again that's not 'necessarily' true.
because the other variable in the equation for player success is how that player fits his situation and that derives from team needs.
martellus bennett has top 10 TE talent but here was never going to grow into that because we had Witten.
same way hatcher had to see us go to a 4-3 to reach his full potential because we were a bad scheme for him.
he went from 3-4 back up to 4-3 pro bowler.
statistically your best chance at success is the highest rated guy you can nurture and develop properly.
for most players that means having game time available for them and a coach that will put them in a position to succeed.
mike jenkins was a decent r1 pick. not good mind you, but decent.
he didn't have a chance really here tho because didn't have much help from speedy LBs or Safeties.
he was on an island a lot and he just wasn't good enough to be on an island but also asked to come up and play the flats.
we certainly needed him but we didn't nurture or develop him.
he competed and beat out scandrck and was asked to play at an enormously high level which he only hit for a brief period.
They would have gone to a 2 TE set as their base if MartyB could learn the game plan and how to run the correct routes. He didn't have to beat out Witten to basically be a starter.
I'm not sure how the Safeties situation should have affected the Mike Jenkins pick. Jenkins, IMO, is an example of how most of the Cowboys draft picks have had the physical ability to be good but didn't have the correct mental-makeup to maximize their own talent. It didn't take long before it became obvious that despite just being the slot CB, that Scandrick had a much better understanding of the overall defense than Mike Jenkins. Also, despite being similar in size, Scandrick was a much more physical player and didn't shy away from run defense.
It's a different topic than this thread, but all 3 of these players MartyB, Hatcher and Mike Jenkins had the physical ability to be good players but had mental makeup issues that held them back.
MartyB was extremely immature and didn't put in the effort because in his mind he was a better player than Witten and should have automatically been named the starter.
Hatcher was immature early in his career. He had a big issue with not being a starter and said it in interviews as well as screaming it out when he made a play on the field. Physically, he has ideal measureables to be a 3-4 DE. The 3-tech in Marinelli's DL scheme is almost always going to get more sacks and pressures than a 3-4 DE of equivalent talent.
Mike Jenkins had obvious attitude issues and obviously made many "business decisions" in avoiding tackles.
I think you would see more interesting drafts if the salary cap was more fluid like in the NBA. The amount of draft-day player trades in the NBA is staggering compared to the NFL, which is almost nonexistent.
Yes, I liked it when trades were more prevalent in the NFL; however, it might be a good thing if it limits Jerry's trades.
