MMQB - Dallas Draft: Looking Back

[Plankton]

It's interesting to speculate how they came up with the 1.44 grade from among those six people. According to Al Michaels, Linehan and Wilson loved Prescott, and Garrett liked Prescott. McClay has not been mentioned at all.

Garrett 2 (x2)
Linehan 3 (x2)
Wilson 3
McClay 0 (x2)
scout 0
scout 0

Garrett 1 (x2)
Linehan 2 (x2)
Wilson 2
McClay 1 (x2)
scout 2
scout 1

Pure speculation, of course, but they both come out to a 1.44 grade.

I don't believe that it has a thing to do with individuals getting a point value for their contributions to the grading of a player.

Most teams use the old Bucko Kilroy grading scale for rating players, done on a scale from 1-9, with a 1 being a player not worth considering at all, and a 9 being viewed as a Hall of Fame type of player. Teams will then add a letter to the end of the numeric rating for special influential factors in the rating (such as injury, character, intelligence, etc.)

The Cowboys, to my knowledge, operate on a 5 point scale, with a 5 being the HOF type of player, and a 1 being at best a marginal FA selection. I base this on the comments from Jerry Jones following the selection of Dwayne Goodrich in the 2000 NFL Draft:

The Cowboys had an offer to trade down nine spots and obtain a third-round pick but felt they couldn't pass on a cornerback who played on a national championship team and runs 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Cornerback is Dallas' biggest need since the team is expected to waive Deion Sanders in June.

"(Goodrich) is a five, which is our highest grade that you can give a player," said owner Jerry Jones. "There's no question if he had the kind of year he had in '97 and '98, that we'd never been able to touch him where we drafted in the second round."

http://newsok.com/article/2693906
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Using that scale, a 1.44 could easily end up as being a late 4th round value.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

In a passing league I'm still curious how a guy like Brown falls that low. Cowboys even say they had a 3rd round grade....talk about great value. This draft was surreal and we don't even know what Tapper and Jaylan can be yet.

Because statistically he wasn't performing on the field in Purdue.

 

[Macnalty]

Many people in the draft section questioned his leadership.

That is so true and it was his reason for dropping in the draft. Many had him as a first rounder without that leadership knock.

 

[Macnalty]

I just perused a fox sports article written by a complete moron by the name of: Chris Chase(think that was his name) it was written back in may of this year(again,IIRC) and he was TOTALLY ripping Jerry Jones/DALLAS on the stupidity of blowing the #4 draft pick on an offensive player,most notably a running back at that, CUZ' only in Jerry's world would that strengthen his defense,it was titled " how the DALLAS COWBOYS had the worst draft of 2016",,,or something similar to that,,,( I've been lurking in a bunch of the comments section of articles lately, what a hoot!)

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...iott-ruined-worst-best-grades-nfc-east-050216

 

[Sarge]

I even heard one say he was a Tim Tebow!! Swear.

I actually heard more than one person call him a Tebow clone.

 

[percyhoward]

The Cowboys, to my knowledge, operate on a 5 point scale.

Garrett 2 (x 6) = 12
Linehan 4 (x 3) = 12
Wilson 3 (x 2) = 6
McClay 1 (x 6) = 6
scout 0 (x 4) = 0
scout 0 (x 4) = 0
total = 36 ÷ 25 = 1.44

Or maybe Linehan wasn't so impressed with this draft's top quarterbacks.

Garrett 2 (x 4) = 8
Linehan 3 (x 2) = 6
Wilson 3 (x 1) = 3
McClay 1 (x 4) = 4
scout 0 (x 3) = 0
scout 1 (x 2) = 2
total = 23 ÷ 16 = 1.44

Both scenarios fit that 5-point scale, as well as the grade and the six people mentioned in the article.

 

[Plankton]

Garrett 2 (x 6) = 12
Linehan 4 (x 3) = 12
Wilson 3 (x 2) = 6
McClay 1 (x 6) = 6
scout 0 (x 4) = 0
scout 0 (x 4) = 0
total = 36 ÷ 25 = 1.44

Or maybe Linehan wasn't so impressed with this draft's top quarterbacks.

Garrett 2 (x 4) = 8
Linehan 3 (x 2) = 6
Wilson 3 (x 1) = 3
McClay 1 (x 4) = 4
scout 0 (x 3) = 0
scout 1 (x 2) = 2
total = 23 ÷ 16 = 1.44

Both scenarios fit that 5-point scale, as well as the grade and the six people mentioned in the article.

You are reading into that way too literally.

That's not how they break it down and assign grades.

Grades are done as follows:

5.0 - Elite franchise type talent (top of draft)
4.5 - 4.99 - Pro Bowl player, potential elite talent
4.0 - 4.49 - potential Pro Bowl player
3.5 - 3.99 - potential starter
3.0 - 3.49 - potential starter with a good deal of development
2.5 - 2.99 - strong reserve and core special teamer, could start down the line
2.0 - 2.49 - strong reserve and special teams contributor
1.5 - 1.99 - backup player
1.0 - 1.49 - backup player, not likely a championship player
0.5 - 0.99 - roster filler - look to replace
0.0 - 0.49 - lacks NFL skill in most areas, likely cannot win a roster spot

The numbers don't have anything to do with whether Garrett gets more say than the area scout who scouted the player in person 4-6 times. The numbers are based on what category above they fall into. In Dallas, the scouts are given more say into how players are rated. The coaches get input, but the scouts grades rule the day.

 

[yimyammer]

We know there were six grades that averaged to 1.44, and that Linehan's (and probably Wilson's) grades for Dak were higher than most or all of the others. I don't think it's a coincidence that the 1.44 is 13 points divided by 9 grades. The way to turn 6 grades into 9 is to count 3 of them twice. If I were going to give more weight to 3 of the opinions, it would be those of the head coach, head scout, and OC.

Garrett 1 (x 2) = 2
Linehan 2 (x 2) = 4
Wilson 2 = 2
McClay 1 (x 2) = 2
scout 2 = 2
scout 1 = 1
total = 13 ÷ 9 = 1.44

Again, just a guess.

Interesting, thx. I'm still having trouble following the logic.

What do the numbers mean, for example Garret is a "1" what does that number represent?

Intuitively, I would have expected each person the give a grade for which round they think a player should be drafted in, so using your example, I would expect to see something like this:

Garrett = 3
Lineman = 1
Wilson = 1
McClay = 4
scout = 4
scout = 4
total = 17 ÷ 6 = 2.833

with 2.833 meaning a late third round projected value

The 1.44 has no logical meaning to me but I'm sure it would if I understood the logic behind the number

 

[yimyammer]

Garrett 2 (x 6) = 12
Linehan 4 (x 3) = 12
Wilson 3 (x 2) = 6
McClay 1 (x 6) = 6
scout 0 (x 4) = 0
scout 0 (x 4) = 0
total = 36 ÷ 25 = 1.44

Or maybe Linehan wasn't so impressed with this draft's top quarterbacks.

Garrett 2 (x 4) = 8
Linehan 3 (x 2) = 6
Wilson 3 (x 1) = 3
McClay 1 (x 4) = 4
scout 0 (x 3) = 0
scout 1 (x 2) = 2
total = 23 ÷ 16 = 1.44

Both scenarios fit that 5-point scale, as well as the grade and the six people mentioned in the article.

what does the "x6", "x3", etc represent?

 

[percyhoward]

Interesting, thx. I'm still having trouble following the logic.

What do the numbers mean, for example Garret is a "1" what does that number represent?

His grade for Prescott, which is then weighted.

But again, it's nothing more than a guess anyway. There may be something added or deducted for injuries/intangibles that goes in after the grades are totaled. All we really know is who wanted Prescott and who was less enthusiastic. And who the six people were, and the grade.

 

[percyhoward]

That's not how they break it down and assign grades.

Grades are done as follows:

5.0 - Elite franchise type talent (top of draft)
4.5 - 4.99 - Pro Bowl player, potential elite talent
4.0 - 4.49 - potential Pro Bowl player
3.5 - 3.99 - potential starter
3.0 - 3.49 - potential starter with a good deal of development
2.5 - 2.99 - strong reserve and core special teamer, could start down the line
2.0 - 2.49 - strong reserve and special teams contributor
1.5 - 1.99 - backup player
1.0 - 1.49 - backup player, not likely a championship player
0.5 - 0.99 - roster filler - look to replace
0.0 - 0.49 - lacks NFL skill in most areas, likely cannot win a roster spot

That's great info, but to me those sound like what the average of the six grades (one assigned by the scouting director, two by scouts, one by the head coach, one by the offensive coordinator and one by the quarterbacks coach) is supposed to mean.