Bobhaze
Staff member
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Successful NFL teams must have a process of not only acquiring talent, but also developing that talent and ensuring that the player’s talent becomes a workable cog in the entire team’s makeup and culture.
Many fans (myself included) have preferences on players we want in the draft. Our preferences are usually centered on who we think has the most talent at a position we believe the team needs help. We must remember that good NFL organizations draft talent they believe can be developed into a good “fit” with their team's overall culture and schemes as an effective piece of the overall TEAM.
So the successful acquisition of talent requires a process:
1. DRAFT- includes Scouting, study, interviews of the player to understand everything you can before the draft.
2. DEVELOPMENT- coming out of college, most NFL draft picks have an adjustment period getting used to playing against NFL talent. The gap between college talent and NFL talent is huge. The player’s skills that led to being drafted must be coached, groomed and prepared to become what they were drafted to be. This rarely happens immediately.
3. ASSIMILATION- once developed, the player must become a “fit” within the whole of the team. They must know their role and play it unselfishly with the team concept. They must also be able to fit within the established culture of the team. This is why some players we wanted the team to draft may not have been selected- they simply may not fit the team’s need.
Bottom line is this: As we all slice and dice the 2018 draft, which is always fun, we must remember that the development and assimilation process of drafted players takes time. Our coaches must be able to develop these guys, and for most draft picks that will take more than OTAs and TC.
The success of our 2018 draft currently rests on the ability of this organization to have a good “process”. Time will tell.
Many fans (myself included) have preferences on players we want in the draft. Our preferences are usually centered on who we think has the most talent at a position we believe the team needs help. We must remember that good NFL organizations draft talent they believe can be developed into a good “fit” with their team's overall culture and schemes as an effective piece of the overall TEAM.
So the successful acquisition of talent requires a process:
1. DRAFT- includes Scouting, study, interviews of the player to understand everything you can before the draft.
2. DEVELOPMENT- coming out of college, most NFL draft picks have an adjustment period getting used to playing against NFL talent. The gap between college talent and NFL talent is huge. The player’s skills that led to being drafted must be coached, groomed and prepared to become what they were drafted to be. This rarely happens immediately.
3. ASSIMILATION- once developed, the player must become a “fit” within the whole of the team. They must know their role and play it unselfishly with the team concept. They must also be able to fit within the established culture of the team. This is why some players we wanted the team to draft may not have been selected- they simply may not fit the team’s need.
Bottom line is this: As we all slice and dice the 2018 draft, which is always fun, we must remember that the development and assimilation process of drafted players takes time. Our coaches must be able to develop these guys, and for most draft picks that will take more than OTAs and TC.
The success of our 2018 draft currently rests on the ability of this organization to have a good “process”. Time will tell.