Grading this year's draft is silly

[bf1]

This is not meant as a knock against Nix or me trying to be a wet blanket.

Shouldn't we wait a little bit and see how these guys do before we declare the draft a success or not? Some of these guys can choke in the NFL--or exceed beyond expectations. Mike Williams was a good pick at the time, right?

Also, I don't get the nut-hugging over the Darius pick. I l love the pick and the guy, don't get me wrong, but with the #3 pick of the entire draft, it doesn't take a genius to select a great player/pick. Especially since a lot of mocks had him to us...

[justasportsfan]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

Nix could have taken Gabbert with that # 3 pick and the opinion of this draft could have changed depending on which side you're on so yes, #3 could still get screwed up. Ask the raiders who picked Russel .

[PTI]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

I agree. I still wanted a QB taken though. At the time Mike Williams was considered superior to Bryant McKinnie.

[OpIv37]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

Well, in past years when I criticized the draft, people said it was too soon and that it takes a year or two to evaluate a draft.

This year, when everyone (including me) is saying mostly good things about our draft, that whole "it takes a year or two" thing doesn't seem to be coming up nearly as much.

But, in general this is what drives me insane about the draft. All the pre-draft stuff is just speculation, then the draft finally happens, then people speculatively evaluate how teams drafted based largely on how well it followed their personal pre-draft speculation. As if that wasn't enough, people then start speculating on who was where on what team's draft board and who teams would have picked if X had still been on the board. And if that STILL wasn't enough, they immediately start doing the mock drafts for a YEAR FROM NOW, before any NFL teams have played to know their needs/draft order or any college players have played to show their talent/lack thereof.

It's utter insanity.

[bf1]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

Nix could have taken Gabbert with that # 3 pick and the opinion of this draft could have changed depending on which side you're on so yes, #3 could still get screwed up. Ask the raiders who picked Russel .

Well of course.

[bf1]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

Well, in past years when I criticized the draft, people said it was too soon and that it takes a year or two to evaluate a draft.

This year, when everyone (including me) is saying mostly good things about our draft, that whole "it takes a year or two" thing doesn't seem to be coming up nearly as much.

But, in general this is what drives me insane about the draft. All the pre-draft stuff is just speculation, then the draft finally happens, then people speculatively evaluate how teams drafted based largely on how well it followed their personal pre-draft speculation. As if that wasn't enough, people then start speculating on who was where on what team's draft board and who teams would have picked if X had still been on the board. And if that STILL wasn't enough, they immediately start doing the mock drafts for a YEAR FROM NOW, before any NFL teams have played to know their needs/draft order or any college players have played to show their talent/lack thereof.

It's utter insanity.

Right on.

I also don't understand the knocking of Mel Kiper so much. All it takes is one team to make a weird pick to throw off an entire mock.

I'd like to see a historical look at how Kiper's picks did vs the teams' and judge him that way.

[elltrain22]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

You are absolutely right!! It is silly, but we as sports fans look forward to drafts for months and months, and the draft grades gives a bit of closure to the draft, even though we all know that it is very, very premature to grade drafts.

[psubills62]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

Also, I don't get the nut-hugging over the Darius pick. I l love the pick and the guy, don't get me wrong, but with the #3 pick of the entire draft, it doesn't take a genius to select a great player/pick. Especially since a lot of mocks had him to us...

What amuses me is that despite enormous evidence to the contrary, people act like Dareus is an obvious pick. No, it doesn't take a genius - but there are a LOT of seemingly smart guys that have made horrible picks in the top 5. Scott Pioli and Tyson Jackson being just one. Dareus may have been an "obvious" pick, but he wasn't obvious to Carolina or Denver, both of whom should have taken him.

It's one small step, but I think Nix and co. do deserve some credit for taking Dareus. They could have very easily picked Gabbert and I'm sure a number of people wouldn't have batted an eye.

I agree, bf1, that the draft shouldn't be graded for a few years. However it's interesting that the "wet blankets" never say that after abysmal drafts.

[mysticsoto]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

Well, in past years when I criticized the draft, people said it was too soon and that it takes a year or two to evaluate a draft.

This year, when everyone (including me) is saying mostly good things about our draft, that whole "it takes a year or two" thing doesn't seem to be coming up nearly as much.

But, in general this is what drives me insane about the draft. All the pre-draft stuff is just speculation, then the draft finally happens, then people speculatively evaluate how teams drafted based largely on how well it followed their personal pre-draft speculation. As if that wasn't enough, people then start speculating on who was where on what team's draft board and who teams would have picked if X had still been on the board. And if that STILL wasn't enough, they immediately start doing the mock drafts for a YEAR FROM NOW, before any NFL teams have played to know their needs/draft order or any college players have played to show their talent/lack thereof.

It's utter insanity.

What else is there to do during this "dead" time of the year?

[OpIv37]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

What else is there to do during this "dead" time of the year?

for starters, there was Sabres hockey until 2 weeks ago.

[CAbills]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

You mean we can't judge a draft right after it's over?? Hmm interesting concept...

[bf1]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

You mean we can't judge a draft right after it's over?? Hmm interesting concept...

Find to judge, but stupid to really argue about it.

[Cntrygal]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

What else is there to do during this "dead" time of the year?

For the most part... ski! (The ski season just ended )

[stuckincincy]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

For the most part... ski! (The ski season just ended )

I've not the legs for it anymore - but good for you!

EDIT: I was strictly an XC-er. Still have my pair of Fischer Europa 99 edged mountaineering waxable skis. It was great fun applying the proper wax for the conditions.

[Extremebillsfan247]

Re: Grading this year's draft is silly

This is not meant as a knock against Nix or me trying to be a wet blanket.

Shouldn't we wait a little bit and see how these guys do before we declare the draft a success or not? Some of these guys can choke in the NFL--or exceed beyond expectations. Mike Williams was a good pick at the time, right?

Also, I don't get the nut-hugging over the Darius pick. I l love the pick and the guy, don't get me wrong, but with the #3 pick of the entire draft, it doesn't take a genius to select a great player/pick. Especially since a lot of mocks had him to us...

Grading the draft after it just happened is preliminary only. It is meant to grade based on how you drafted according to your draft board, best prospect available when you picked, and how he fits in terms of your scheme or need for that position etc. How that prospect performs once he gets on the field is an entirely different phase from which to grade the draft, but together they make up the bigger picture in my opinion.

If you drafted well and your prospects fail to produce, then it pinpoints the problem to either being a failing at the coaching, or scouting level. If this early in the process you grade poorly but have a high output from your prospects, it would mean that your scouting and coaching are where you need them to be. In the Bills case, where they always seem to do better at the back end of the draft, it could be scouting. Modrak was in charge of scouting the top players and it caused the Bills to miss on a lot of prospects in the first 2 rounds over the last 10 years or so.

So, grading the draft early from a fan's standpoint is really just something to talk about, where on the professional side of it, it is more worthy of serious consideration. It is the beginning of the process of evaluating your team, and your personnel. In short, it is the start of a much bigger process and not the end to one.