Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

come on. to get an A or a B we need to draft players that become starters right away. Now the saints are not that BAD. Thats Rounds 1 and 2 stuff. Round 3 is very good backups with a good chance of being a starter. Anything beyond that is wishful thinking and thus labeled a steal 3 to 4 years later.
Now if this was 2 years ago when this team was BAD then both of these day one picks would be starters. The rest would be great backups with a chance to start. Same goes for last years draft. Well except the physically unable to perform Mech.
The team is much deeper and better than that now. So we are looking for Starters on defense and quality players on offense to improve our depth. defense won this draft. Long over due.
We got a starter in round 1. We got a DB that will be in the mix at our #3 or #4 spots. he has the skills to become the #1 guy or at least the #2. Whats so bad about that? We got a CB that was one of the safest picks in the draft. Carson and him are the only two DB's with a lot of questions surrounding them in the top 10 of that group.
Prospects in 5, 6 and 7 are always project that usually come with baggage. I like the picks. Each on is solid and filled an area of need. I do not see where we reached one one pick.
The thing I like is this, we will never know till they take the field and play for two or three years. Then we can grade this draft. Last years draft class hit the field this year. Now we can start looking at the picks.

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

I also thought the draft went very well. As for the kicker take a look at the stats on him. Hes put the vast majority of his kicks in the end zone eliminating the run back in its entirety. Though i would have to agree it seems we have always had a problem at the CB position, i have a feeling that the issue has been addressed, and we are going to see them stepping up this year. The only question now is " Can the other teams handle the reincarnation of the dome patrol combined with one of the best offenses in the league?" WHO DAT!!!!!!!

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

Hagan, I enjoyed your post. I often wonder what goes into a draft grade?

My best guess is this: the grade is determined on the basis of several dimensions, (1) number of impact players that will make the starting roster, (2) number of players that will make the roster, (3) projected quality of the player against in what round they are picked. Maybe even (4) something about the teams needs remaining after the draft. Others?

None of these things (except maybe #3 and #4, and then only sort of) can be determined until (at least) the season starts. So the grades people give must be based on projections regarding how good a player is relative to the other players on the roster, projections regardging whether they will make the roster at all, and projections regarding how good they will be (relative to the cost to get them). (Probably projections regarding how good the other players already on the roster will be, as well.)

This means that the grades are all based on projections, right? Is that bad? I mean, certainly there is something to be said about grading teams on their drafts (relative to other teams) on the basis of projections, needs, and projections regarding the team's remaining needs, no?

Just curious, really.

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

No you are right grades this early are useless! Its just projected, interesting reads sure but no one should take them to heart. You have to wait 3-4 years and then you can truely grade/rate the draft all you want based on facts! Right now its anyones guess.

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

thanks JKOOL

talent available + team needs = grade

you back to the old debate, team needs vs. best player available.

Completely objective.

Thats why you always see them go back three or four years later to regrade teams. You have to get the players on the field. 2 years ago the saints were said to be reaching and every media source was wondering what the heck they were doing. Next year they will look at regrading the class and you can listen to the media admit they were wrong.

IMO team needs are over rated. You try to address them if you can and pray the BPA addresses those needs. If not oh well you take the player that is there or try to trade out and start praying again.

team needs are best addressed in FA. even that is Completely objective

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

Euph, I believe I agree.

However, I do think that scouts (et.al.) are evaluating something in players (even before the player has played a single down in the NFL). This means that projections must count for something, right?

Here is an interpretation: draft grades given now include a lot of projection, wishful thinking, and judgments that are relative to how much a team appears to have improved; this is not worth much (though not worthless). This I think reflects the idea that draft grades are "good reads" to a certain extent. Draft grades given a couple of years would be more accurate assessments of how much a given draft improved a team. However, these later grades wouldn't be as much use in assessing the draft strategy of the current front office, since all they had to go on was projections.

Maybe there are two very different grades to be given regarding each draft: (1) a grade of how reasonable a Front Office behaved given the information they have and the roster they have, versus (2) a grade for the actual impact a draft has on a team. The first could be done "now-ish", whereas the second can only be done "later-ish"?

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

that sums it up beautifully. LOL

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

Hagan, I believe I agree with you on BPA.

I am confused by what you mean by "completely objective"? I take it you mean that there is some forumla for determining which is the BPA, even if it is based on projections (and the like). With this formula, we can determine if teams took the BPA or not. Teams that take BPAs are given higher grades. Is this right?

If this is the case, and just to check that I'm understanding, do you think trading down ever makes sense? If it does, then it seems that there are times that a team should not take the BPA. Maybe this is what you have in mind by adding "team need" to the grade equation?

I guess, I'm just trying to get a handle on how the grades are assessed, and how they are to be interpreted.

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

Ah. I see you liked my earlier take.

Though, I think I have the idea of two very different kind of grades now, I'm wondering what really goes into them.

The second grade (team impact in the long run) is pretty obvious, but what are the kinds of things that go into the first grade (assessment of the FO given the information available)?

Re: Saints Draft Grade
 

I was probably the most happy with the Carl Nicks pick in the 5th. He graded as a 1-2 rounde ron some peoples draftboards and might be an absolute steal for us.