As you understand but some others missed, my primary point of this thread was about players and the roster of Super Bowl teams.
I said coaches but could have said GMs in regards to the comparison to fans/media.
Players like the OLinemen Sua-Filo, Fleming and Looney and DT Woods are important in regards to winning. Fans/media tend to scoff at those types of free agent signings and only focus on players like Earl Thomas.
A solid DT in the 2nd round could be a big addition even if they don't sign a free agent. There have been many solid DTs drafted in the 2nd round over the years.
If Kris Richard becomes the D-Coordinator and if he wants to add some size at DT, there always seems to be a couple of bargain 1-tech types in free agency or via low level trades every year.
The Patriots swapped a 3rd for a 5th to acquire Danny Shelton who had started 44 of 46 games in Cleveland. He only started 1 game for New England but played about 31% of the snaps which is an OK number for a pure 1-tech.
Considering that the Patriots 3rd round pick is at the end of the round and Cleveland's 5th round pick is in the top 3rd, the swap was not a huge price to pay, especially considering that Shelton was just a 2M cap hit for the Patriots.
