CFZ Whose Draft Board do you Trust? McClay’s, the Talking Heads, or Yours?

[T-RO]

I don't trust this front office to do what is necessary to win.

Dallas has won more games over the past four years than the almighty Eagles (38 to 36).

They've drafted like mad. Jerry just doesn't to concede control to a top tier coach.

 

[buybuydandavis]

The annual screaming based on who we just drafted is nothing new. When we as fans don’t see our pet cat coming to Big D after the draft, the disappointment oozes on this forum. (I was hoping we would land Zach Charbonnet for example) Last night’s response to the Cowboys 2nd and 3rd round picks was typical of us as fans- judging our picks based on our own analysis or some other “expert” at ESPN, etc.

But serious question here: Whose draft board are you going to trust? Will McClay’s, Mel Kiper’s…or yours? Give me Will McClay every time.

Truth is, all the pre-draft hype of individual players by the media talking heads is not always close to what the real scouts think about those same players. The last 25 years of “Mel Kiper‘s Greatest Hits” must also include the incredible amount of misjudging of talent he and guys like Todd McShay and other draft gurus so often make.

So if the Cowboys followed their own draft board as they have in recent years, we should wait before declaring this draft a dud. It always takes 2-3 years to judge a draft anyway. IMO, this front office did a good enough job leading up to the draft, they could do exactly what they should do- follow Will McClay’s board.

I have trust issues. I don't trust anyone's board.

Who thinks their board is BPA? Or that they really just follow their board on draft day?

Really looked like a draft for need draft, with us drafting guys at positions of need earlier than their consensus pick projection. This draft does seem a departure from recent drafts, where we really did just seem to pick whoever dropped to us.

Maybe *they* are trusting their board more, and are going more with their gut than "the consensus".

Interestingly (to me at least) I don't recall a lot of "shoulda drafted this guy instead" talk this year.

Although a lot of people were disgruntled with the TE pick in the 2nd. Myself included.

 

[cowboyed]

The annual screaming based on who we just drafted is nothing new. When we as fans don’t see our pet cat coming to Big D after the draft, the disappointment oozes on this forum. (I was hoping we would land Zach Charbonnet for example) Last night’s response to the Cowboys 2nd and 3rd round picks was typical of us as fans- judging our picks based on our own analysis or some other “expert” at ESPN, etc.

But serious question here: Whose draft board are you going to trust? Will McClay’s, Mel Kiper’s…or yours? Give me Will McClay every time.

Truth is, all the pre-draft hype of individual players by the media talking heads is not always close to what the real scouts think about those same players. The last 25 years of “Mel Kiper‘s Greatest Hits” must also include the incredible amount of misjudging of talent he and guys like Todd McShay and other draft gurus so often make.

So if the Cowboys followed their own draft board as they have in recent years, we should wait before declaring this draft a dud. It always takes 2-3 years to judge a draft anyway. IMO, this front office did a good enough job leading up to the draft, they could do exactly what they should do- follow Will McClay’s board.

It's plain ridiculous to think that we fans have a better handle not only on drafted player talent but how they productively would fit in with the existing team. As with any draft you don't always get the highest valued players that are on your board based on your pick position and other teams coveting some of the same players.

 

[jdnoyes]

What we should do every year is have a thread in the draft zone where each poster picks a player who was available at each draft slot the Cowboys selected. Lock the thread like 72 hours after the draft concludes, sticky it on top. Then we should review those picks three years from now and see who would have drafted better than the organization and who isn't fit to be the Cowboys GM.

 

[JayFord]

The annual screaming based on who we just drafted is nothing new. When we as fans don’t see our pet cat coming to Big D after the draft, the disappointment oozes on this forum. (I was hoping we would land Zach Charbonnet for example) Last night’s response to the Cowboys 2nd and 3rd round picks was typical of us as fans- judging our picks based on our own analysis or some other “expert” at ESPN, etc.

But serious question here: Whose draft board are you going to trust? Will McClay’s, Mel Kiper’s…or yours? Give me Will McClay every time.

Truth is, all the pre-draft hype of individual players by the media talking heads is not always close to what the real scouts think about those same players. The last 25 years of “Mel Kiper‘s Greatest Hits” must also include the incredible amount of misjudging of talent he and guys like Todd McShay and other draft gurus so often make.

So if the Cowboys followed their own draft board as they have in recent years, we should wait before declaring this draft a dud. It always takes 2-3 years to judge a draft anyway. IMO, this front office did a good enough job leading up to the draft, they could do exactly what they should do- follow Will McClay’s board.

I wouldnt trust this board with players because most here dont know anything about football they just look at the final score then look at espn first take or other slander to the cowboys and make their opinion on what we need based off that

 

[kskboys]

What we should do every year is have a thread in the draft zone where each poster picks a player who was available at each draft slot the Cowboys selected. Lock the thread like 72 hours after the draft concludes, sticky it on top. Then we should review those picks three years from now and see who would have drafted better than the organization and who isn't fit to be the Cowboys GM.

Jerry would be at the bottom of the list!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kskboys]

I wouldnt trust this board with players because most here dont know anything about football they just look at the final score then look at espn first take or other slander to the cowboys and make their opinion on what we need based off that

And way too many fall for the spew of TV personalities.

 

[Chuck 54]

The key issue is the media guys who rate players, even those who used to work in the NFL and spend hours and hours watching film, have limitations.

1. They are not using a huge team of coordinated scouts who work specific areas and see the players in person at practice as well as games.
2. They all work from their personal preferences and past experience with Criteria that seldom changes from year to year.
3. They are not looking for specific traits, talents, and scheme fits that the coaching staff of a specific team has set out and that change when the OC or DC change, nor do they change as a team progresses but sees specific things that still fall short in the playoffs.

When fans rely only on what they read and the names they’ve heard about, even seen highlights of, of course they are disappointed. Take TE….there’s no question that Kincaid is a better receiver downfield than Schoonmaker, none. But Mike clearly wants to run the ball. Clearly, they feel they have a “move“ TE in Hendershock and a special TE in Ferguson, but they didn’t just want to improve on one of those traits when they have young players they are developing who need more opportunities. The Cowboys wanted a true, ready to go, in-line TE who can block better than any TE we had last year, but a TE who can also be an effective receiver. This is why we never heard from the STAR that there was interest in Kincaid or Washington, but there was talk of LaPorta.

No, it’s never all BPA nor need. It’s about who is the best player for the specific next steps the coach wants to make to build the team he wants along with how well the players fit that vision. But, ultimately, each year’s draft is dependent on how well the scouts, coaches, and gm evaluated the fit and talent of the player and if the vision actually works for the team,

 

[DallasEast]

A competent draft team does not simply grade players for its own player acquisition strategy. It also speculates which players are targeted by every other team and runs pre-draft scenarios of what alternate choices can be made. A draft team standing pat and making a trade is a reflection of its commitment to what it foresaw would transpire during each round.

It is the main reason why observers are so frustrated with what they think Dallas should have done at this pick and that pick. Jones and Co kept to their board and their round-by-round strategy. The only question is, "How well did they competently forecast in advance the availability of the best players they believe upgrades this team (not other teams/this team) and were able to pull the trigger each time they handed in their card?"

 

[Bobhaze]

What we should do every year is have a thread in the draft zone where each poster picks a player who was available at each draft slot the Cowboys selected. Lock the thread like 72 hours after the draft concludes, sticky it on top. Then we should review those picks three years from now and see who would have drafted better than the organization and who isn't fit to be the Cowboys GM.

That could be fun/funny…but the reason I don’t like the idea is having more discussions with “see I was right” comments is that IMO it would only serve to heat up the rhetoric on this forum. We already have way too many “gurus” on here who scoreboard how often they are “right”.

 

[VaqueroTD]

NFL.Com seems to have the best scouting reviews. I wonder if they get them from the teams? It’s uncanny looking at most of our players NFL.Com scouting reviews and their same college ball strengths and weaknesses carrying over to their pro careers. Very few are completely opposite their NFL.Com scouting profile, and usually only because they managed to overcome a weakness or their strength was underrated how much it would lead to pro ball success. ESPN is fun to read, but most of the small sites are worthless. This is not like 20-30 years ago when small time garage gurus could still do something. It’s a huge business now.

 

[BlueStar22]

Will McClay and Co. have earned the benefit of the doubt. Not much you can do drafting late in rounds because you've won 12 games.

 

[kskboys]

NFL.Com seems to have the best scouting reviews. I wonder if they get them from the teams? It’s uncanny looking at most of our players NFL.Com scouting reviews and their same college ball strengths and weaknesses carrying over to their pro careers. Very few are completely opposite their NFL.Com scouting profile, and usually only because they managed to overcome a weakness or their strength was underrated how much it would lead to pro ball success. ESPN is fun to read, but most of the small sites are worthless. This is not like 20-30 years ago when small time garage gurus could still do something. It’s a huge business now.

I find the same thing. A very large percent of players, prolly 80-90, play exactly as their scouting reports indicate they will. Very seldom do you see a player overcome lack of traits. And when they do, they make such a big hullabaloo out of it that fans start thinking that it's the norm.

 

[Hennessy_King]

Its mine. Whoever thinks jerrah and mcclay are the answer is delusional

 

[DUO_CORE]

I'm a goat herder so definitely not my board. I'll go with the pros.

 

[Havic]

History has shown that either McClay’s draft board is flawed for second round picks, or it’s not being followed.

I'm going to say more often than not its not being followed. No way McClay had that TE as a 2nd rounder.

 

[stilltheguru]

This website values talking heads more than GMs, not just Mcclay. Imagine that

 

[kskboys]

I'm a goat herder so definitely not my board. I'll go with the pros.

Unfortunately, we don't have any of those at the top!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CowboyFrog]

That could be fun/funny…but the reason I don’t like the idea is having more discussions with “see I was right” comments is that IMO it would only serve to heat up the rhetoric on this forum. We already have way too many “gurus” on here who scoreboard how often they are “right”.

Besides that team scheme/coaching/preference matter in how a pick turns out... not every player who fails at the first team is never heard from again.

 

[Verdict]

The annual screaming based on who we just drafted is nothing new. When we as fans don’t see our pet cat coming to Big D after the draft, the disappointment oozes on this forum. (I was hoping we would land Zach Charbonnet for example) Last night’s response to the Cowboys 2nd and 3rd round picks was typical of us as fans- judging our picks based on our own analysis or some other “expert” at ESPN, etc.

But serious question here: Whose draft board are you going to trust? Will McClay’s, Mel Kiper’s…or yours? Give me Will McClay every time.

Truth is, all the pre-draft hype of individual players by the media talking heads is not always close to what the real scouts think about those same players. The last 25 years of “Mel Kiper‘s Greatest Hits” must also include the incredible amount of misjudging of talent he and guys like Todd McShay and other draft gurus so often make.

So if the Cowboys followed their own draft board as they have in recent years, we should wait before declaring this draft a dud. It always takes 2-3 years to judge a draft anyway. IMO, this front office did a good enough job leading up to the draft, they could do exactly what they should do- follow Will McClay’s board.

You make a solid point, but on the other hand it’s a bit of a straw man. You would expect that people who study things year around would generally speaking be better at what they do than an average everyday fan like you and me.

On the other hand old average Joe fan, (me) wasn’t very high on the Taco pick or the Hill pick. I know little of nothing, but it wouldn’t have been that big of a decision for me to make on Watt v. Taco. Know nothing me would have drafted Watt.

I would also not have drafted Escobar. And Creed Humphrey would be the center for the Dallas Cowboys and Joseph would be rapping right now for another team.

The “powers that be” are not all knowing for the Cowboys. It seems like when they overthink things, reach, or appease a coach they get into trouble, Sometimes the average Joe is right.

I didn’t like the 2009 draft either. Like I said, I’m an average Joe but sometimes an average Joe is right and the people who do it for a living are wrong.