Good points however I look at it this way. Drafting for need the last several years has gotten us Taco, LVE and Hill. One flat out bust, one on the cusp bust, and one LB with a chronic neck condition. We didn't need a WR last year but Cee Dee looked to be a high impact player who was unlikely to bust and I still think so. I was happy with the pick for those reasons. I see the same thing with Slater. A non bust who is likely to be highly productive for a decade. We cant blow this pick after some of the poor recent drafts.
I see your point, but with the Taco and LVE picks, was it the draft for need issue or was it a scouting issue(general comment)?
When we drafted Taco, Watt was still on the board(as we've all read 500 times lol). The rumor was that the coaches wanted Taco but scouts wanted Watt. Had we gone with Watt, still on the drafting for need, would that been a bad decision? IIRC Rod didn't think he could play with his hand in the dirt...
LVE was pimped hard by McClay. In that draft class, there was still Evans and Leonard who were drafted in the later first/beginning of the 2nd round. Now, no one really had Darius Leonard as a 1st rounder, but he certainly has played excellent since coming into the league. But, was this a draft for need issue, or a scouting issue? Cause it was a heavy LB draft class up top.
Now, I'm not saying McClay is to blame for both or either one. LVE was red flagged and supposedly teams were made aware of the condition, but Dallas still took him.
Was it stubbornness of we can fix/minimize the neck issue? There's an article in the Athletic on how the team really set their eyes on him early. Hell, when he was fully healthy/no neck issues he was a playmaker so they got the talent part right, but not the issues that came with a neck injury/resulting injuries from trying to avoid injuries to the neck.
Taco looked like Tarzan but played like Jane with Karen like attitude. The coaches missed on him, mainly due to his attitude and well Lawrence blossoming into a top LDE. The same position Taco would of played.
Hill was another coaches pick, with even Richard joining Rod that they needed that DT or it didn;t matter who they had in the secondary.
Luckily, Rod and his coach them up/napkin contracts are gone. But I wouldn't be afraid to pick off need as long as there is a solid agreement between the scouts and coaches.
In a weird twist of fate, Rod not wanting Shariff Floyd ended up with the Cowboys drafting Frederick, so I guess some credit there to Rod disagreeing with the scouts on that one. Although tbd on how Floyds career would of gone without the botched surgery.
