Contrasting approaches to the draft

[MidPennSkin]

It’s interesting to compare the way the Skins and Titans drafted this year.

The Skins went for the best available player at the #5 position, but we traded several of our draft choices and wound up drafting only 4 players, the fewest of any team (again). The Titans, on the other hand, traded down twice and drafted a total of 14 players (including 3 compensatory picks).

Yet, the total number of draft value points used by the two teams is close to the same, 1941 by Tennessee and 2044 by us. Tennessee had an average total value of picks, compared to other teams, because they finished with a good record. We had an average total value because we traded away several picks.

Here’s how many players each team drafted in each round.

Here’s the players drafted by the Skins and Titans.

As you can see from the above, we put most of our draft value eggs in one basket, Taylor. The Titans spread their draft value over a number of players. It will be interesting to compare how well each team did in a couple of years, because the two approaches are quite different.

In theory, we could have traded down and taken the players the Titans did. In practise, of course, we couldn’t have done exactly what they did, but we could have picked up 340 draft value points by trading with Cleveland for their 1st and 2nd round picks, a trade that we obviously could have made. That would have given us a good start to a slide-down approach to picking up more lower-value picks, similar to what we did in 2002.

But what’s done is done, and we can only wait for future events to unfold to evaluate how we did compared to others.

Will Taylor help our defense more than Laboy, Odom, Starks and Schobel help the Titans defense? How will Cooley compare with Troupe? How will Wilson and Molinaro compare with the 7 other Titan players? The answers should give a lot of ammunition to future trade down discussions.

I guess it mostly depends on how Taylor performs.

[milliondollarslim]

you might say that we have most of our eggs in one basket with Taylor. a lot is riding on him making a contribution. not an ideal situation but previous decisions on acquiring personnel put us in this position(no draft picks). still i'm pretty glad we got him on our team. it'll be just fine.

[Blade]

Nice work MPS. This thread definitely deserves a bump.

I hope you will revisit this thread in a couple years so we can discuss this then.

For now, I think the Skins draft also has to be put in the context of the trades we made this year. The 3rd for Brunell and the 2nd for Portis must also be considered when discussing the success or failure of this strategy.

For now, I am very happy that we DIDNT trade down. Id rather have a pick that gives us the best chance at a pro-bowl-type player than a few that give us a much lower chance at one.

[Jimbo]

Don't know if they will pan out and how well but, on paper, the Titans did a great job of filling needs and rebuilding the Defensive Line. Odom and Starks alone could be starters by next year. Troupe appears to have been a steal.

[Oldskool]

The Titans probably did the best with the least available this year in the draft.

With all the vets we have on the roster right now, we'd be wise to take notes and copy them in the next year or two.

[SPare]

The approach that you take should be largely dependent on what kind of team you have. If the team is considered to be close to the talent level needed to excel or a coach is the motivator type, then you get the 1 or 2 potential super stars.

If you have holes all throughout the team, or a coach who's a teacher, then you're probably better off with the shotgun approach.

Something that should be noted, however, is that the skins, while closer to the first are doing things a little differently. They are simply trading their draft picks for proven players. It's an approach that has not been traditionally followed in the NFL, because it tends to be higher cost, albeit at a lower risk.

Look at it this way- if you were told you could get a guaranteed ProBowler the year you spend a draft pick, how valuable is that? The top pick in the draft? Yet that kind of player only cost Washington the #13 pick for Coles last year.

[Dan T.]

Nice post MidPenn. In a way, this gets to the heart of a lot of the debate on this board leading up to the draft.

And I side with those who think the 'Skins did right by holding on to the 5 pick and getting the best player there rather than trading down to fill a need.

The draft value points show that quantity doesn't trump quality. I would rather have one perennial Pro Bowler than 2 or 3 guys who fill out a roster.

A lot of sources said that Sean Taylor is the type of player who comes along once every few years. You can't pass up the opportunity to grab a player like that.

[Ken]

I would never use the approach the Redskins are using to build a team.

It is haphazard at best.

The Titans have been consistantly good for a period of time because they build their team the right way.

I don't know what happened to Redskins fans to think that all of the sudden it is smart to overpay and give away draft picks.

It is my oppinion, but I really think this is going to have a negative impact on your team for a long time.

You simply cannot neglect the draft and expect to have a deep team. The economics of hitting on a player in the 5th round cannot be undervalued.

If i were a Redskins fan, I would be extremely concerned with how my team was being run.

[semiskin]

MPS, would you happen to have the results for the other teams. I would like to see how other teams made out under this point scale. Thanks.

[SonnyJ]

Originally posted by Ken

I would never use the approach the Redskins are using to build a team.

It is haphazard at best.

The Titans have been consistantly good for a period of time because they build their team the right way.

I don't know what happened to Redskins fans to think that all of the sudden it is smart to overpay and give away draft picks.

It is my oppinion, but I really think this is going to have a negative impact on your team for a long time.

You simply cannot neglect the draft and expect to have a deep team. The economics of hitting on a player in the 5th round cannot be undervalued.

If i were a Redskins fan, I would be extremely concerned with how my team was being run.

Thanks for the concern, Ken.

Ya know, this has to be one of the most annoying and patronizing posts I've seen. If this isn't pot-stirring material, I haven't seen it.

You talk about the economics of hitting on a player in the fifth round (which, BTW, the Redskins had), but nothing about the CHANCES of doing so.

Yeah, those stupid Redskins - they spent 2nd and 3rd round picks on players infinitely better than anything the Cowboys currently have at those positions. They should be more like the Cowboys and, though a playoff team, plan for two years down-the-road when hopefully all these cheap draft picks will pan out - just in time for them to come up for contract renewal.

If you ask me, Ken, (and it's only my opinion) I think you protest too loudly. Sounds a lot like whistling past the graveyard to me.

[feeshta]

I have also heard that the titans have some cap issues at the moment. They may be trying to limit the hit they would take by signing a rookie or two to big dollar contracts. this way they have a bunch of guys who will work cheap.