The Best Player Available Myth

[Runwildboys]

It's not about Lamb. It's about consistently doing this year after year after year. That's what's led to our horrific D.

The OP seems to be about this particular pick, more than anything else, but as a rule, I agree that flash over need is foolish. This isn't one of those cases though, IMO. Not only would we have ended up with a player who wouldn't have been any help, but CeeDee would have probably gone somewhere we would've regretted letting him go to.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Taco had a first round grade. Not a reach. It was a very poor player evaluation.

Not by the Cowboys. They had a 2nd round grade on him

https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas-co...but-cowboys-believe-they-added-pass-rush-help

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Chaisson was the guy I wanted us to take (that was realistic), but once Lamb was still on the board you had to take him.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Chaisson was the guy I wanted us to take (that was realistic), but once Lamb was still on the board you had to take him.

Same here, and Chaisson wouldnt he getting reps right now with Aldon Smith

 

[xwalker]

What team can truly take the highest ranked player on their draft board regardless of needs?

The Dallas Cowboys had the #1 offense and #2 passing offense in 2019 and didn't lose a WR in FA. Add to this they used the #1 pick on a WR in 2019. And they renewed him for a top 5 WR contract.

This is not against CeeDee Lamb, he's a fine player and a find at 17 but why didn't he get picked earlier? Some teams had him as the #1 WR in that draft, ahead of Jeudy and Ruggs. Why didn't they take him?

The Cowboys lose their best DB and DL and have an injury prone LB and another with a neck issue, not a good issue for a LB.

Some wonder why this team continues to struggle but consider the % of the cap that goes to the offense, they spent the 1st pick on a WR, they hired an offensive HC who made a questionable DC hire. Would you feel 2nd class to be on this defense?

Management continues to treat the defense like a red headed stepchild and then wonders why it is such a problem.

The answer to the question I pose is none. No team can afford to ignore needs and all teams have more than one draft board and few use the main board.

Now, had you been constructing the needs position board for the Cowboys in this last draft, where would WR have fallen? Was that position even on your needs list going in? It wasn't on mine.

Wrong.

Good teams are put together over years and good drafting is done with a long term view.

Drafting for the needs of the up coming season is a recipe for failure over time with regards to drafting.

The draft is all about probabilities.

• Drafting for the up coming season's needs:
  • Goal #1: The top goal in the 1st round is to get a good player that will not be a bust.
  • Goal #2: The next goal is to get an All Pro type player.
  • By definition the probability of achieving #1 and #2 above is much higher if the field of choices is not limited to only players at specific positions.

Lamb had a far higher probability of success than players like K'Lavon Chaisson.

Draft picks are salary cap management tools. Drafting Lamb gives the Cowboys the option to move on from Cooper after 2021 or to avoid being forced into over-paying for Gallup when he is a free agent.

 

[Crazed Liotta Eyes]

The OP seems to be about this particular pick, more than anything else, but as a rule, I agree that flash over need is foolish. This isn't one of those cases though, IMO. Not only would we have ended up with a player who wouldn't have been any help, but CeeDee would have probably gone somewhere we would've regretted letting him go to.

They really had to take him. Some of the D players might have worked out but CD is a potential star player. He's not a player coming off an injury or a drug addict so you have to add him when you get a chance. I think it was @xwalker who made a very good post about that kind of situation. Take the best player over need.

 

[Playmaker247]

And didn't make the team any better.

I really like Lamb, and he's a fine player for the future. It's not the Lamb pick, it's that we keep ignoring needs. And that's led to a bottom 5 D.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Wrong.

Good teams are put together over years and good drafting is done with a long term view.

Drafting for the needs of the up coming season is a recipe for failure over time with regards to drafting.

The draft is all about probabilities.

• Drafting for the up coming season's needs:
  • Goal #1: The top goal in the 1st round is to get a good player that will not be a bust.
  • Goal #2: The next goal is to get an All Pro type player.
  • By definition the probability of achieving #1 and #2 above is much higher if the field of choices is not limited to only players at specific positions.

Lamb had a far higher probability of success than players like K'Lavon Chaisson.

Draft picks are salary cap management tools. Drafting Lamb gives the Cowboys the option to move on from Cooper after 2021 or to avoid being forced into over-paying for Gallup when he is a free agent.

Also with Lamb, you are going to be getting a player who will produce at a rate of players making 20 million+ a year for peanuts over the next 5 years. Even his option year will be significantly below top 5

People talk up the advantages of having a QB on a rookie scale deal. You get a big advantage having a DE or a WR on a rookie scale deal as well

 

[baltcowboy]

Your line of thinking is how we ended up w/ MO, Jaylon, LVE, and Gregory.

Huh???? Sewell is not injured and he is considered the best player in the draft. Does he smoke weed??

 

[Big_D]

Poor decisions have been adding up and then even when you draft a quality player it comes off looking foolish. This front office is really just bad. Lamb will put up nice numbers for awhile but he’ll ultimately be just another player added to the wasted pile because Jerry’s lost! Draft a WR then give him 88. lol just a pathetic clown show here.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Also with Lamb, you are going to be getting a player who will produce at a rate of players making 20 million+ a year for peanuts over the next 5 years. Even his option year will be significantly below top 5

People talk up the advantages of having a QB on a rookie scale deal. You get a big advantage having a DE or a WR on a rookie scale deal as well

Same with DBs which was the basis for me preferring Ramsey over Zeke. I did the numbers back in 2016, but when we drafted Zeke at #4 overall he instantly became the 3rd or 4th highest paid running back at the time. Ramsey, based on the rookie pay scale became something like the 42nd or 43rd highest paid corner in the league.

 

[cowboygo]

What team can truly take the highest ranked player on their draft board regardless of needs?

The Dallas Cowboys had the #1 offense and #2 passing offense in 2019 and didn't lose a WR in FA. Add to this they used the #1 pick on a WR in 2019. And they renewed him for a top 5 WR contract.

This is not against CeeDee Lamb, he's a fine player and a find at 17 but why didn't he get picked earlier? Some teams had him as the #1 WR in that draft, ahead of Jeudy and Ruggs. Why didn't they take him?

The Cowboys lose their best DB and DL and have an injury prone LB and another with a neck issue, not a good issue for a LB.

Some wonder why this team continues to struggle but consider the % of the cap that goes to the offense, they spent the 1st pick on a WR, they hired an offensive HC who made a questionable DC hire. Would you feel 2nd class to be on this defense?

Management continues to treat the defense like a red headed stepchild and then wonders why it is such a problem.

The answer to the question I pose is none. No team can afford to ignore needs and all teams have more than one draft board and few use the main board.

Now, had you been constructing the needs position board for the Cowboys in this last draft, where would WR have fallen? Was that position even on your needs list going in? It wasn't on mine.

Had we not picked Lamb, we would've selected Chaisson. He is currently the worst graded defensive end against the run, and only has 6 pressures. He wouldn't have been a factor. The draft was also done before McCoy went out for the year, and before all the injuries suffered on the team as well. It was the correct pick. Chaisson would've been a future pick, with his potential being realized in Year 3.

 

[conner01]

CeeDee Lamb was an easy pick.
he was without question or hesitation the best player on the board.
DE was probably the bigger need...but at the time of our pick...Lamb was the best player available.
easy pick.
the correct pick.

I agree
If you have close to equal talent you take the most needed. But this wasn’t even in the same galaxy as other players there

 

[Proof]

They’ve invested plenty in the defense. tank is the highest paid player on the team and they have used plenty of picks towards the defense. They’ve just done a terrible job. Biggest miscue (outside of taco I’d say) was letting Byron walk.

 

[RonnieT24]

My philosophy would always be best player available within reason. Or perhaps I should amend that to most impactful player available. The Cowboys have reached to take the best player available but they have also skipped over the best player available to address a perceived need. I still would take Zeke and Lamb without batting an eye because both have the capability to provide greater impact than any other player on the board when we took them. The Mo pick got screwed up because we drafted a man corner and then hired Marinelli and told this really good man corner to play cover 2 zone 90% of the time. Then we beat him down mentally when struggled to do something he had probably never been asked to do in his life. Which was play soft.. once we destroyed his confidence his inevitable failure was a foregone conclusion.

Our drafting mistakes are often less a function of drafting the wrong guys than it is asking the guys we draft to do the wrong things. The Jaylon pick was a roll of the dice.. Jerry likes to gamble with that 2nd round pick.. Like it was with Lee and Carter and several others.. That's probably not going to change so it's not really worth discussing. We can all agree that we need to get ourselves a bada(ss) in the middle of our defense. That one guy would change the entire complexion of our defense. We're soft up the middle and have been for a decade and is the main reason we have almost never been able to get stops when we need them. The Poe/McCoy tandem should have solved that for a year or two and allowed Hill and Gallimore to grow into the role. I like what I have seen from both of them this year and feel good about what they will be going forward. Hill in particular was really coming on. Hell the play he got hurt on he was in the QB's face and could have blown him up instead of hurting himself trying to do unnatural acts to avoid a penalty. When your DT is getting that close to the QB it's probably a good thing. Hamilton also looks like a player.. but a top 15 pick on an unblockable force at DT would do wonders for this defense!

 

[darthseinfeld]

Same with DBs which was the basis for me preferring Ramsey over Zeke. I did the numbers back in 2016, but when we drafted Zeke at #4 overall he instantly became the 3rd or 4th highest paid running back at the time. Ramsey, based on the rookie pay scale became something like the 42nd or 43rd highest paid corner in the league.

With DB's you also can get 3 contracts out of. For a top 5 pick, you have to consider that when you make the investment. Zeke isn't going to complete his 2nd contract.

I hope if we land in the top 5 again, we dont make the same mistake

 

[Kingofholland]

BPA is a fine philosophy provided there's actually a role for a player that season or in the near future. WR3 was a need for the Cowboys and in 2 seasons would likely turn into a bigger need depending on Gallup contract. Lamb was the right choice otherwise it probably would have been Chaisson or Diggs.

 

[Redball Express]

We actually did lose a WR
Our slot receiver
But though I agree need has to be factored in, and if a need player is say 3rd and your 2 on your board is still there need should override that small a difference
But with Lamb that wasn’t the case
He was well ahead of anyone on the board at the time

This.

Slot receiver was 900 yds of our offensive yards with Cobb.

There was a huge need to address that for Dak.

Add the 600+ of Witten gone and that's a lot of production.

CeeDee was a windfall and has performed Rookie of the Year under Dak.

Now we have lost Jarwin and that is big. Schultz is trying but he is not the answer.

Plus we signed another TE and I have yet to see him do anything.

Another FO zero.

So right now..CeeDee is making up for 2-3 deficiencies at slot TE and occasional brown outs from Amari.

Open your eyes.

 

[Redball Express]

The OP seems to be about this particular pick, more than anything else, but as a rule, I agree that flash over need is foolish. This isn't one of those cases though, IMO. Not only would we have ended up with a player who wouldn't have been any help, but CeeDee would have probably gone somewhere we would've regretted letting him go to.

Yeah..

Philly already was submitting their pick for him when Jerrah announced it.

We all prayed to get him.

If Dak had not gone down he would be Rookie of the Year this year.

Our WRs are about to be redone with all the changes in the cap next year.

CeeDee will not be leaving anytime soon.

 

[RonnieT24]

With DB's you also can get 3 contracts out of. For a top 5 pick, you have to consider that when you make the investment. Zeke isn't going to complete his 2nd contract.

I hope if we land in the top 5 again, we dont make the same mistake

I would still favor the RB over the DB because of the potential for impact. At least if you're going to use the running back at a rate to justify it. When we drafted Zeke we were going to plug him into an offense with the best o-line, a top 5 QB and a top 10 WR. As such his potential for impact was greater than Ramsey as had we taken Ramsey and plugged him into Marinelli's defense we would have wasted him. That's just the plain truth. Had Romo not gone down it's possible that the 2016 team is in the Super Bowl. As great as Dak was that year, at that point Romo was still the better QB, especially come playoff time. If the Zeke/Romo combo got us to at least one Super Bowl who cares if he complete's his 2nd contract? Now that Dak is playing at or above the level Romo was back then the line is in a shambles, Witten is gone, Zeke is beaten down and now we have a completely new offensive philosophy.