Consider that a successful draft depends on two very different factors: Player evaluations and draft value. NFL journalists remind us constantly about successful picks where the GM predicted success for the player when others did or not, and about picks when the GM managed to get those players as late in the draft as possible. Finding talent depends on scouting ability, whereas drafting for value depends on strategy and having good information about other teams.
Unfortunately, when it comes to this weekend we do not yet know which players will succeed. Of course we still want to talk about something, so this puts the entire focus on value. Teams "reach" if they take a player earlier than an arbitrary big board, and they get a steal if they draft them later. Many critics of this grading process will jump to point out that the particular big board itself was simply conjecture and did not actually represent that a player would have been available where he was mocked. I suggest that this overlooks a bigger issue, however, which is that reaching a bit or getting a good deal is fundamentally not nearly as important as getting the right players.
Tom Brady is the most common example of the best draft pick of all time at #199. It's hard to get better value than that and the Patriots paid Brady just under $1 million combined for the first three seasons. On the other hand, he received a very large extension after that and most of his career with the Patriots has been under the same sort of salary he would have had if he had been the #1 overall selection. The reason for the Patriots success over the last 12 seasons is that Brady is an excellent QB and not that they drafted him in the 6th round.
Schneider has been accused of reaching in recent drafts, but there is no doubt that he has also found excellent value with Sherman and Chancellor in particular. However, the important thing is that he drafted some really good players. If you draft pro bowlers you will have an excellent team no matter where you draft them. When analysts give grades based on draft value it is only because they are not capable of evaluating the much more important issue of selecting good players. We already have Harvin from the draft, and if we can get 2 or 3 future starters out of our remaining 9 picks then this will a successful draft no matter what analysts say about value.
Unfortunately, when it comes to this weekend we do not yet know which players will succeed. Of course we still want to talk about something, so this puts the entire focus on value. Teams "reach" if they take a player earlier than an arbitrary big board, and they get a steal if they draft them later. Many critics of this grading process will jump to point out that the particular big board itself was simply conjecture and did not actually represent that a player would have been available where he was mocked. I suggest that this overlooks a bigger issue, however, which is that reaching a bit or getting a good deal is fundamentally not nearly as important as getting the right players.
Tom Brady is the most common example of the best draft pick of all time at #199. It's hard to get better value than that and the Patriots paid Brady just under $1 million combined for the first three seasons. On the other hand, he received a very large extension after that and most of his career with the Patriots has been under the same sort of salary he would have had if he had been the #1 overall selection. The reason for the Patriots success over the last 12 seasons is that Brady is an excellent QB and not that they drafted him in the 6th round.
Schneider has been accused of reaching in recent drafts, but there is no doubt that he has also found excellent value with Sherman and Chancellor in particular. However, the important thing is that he drafted some really good players. If you draft pro bowlers you will have an excellent team no matter where you draft them. When analysts give grades based on draft value it is only because they are not capable of evaluating the much more important issue of selecting good players. We already have Harvin from the draft, and if we can get 2 or 3 future starters out of our remaining 9 picks then this will a successful draft no matter what analysts say about value.