Stay true to your board. Let the draft come to you. Never reach. Always trust your scouting.
Sound principles, to be certain. But do they always apply to the way NFL teams stock themselves from the college talent pool each year?
Not necessarily.
League personnel evaluators will tell you that they seek to maintain the integrity of their prospect rankings throughout the draft. However, they'll also tell you that their decisions are often driven by filling specific holes on the roster.
Which is the best way to build a winner? It depends on who you ask, writes Steve Wyche, as some teams focus on the draft, others fill needs via free agency or trades. More ... Although "reaching" -- taking a player at a spot much higher than he's ranked -- is considered the greatest of draft sins, more and more teams are evaluating and selecting players based on need, rather than on who their board says is the best available.
NFL general managers and player-personnel directors cite these four reasons for why that is happening:
» Free agency -- can limit the amount of time a team has a player it drafts.
» The salary cap -- can squeeze veteran players off the roster and prompt openings that draftees fill.
» Parity -- tends to create more roster turnover.
» Impatient owners -- can insist that rookies (especially first-rounders being paid massive amounts of guaranteed money) see the field as soon as possible and fire those who pick the ones who don't.
"There is more latitude because of the (circumstances)," Buffalo Bills vice president of college scouting Tom Modrak said of the decision to go with need over best-available talent. "You're much more aware of the fact that you don't have long-term (associations) with players, either, because of their contract or your contract."
"I believe we definitely are (seeing more teams draft for need)," said Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff. "Our approach is definitely need-based, but the caveat is that you have to be very cognizant and careful of not overreaching for a need."
Look at the needs successfully addressed in the 2008 draft. Numerous starters and regular players emanated from the first round, including top overall choice and Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jake Long, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan at No. 3 and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco at No. 18.
As Dimitroff points out, teams generally don't have only one need. They usually have several, and list them in order of importance. When a player falls into the "need parameter" and isn't rated too far (a full round or more) below those who don't, he'll likely be the choice.
"If it's close, you'll take the player of need for sure," said Kevin Colbert, director of football operations for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
When teams draft for need, they aren't always simply addressing a glaring weakness. Sometimes they're targeting players because of how well they fit their scheme.
For instance, this year's college crop happens to have an abundance of players who played defensive end in college, but who might not be large enough to play the same position in the NFL. Several of those players are projected as outside linebackers for a 3-4 alignment, which nearly a dozen teams in the league are using. Some clubs are converting from the 4-3 to the 3-4 and need to find the type of players who aren't already on the roster.
"With the number of 3-4 teams vs. 4-3 teams in this league, you have a lot more system-specific scouting to make sure (a player) fits into your defense," Dimitroff said.
Thanks to competitive balance, few clubs approach the draft with the idea of filling only backup spots. The vast majority of teams are looking to select players who will start immediately or at least see considerable playing time as rookies.
But that wasn't what the Steelers had in mind when they made quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who entered the draft as a junior, the 11th overall pick of the 2004 draft. An injury to starter Tommy Maddox forced Roethlisberger into the lineup as a rookie. He proceeded to become the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to post a 13-0 record, and won the first of two Super Bowls a year later.
 |
| Mike Zarrilli / Getty Images |
| The amount of money that will be paid to a top-five pick such as Matthew Stafford will put pressure on that pick to contribute immediately. » Photos: Top draft prospects | Top QBs |
"Juniors are rarely ready for this league, both physically and emotionally," Colbert said. "Now Ben obviously stepped in and did what he did as a rookie, but ideally we were hoping that Ben would come along gradually because Tommy Maddox had some success for us going into that season. That isn't what happened, and we were fortunate."
Another factor pushing teams toward selecting players who can contribute right away is the increasingly vital role of a third cornerback and third receiver. With a large number of teams often employing three-receiver sets, the third man at both positions is effectively a starter. Finding him in the draft is likely to make for a better fit under the cap than signing him as a veteran free agent.
In one form or another, money is always a factor in draft decisions. Probable top-five (and certain top-10) picks Matthew Stafford, Jason Smith, Eugene Monroe, Aaron Curry, and Michael Crabtree -- with upwards of $30 million in guaranteed cash going to one or more of them -- are likely to be chosen primarily on the basis of need. And they'll be expected to make an impact as rookies.
Club owners and fans aren't a whole lot more patient when it comes to players chosen later in the first round or in the second round, for that matter.
"The stakes are a lot higher financially," Modrak said. "You don't want people you have big investments in to sit. You want to get them on the field as soon as you can. And your fans want you to get them out there.
"If you have the luxury of letting a person develop, that's the greatest way to do it. You give him a solid foundation. You give him all the technique work and all the learning before he goes in, then you avoid some of the pitfalls. But it's harder to wait because if you wait too long, before you know it, their contract's up."
View all comments >>