on the board that are not for us," Ireland said. "And we're not really concerned about what other teams are looking for. We know what we're looking for. We know the kind of guys that should be successful in our program and how we try to develop players."
So what are Parcells and, by extension, Ireland seeking?
How do they eliminate and elevate?
Here's a primer:
They have size parameters for every position. Generally, bigger is better.
They emphasize character. How is that quantified? Here's one way: six of the Cowboys' eight selections in 2005 served as a college captain. Ireland said Thursday that if a player had five arrests, that player probably wasn't for them. But he also left himself some wiggle room, by saying that "second chances are important."
They will eliminate a talented player based on a dubious projection of how a player will fit in their likely schemes — which, on defense, are of the 3-4 variety.
They prefer players from large schools who have been tested against top competition, but make exceptions if a player's gifts are overwhelming. Again, check 2005, which was the first Cowboys draft after Ireland's promotion to vice president of college and pro scouting. With the 11th selection, Dallas took Troy defensive end DeMarcus Ware, who is now a Pro Bowl performer.
They tend to shy away from one-year wonders, preferring players who have been productive for multiple seasons. They leave many players with major injury risks off the board entirely. They look, late in the draft and in college free agency, for players with one above-average skill.
How well does this formula work?
The Cowboys drafted 16 players in 2005 and 2006, after Ireland's promotion and before Parcells' departure. A dozen came from major college programs.
In 2005, they hit on Ware, running back Marion Barber, defensive end Chris Canty and defensive tackle Jay Ratliff. Defensive end Marcus Spears has been serviceable if not dynamic, linebacker Kevin Burnett makes situational contribution, safety Justin Beriault showed training camp promise before a knee injury and offensive lineman Rob Petitti started as a rookie but was later discarded.
So far, 2006's Cowboys class doesn't look quite as strong, starting with former Ohio State star Bobby Carpenter, a first-round selection struggling to get on the field.
Even if the linebacker never makes an All-Pro team, he already made an exclusive list:
A Parcells' draft board.
Ethan J. Skolnick can be reached at
eskolnick@sun-sentinel.com.
