Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

Good is subjective. QB’s should be the leader of the team, and most often also the locker room leader. So, I’ll agree to the fact that a “good” QB isn’t ideal. That being said, there are many other positions that aren’t as high profile as the QB who play and make an impact, without being the face of the organization.

You build your team through the draft, fill in the holes with free agency. One without the other is useless. Most drafted players play for their respective teams, and are developed by them. Few fail to make the team or fail to play.

The idea that the draft is a crapshoot, outside of hoping the first round QB you picked is going to make it, is nonsense. You can’t buy a locker-room.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...a-locker-room/

Free agency is critical, so is the draft. The salary cap hits you when you focus on free agent veteran acquisitions too heavily. And it’s painful getting out from under that weight.

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

Is it, really? I'll give you there's a worthy debate on good vs great - Eli vs Payton as an example. Both had successes. Would you also say Ryan Leaf is also vs Peyton also subjective? I don't think so, but believe what you want.

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

Comparing one individual player to another individual player on differing teams isn’t a discussion I was in. Different organizations, different personnel strategies, incoming/outgoing coaches, who they are replacing, injuries, sitting behind a starter forever, etc... WAY too many variables to make comparison’s. For example, let’s take Tom Brady. Had the Saints drafted him at 168, instead of him falling to 199, and us picking M Bulger, would Brady have been developed and as successful as he is today? It’s my belief the Saints would have wasted Brady, quite possibly ruining him forever.

I just believe you draft your team, then develop those players. Veteran free agents carry veteran cap hits on their contracts. If you choose to build a team via free agency because you feel they are a more guaranteed option, you’ll find yourself in cap hell quickly. And in all truthiness, being a veteran free agent is no guarantee either. Rookie contracts? Not so expensive. If you have unlimited monies, aka no salary cap, then by all means, build the entire team as if you’re playing Madden 2021. But, that’s not reality. And even if it were..., you can’t buy locker room synergy and chemistry.

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

Sorry, but quite a few others beg to differ. There are dozens more beyond this small smattering.

The NFL Draft is More of a Crapshoot Than an Exact Science
By John Fennelly - 04/26/2017

Philadelphia Eagles: The NFL Draft is a total crapshoot
by Jeffrey Powell 10 months ago

Schneider’s comments reveal what a crapshoot the draft really is
Posted by Mike Florio on April 25, 2018

Crapshoot—The NFL Draft: 1967-2017 Kindle Edition
by David V. Gray (Author)

The 2021 NFL draft is a crapshoot: How investing like Warren Buffett means teams should be aggressive in adding more picks
Bill Barnwell
ESPN Staff Writer

The NFL Draft Is Still a Crapshoot
ALLEN BARRA
APRIL 27, 2012

Study: NFL Teams Have No Idea What They're Doing In The Draft
barryap
Barry Petchesky
9/24/13 4:00PM

Drafting quarterbacks is the NFL's biggest crapshoot
Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press

It gets more hype than ever, but the NFL draft is still a crapshoot
JOE POSNANSKI APR 22, 2010

For Wharton professor Cade Massey, the NFL Draft is a crapshoot
Massey has come to some surprising conclusions about the event’s methodology and processes
By Daniel Rich 10/14/13 6:15pm

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

The reason why I used blackjack as an analogy to the NFL draft is because, just like with the draft, a good player knows the odds and can make educated plays based upon those odds, yet until that next card is turned, or that player actually experiences the NFL, there is no way to be confident in the eventual outcome. That turn card could turn that 11 into a 21 or a 15. Or that first couple of years can reveal a player who excels or one that gets kicked to the curb.

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

Yeah, there is too much invested by organizations for it to be a crapshoot.

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

As I pointed out in my blackjack analogy, not anyone or everyone has the ability to be a good player. The best players in the world are subject to the unknown. It is the same in drafting rookies. There is only so much you can do to determine the future success of a prospect. No doubt those that get paid to do their best know FAR more than any of us. That cannot be disputed regardless of how some fans feel they are more qualified. ;) But it all still comes down to a great deal of unknowns that are impossible to predetermine. That's where the educated gambles come into play. The professional gambler knows when it is most advantageous to double-down or to split. The same goes for professionals in the draft game when trading up or trading down. In either case the final result is unknown until after the move. The identification of the success or failure simply comes quite a bit quicker in the cards.

There have been far too many "sure thing" prospects that have petered out for the draft to be anything more than a crapshoot, or if you please, a game of blackjack.

Why do some teams seem to draft better? They have a combination of more knowledge and more fortune. That face card turns at times more than that four. But even the very best at the draft craps out on occasions.

Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire
 

It doesn't matter how much money you throw at it, nobody knows exactly how a 20 year old kid will perform three or four years from now. If they did there would never be a market for free agents.