Observations from an old-timer

[CowboysPhan]

As I've been reading through all the threads pertaining to the draft this year, I was struck by something that has really changed a lot in my lifetime.
Many years ago, before the draft had become a major media event, and before internet message boards, there were just two questions that mattered about the draft: Who did we draft, and will they make the team better?

I was always so excited to go find a copy of the Dallas Morning News or Dallas Times-Herald to read about our draft picks and dream about how we were now better at certain positions.

Fast forward to today. The draft itself seems to have become the focus for a lot of people. Instead of focusing on the player and whether he will help the team, it's all about did we get good value at the pick, was it a reach, did the experts have him ranked higher or lower than that pick, did we get good value for a trade according to the draft value chart, did we get a better draft grade than our rivals, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing us net a bunch of extra picks in a trade as much as the next guy, but as I read all the threads, the recurring theme I kept seeing repeated a lot was, "Like the player, hate the pick." The feeling was that the players were good, but people could not enjoy getting him because of where he was picked, or whether he represented "value."

Guys, if the player can help us, he represents value in my mind. Now, if you can for a moment put aside all the draft winner/loser stuff, all the reach/bpa stuff, all the did we get value for the trade stuff, and just ask yourself the two tried and true questions above:
1. Who did we pick?
2. Will they make the team better?

We all know who we picked, so lets answer the second question: Will they make the team better? No one knows for sure, but based on what I've seen and read, the answer in my mind is "yes."

The coaches and fo have picked some players to help us immediately, and some to be significant contributors in the future (ie Escobar when father time finally starts to slow Witten down). If you don't look at whether we could have gotten the player later, could we have gotten some other pet cat at that spot, could we have gotten more picks, etc., and just boil it down to that question, "Will they make the team better," you'll find that so much of your anger, frustration, and anxiety will just melt away and you'll feel much better about the draft. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Chuck 54]

One old-timer to another, welcome aboard.

 

[RS12]

You are fundamentally right but a big part of the draft nowadays is also cap management and matchups. You need to matchup particularly with division foes and find guys that create mismatches if posibble IMO. Of course drafting talent instead of need, but a gaping hole is a gaping hole.

 

[KC10Sooner]

Great post and common sense.

 

[lcharles]

This old timer agrees. common sense post. :fogeys: :geezer:

 

[TX_Yid]

Hmmmm like the poster, hate the post.



just kidding, thats some good common sense there.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Some around here prefer to ask a third question as well: "could another available option have helped the team more?" There are various ways of asking this question, most of which are concerned with whether or not the team got "value" from a given pick (or trade). I don't mind people asking those sorts of questions. Your two questions are reasonable. So are these various versions of the third question.

 

[Fletch]

Excellent post.

 

[Echo9]

As I've been reading through all the threads pertaining to the draft this year, I was struck by something that has really changed a lot in my lifetime.
Many years ago, before the draft had become a major media event, and before internet message boards, there were just two questions that mattered about the draft: Who did we draft, and will they make the team better?

I was always so excited to go find a copy of the Dallas Morning News or Dallas Times-Herald to read about our draft picks and dream about how we were now better at certain positions.

Fast forward to today. The draft itself seems to have become the focus for a lot of people. Instead of focusing on the player and whether he will help the team, it's all about did we get good value at the pick, was it a reach, did the experts have him ranked higher or lower than that pick, did we get good value for a trade according to the draft value chart, did we get a better draft grade than our rivals, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing us net a bunch of extra picks in a trade as much as the next guy, but as I read all the threads, the recurring theme I kept seeing repeated a lot was, "Like the player, hate the pick." The feeling was that the players were good, but people could not enjoy getting him because of where he was picked, or whether he represented "value."

Guys, if the player can help us, he represents value in my mind. Now, if you can for a moment put aside all the draft winner/loser stuff, all the reach/bpa stuff, all the did we get value for the trade stuff, and just ask yourself the two tried and true questions above:
1. Who did we pick?
2. Will they make the team better?

We all know who we picked, so lets answer the second question: Will they make the team better? No one knows for sure, but based on what I've seen and read, the answer in my mind is "yes."

The coaches and fo have picked some players to help us immediately, and some to be significant contributors in the future (ie Escobar when father time finally starts to slow Witten down). If you don't look at whether we could have gotten the player later, could we have gotten some other pet cat at that spot, could we have gotten more picks, etc., and just boil it down to that question, "Will they make the team better," you'll find that so much of your anger, frustration, and anxiety will just melt away and you'll feel much better about the draft. Just my 2 cents.

Generally a good post, but I think another question is whether a different player could have helped significantly more and could he have then gotten someone else later to help us almost as much as the guy taken.

In truth, this is an impossible question to answer right away and could take as long as 3 years, so I do understand wanting to just enjoy the picks as they are for now.

Now get off my lawn!

 

[Trajan]

The draft has become an event in and of itself, promoted by the NFL and media. Fans want to win the draft, get their favorite player and see their team win the offseason.

Good post.

 

[mmillman]

Everyone gets "better" with picks. The trick is to maximize your picks to get the best value

 

[HoosierCowboy]

as a fellow old timer, I've been around long enough to know that the experts are as wrong about the draft as the rest of us and that we don't know until anything for a year or two

 

[Doomsday]

Well said, too many people get wrapped up in the pick value. Could they have gotten Fredrick in the 2nd round, possibly, but if he ends up being a good starter does it really matter?

 

[CashMan]

I think Pre-Jerry Jones, your thought process works. But since Jerry has taken over the draft from Jimmy, he has consistently made terrible picks year after year. Sure he will get 1 or 2 right, but until Dallas starts winning, I will question every decision he makes. There is nothing to be optimistic about, with Jerry at the helm.

 

[deadlift]

Good point OP

 

[CowboysPhan]

Generally a good post, but I think another question is whether a different player could have helped significantly more and could he have then gotten someone else later to help us almost as much as the guy taken.

In truth, this is an impossible question to answer right away and could take as long as 3 years, so I do understand wanting to just enjoy the picks as they are for now.

Now get off my lawn!

I agree with this, in general, and I don't mind the question, even asking it myself at times. I just try to take the overall approach that, as you said, the question is impossible to answer right away, so why get so upset about it? I'm not bashing anyone for questioning the way things are going, just hate to see people declare they are done being a fan of the team because a second round draft pick was not what they wanted or because people laughed at us about the trade, etc. I like to enjoy looking for how we improved, rather than dwelling on what we could have done to improve more. To each his own, of course.

 

[kirkjrk]

I think Pre-Jerry Jones, your thought process works. But since Jerry has taken over the draft from Jimmy, he has consistently made terrible picks year after year. Sure he will get 1 or 2 right, but until Dallas starts winning, I will question every decision he makes. There is nothing to be optimistic about, with Jerry at the helm.

After watching the War Room video, Steven is as bad as his Dad. Garrett looked nothing more than a yes man.

 

[mmillman]

Well said, too many people get wrapped up in the pick value. Could they have gotten Fredrick in the 2nd round, possibly, but if he ends up being a good starter does it really matter?

Ever watch the movie money ball? You put together a roster to maximize value. It is the only way to work under the salary cap. It is why teams like Seattle, SF will be tough for awhile. They have a huge advantage in the cap by having cheap starting qb's that can no longer renegotiate. Dallas consistently overpays and underdrafts. It is why they are where they are.

Note what New England did? They traded out and got tremendous value for their pick.

If Dallas trades out of the first with the intention to draft Frederick. High probability that he is there with their second round pick. So they could trade their late first for a 2nd and 3rd this year or a potential high first next year etc................

 

[ringmaster]

As I've been reading through all the threads pertaining to the draft this year, I was struck by something that has really changed a lot in my lifetime.
Many years ago, before the draft had become a major media event, and before internet message boards, there were just two questions that mattered about the draft: Who did we draft, and will they make the team better?

I was always so excited to go find a copy of the Dallas Morning News or Dallas Times-Herald to read about our draft picks and dream about how we were now better at certain positions.

Fast forward to today. The draft itself seems to have become the focus for a lot of people. Instead of focusing on the player and whether he will help the team, it's all about did we get good value at the pick, was it a reach, did the experts have him ranked higher or lower than that pick, did we get good value for a trade according to the draft value chart, did we get a better draft grade than our rivals, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing us net a bunch of extra picks in a trade as much as the next guy, but as I read all the threads, the recurring theme I kept seeing repeated a lot was, "Like the player, hate the pick." The feeling was that the players were good, but people could not enjoy getting him because of where he was picked, or whether he represented "value."

Guys, if the player can help us, he represents value in my mind. Now, if you can for a moment put aside all the draft winner/loser stuff, all the reach/bpa stuff, all the did we get value for the trade stuff, and just ask yourself the two tried and true questions above:
1. Who did we pick?
2. Will they make the team better?

We all know who we picked, so lets answer the second question: Will they make the team better? No one knows for sure, but based on what I've seen and read, the answer in my mind is "yes."

The coaches and fo have picked some players to help us immediately, and some to be significant contributors in the future (ie Escobar when father time finally starts to slow Witten down). If you don't look at whether we could have gotten the player later, could we have gotten some other pet cat at that spot, could we have gotten more picks, etc., and just boil it down to that question, "Will they make the team better," you'll find that so much of your anger, frustration, and anxiety will just melt away and you'll feel much better about the draft. Just my 2 cents.

I did question the Escobar pick on yesterday but today I now understand why they did and Witten, even though he sat a record for most receptions by a TE in a season can't play forever and plus he's 31.

As for people saying that Escobar will be taking playing time from Hanna, needs to really pay attention they lost Phillips in FA to the Chargers, and if Witten goes down and I hope not Galvin can step right in to give the offense some slack.

 

[LynnFoster]

Great OP by CowboysPhan. I think there are a couple of other differences, with so much information available on the players most fans form strong opinions on who the team should take and are invariably disappointed when their pet cats aren't taken.

Also I think ESPN contributes a lot to an expectation that a draft pick will contribute in their first year, when in reality they are taken to contribute in their second or third.