Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark M
That is the smartest thing about the draft ever posted on this site.
The Chiefs had horrific drafts during the Gun and DV years due to poor scouting, and then relying on that poor scouting to draft a player of dire need. So instead of wisely using FA to fill true needs and using the draft to stockpile talent, they've whiffed in FA and over-reached in the draft. It's drafting based on desperation -- even fear -- and it's been an absolute failure.
Granted, one still doesn't spend a high pick on a position if one already has the position filled with a truly talented player. But one should always be looking to upgrade any position when the chance comes, and that's something the Chiefs simply haven't been able to do.
I guess that's what happens when your GM thinks the draft is a "crapshoot," rather than, you know, an essential way to stock your roster.
MM
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I agree with what you're saying here, but there is a third option.
Option 1: Draft the best player on your board regardless of position and need.
Option 2: Draft the best player available that fills a position of need.
Option 3: Trade up/down until the best player on your board is at a position of need.
In my opinion, option 3 is the ideal situation. That seems to be what the Patriots have done, and it's worked out well for them. If they had a healthy Brady and a healthy Cassel and the best player on their board was a QB when it was their turn to pick, they would back up a few spots, get an extra pick or 2, and still get the player they wanted.
Conversely, if the player they really wanted likely wasn't going to fall to them, they would be willing to deal pick in order to get the right guy instead of settling for what was left.
If the Chiefs were to be totally focused on drafting a DE, let's say Brian Orakpo, but they had him as the 15th best player on their board, they would be smart to trade down to the 8-12 rage and pick up a pick. Even if they didn't get "fair value" for the pick, it wouldn't matter because they would have gotten the guy that they wanted and accumulated additional value in the process. Then, they could package their second round pick with the pick they just acquired and grab the next player that they covet.
I just think that it's a mistake to play the cards that you are dealt unless it just so happens that you are dealt a royal flush. The odds that a team just happens to be in the perfect spot based on their initial draft position are slim. Why not try to posture yourself into a better spot?