Cautionary Tale about Need vs BPA

[Sydla]

If they had Awuzie rated 1 spot ahead of Taco, not going BPA was a smart move one would think considering they landed BOTH players. That was a DEEP draft at CB, and their draft strategy made a ton of sense. It worked.

If you draft Awuzie at #28, Taco wouldn't have lasted until #60. Miami was going to take Taco at #22 if Charles Harris wasn't available at their pick.

Dalvin Cook was the one player remaining that they had a 1st round grade on in 2017. You're not going to take an RB in the 1st round in back to back years, especially after you just took one in the top 5 the year before. That's idiotic.

I don't think they debated Awuzie or Taco at 28. From all indications the CB they were debating was Kevin King, who frankly, has been so-so thus far like Taco. So it's not like they missed the boat there.

 

[JBell]

I don't think they debated Awuzie or Taco at 28. From all indications the CB they were debating was Kevin King, who frankly, has been so-so thus far like Taco. So it's not like they missed the boat there.

Naw, it wasn't King. I remember that was the thought at the time. It seemed like it was between Taco and Watt at #28, because they liked the CB depth.

Awuzie was their highest rated CB at the time.
"Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday that Dallas had Chidobe Awuzie, one of its 29 pre-draft visitors, "rated higher than the other corners that were left after the first round."
https://cowboyszone.com/threads/cow...bs-remaining-after-drafts-first-round.377735/

 

[JBell]

My OP was a warning about over-focusing on need.

It was not to lament a bad draft decision by the team. That draft has already been lamented enough.

Some people this year exclaim that they would go postal if the Cowboys drafted a RB at #58.

My point is that it's most important to pick good players regardless of position and regardless of how they arrived at the decision.

You don't appear to understand how they use their draft board.

Jaylon Smith was the 5th player on their board in the 1st round column.

They were not going to draft Jaylon that early.

They didn't include the injury in the draft board.

They didn't include character concerns in the Connor Cook draft board ranking.

They make the final medical/character decisions at draft time.

And again, where's the link? Because in the pre-draft process, Cook said the Cowboys showed a lot of interest in him.

Additionally, Adam Schefter reported that we were looking to trade up to draft Cook. But we got sniped by the Raiders.

It just doesn't fit with your narrative of "When we don't go BPA, bad things happen."

 

[Sydla]

Naw, it wasn't King. I remember that was the thought at the time. It seemed like it was between Taco and Watt at #28, because they liked the CB depth.

Awuzie was their highest rated CB at the time.
"Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday that Dallas had Chidobe Awuzie, one of its 29 pre-draft visitors, "rated higher than the other corners that were left after the first round."
https://cowboyszone.com/threads/cow...bs-remaining-after-drafts-first-round.377735/

I recall that Stephen's take was refuted by others including some media types that were given stories on how the war room decision went down. Some said Stephen got confused because King went first in the 2nd round and he mistakenly thought King was a first round pick.

I guess we will never know the full truth.

 

[xwalker]

And again, where's the link? Because in the pre-draft process, Cook said the Cowboys showed a lot of interest in him.

Additionally, Adam Schefter reported that we were looking to trade up to draft Cook. But we got sniped by the Raiders.

It just doesn't fit with your narrative of "When we don't go BPA, bad things happen."

Again, they leave the borderline character/medical to be decided at draft time. The board is focused on talent.

The Cowboys decided:

• Cook-character < M.Collins+character

If I'm a GM, I want the scouts to rank the talent and then include all character/medical issues in reports that I can review. I don't need the scouts to rank the degrees of character/medical issues.

No draft process will have perfect results.

The goal is to look back at 10 years of drafts and have a good record of making good picks.

FYI - The players are listed in order of ranking. They have tiers within rounds but the tiers are not obvious in the leaked draft boards.

Cook was low in the round 2nd round list and Collins was near the top in the round 3rd round list and those are based on talent. Once character is added to the decision, it's not hard to see that a high tier 3rd with good character can have a higher overall ranking than a low tier 2nd with character issues.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

I don't have your way with words.

I'll have to quote others:

Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
.....1948 Speech
.....Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
.....George Santayana (1863-1952)

Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.
.....Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

SO...what I get from that is Churchill and Santayana were plagiarists. Anything else?

 

[jrumann59]

I always believe in BPA at a position of need, not dire need but lets say the plan is to let Zeke walk well you draft his replacement not after he walks. Or if a really good OT falls draft him because you may have need with Collins or Smith. You definitely do not going in saying I have to take X because the team absolutely needs to upgrade position Z

 

[DanA]

If the BPA is a position that you are set at is there you trade down and take the BPA at that draft slot. But also the draft is about looking towards the future. Just because you don't need a LB this year doesn't mean you won't two years from now.
So BPA is by far the best way to draft

You must live in the magical land where people are always willing to trade at a fair price to help you land the draftee you want.

 

[cnuball21]

Taco was rated higher than Watt.

You guys who keep spewing BPA, BPA, BPA, over and over and over keep on denying the predraft rating of players.

Bobby Carpenter was BPA. Mo was BPA.

Using only BPA is a completely and utterly foolish way to draft. Anyone who is drafting should be studying and considering a million things about every player. BPA should be considered, absolutely, along w/ needs, scheme fit, motor/attitude, learning ability, signability and re-signability, future replacements, injury possibilities, and many other items.

BPA takes for granted that there is some black and white way to rate prospects. There is not. Sure things bust and questions marks succeed.

Using need by itself, BTW, is also a very foolish way to draft. There quite simply is not one singular method to use. It's a complicated process.

Ding, ding ding...we have a winner!

 

[kskboys]

This thread was as much about not avoiding high rated players because the team does not "need" that position as the thread is about not reaching for need.

I agree w/ both of those.

 

[RoboQB]

Was he?

Most of the world had a higher rating on OT Duane Brown.

I will humbly add that Felix wasn't even a lock at his position for that pick.
It was a toss up between Jones and Rashard Mendenhall.

 

[xwalker]

I will humbly add that Felix wasn't even a lock at his position for that pick.
It was a toss up between Jones and Rashard Mendenhall.

I preferred Chris Johnson.

 

[kskboys]

I preferred Chris Johnson.

I wanted Red Bryant, then a RB in the 2nd. There were so many good looking RB's and no clear cut favorites that draft, taking Felix in the first was just stupid. I was thinking Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, or Forte in the 2nd. Felix looked too straighlinish and slim for me.

 

[cnuball21]

I will humbly add that Felix wasn't even a lock at his position for that pick.
It was a toss up between Jones and Rashard Mendenhall.

At the time I felt Felix to be a stretch, but he could’ve stayed healthy man he was good.

He was putting up silly Yards Per Touch numbers and was Kamara esque at times

 

[RoboQB]

I preferred Chris Johnson.

I'll admit it. I completely missed on Chris Johnson.
The speed was great to see, but I couldn't get past the 199lbs.
he weighed at the combine.