Chuck 54
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I love the draft as much as anyone; every year I spend hours tracking every selection with several draft publications at hand.
Still, the over-reactions by many are unwarranted.
We don't pick until #27, and we have little ammunition for moving up significantly. Trading players is a possibility, but everyone knows players have their least value during the draft...you aren't going to get much for guys like MBIII or Bennett, though a 5th rounder would be nice.
People also seem freaked out over the idea that we don't take our future OT at 27. Ummmm...what if the top 3-4 OTs are gone, which everyone expects, before the draft even hits the 20's. Does anyone actually want to take second tier tackles like the guy from USC or Safford in round one?! Crazy...you don't take a project in round one...you take players.
This draft will NOT win us a SB, nor should we expect to get any starters for this year's roster from the draft. You seldom win SB's if your roster is so weak that must draft a starter. That doesn't mean that a safety can't beat Ball out at some point during the year or that an OG can't perform well enough if someone is injured or that a WR can't take over the slot position from Crayton at some point in the year.
The Cowboys are not going into the draft looking to find this year's starting FS or left OT...they would have never jettisoned Hamlin and Flozell if they didn't think they had their replacements on the roster.
The draft is more about the future, and it is important...very important. But we need to take the best football player available at #27, no matter what his position. And if we only have 23 first round grades on players, then it's actually very likely that when we're on the clock we'll see only players with 2nd round grades...so no one should be shocked or angry if we trade down into the first half of round 2 to pick up an extra 5th rounder...unless you like the idea of drafting a guy in round one and paying him first round money when you don't actually value him as any more than a second rounder.
We all get excited about the draft...it's one of the great sporting-related events of the year, but if your team is considered a SB contender and you're drafting at the bottom of every round, you hope to gain depth, role players, and guys who may start eventually, maybe even find a starter who blossoms into an upper echelon player in 2-3 years, but you aren't planning your season or roster around the guys you will select on Thursday.
It's going to be fun tomorrow night, but as you watch the clear first round talent disappearing off the board, be prepared to accept Dallas taking someone who is not a safety, left OT, or WR at 27....or even moving down and making you feel that you wasted the entire evening as they don't make a selection until Friday.
*Top predicted over-reaction: "Dallas just sat there and watched all the guys they needed this year taken ahead of them...we should have packaged other picks or players and moved up to get our man." (despite the fact that the players we are willing to get rid of have low value and we don't even have a full 7 draft picks to begin with this year).
Still, the over-reactions by many are unwarranted.
We don't pick until #27, and we have little ammunition for moving up significantly. Trading players is a possibility, but everyone knows players have their least value during the draft...you aren't going to get much for guys like MBIII or Bennett, though a 5th rounder would be nice.
People also seem freaked out over the idea that we don't take our future OT at 27. Ummmm...what if the top 3-4 OTs are gone, which everyone expects, before the draft even hits the 20's. Does anyone actually want to take second tier tackles like the guy from USC or Safford in round one?! Crazy...you don't take a project in round one...you take players.
This draft will NOT win us a SB, nor should we expect to get any starters for this year's roster from the draft. You seldom win SB's if your roster is so weak that must draft a starter. That doesn't mean that a safety can't beat Ball out at some point during the year or that an OG can't perform well enough if someone is injured or that a WR can't take over the slot position from Crayton at some point in the year.
The Cowboys are not going into the draft looking to find this year's starting FS or left OT...they would have never jettisoned Hamlin and Flozell if they didn't think they had their replacements on the roster.
The draft is more about the future, and it is important...very important. But we need to take the best football player available at #27, no matter what his position. And if we only have 23 first round grades on players, then it's actually very likely that when we're on the clock we'll see only players with 2nd round grades...so no one should be shocked or angry if we trade down into the first half of round 2 to pick up an extra 5th rounder...unless you like the idea of drafting a guy in round one and paying him first round money when you don't actually value him as any more than a second rounder.
We all get excited about the draft...it's one of the great sporting-related events of the year, but if your team is considered a SB contender and you're drafting at the bottom of every round, you hope to gain depth, role players, and guys who may start eventually, maybe even find a starter who blossoms into an upper echelon player in 2-3 years, but you aren't planning your season or roster around the guys you will select on Thursday.
It's going to be fun tomorrow night, but as you watch the clear first round talent disappearing off the board, be prepared to accept Dallas taking someone who is not a safety, left OT, or WR at 27....or even moving down and making you feel that you wasted the entire evening as they don't make a selection until Friday.
*Top predicted over-reaction: "Dallas just sat there and watched all the guys they needed this year taken ahead of them...we should have packaged other picks or players and moved up to get our man." (despite the fact that the players we are willing to get rid of have low value and we don't even have a full 7 draft picks to begin with this year).
