If You Were a GM...

[DMan77]

Always curious to see how people approach team building year to year...

If you're the GM for a football team, or maybe any sport really, would you draft with the best player/most talented player available strategy, or by the team needs strategy? Which would you lean towards? Would you take the consensus top 5 at a position you're already built strong and deep at, or would you pass him up to get that guy a handful of spots down on the "big board" to fill a need? Would you do that for your entire draft?

Don't think about it in terms of the Jets as they are today... Just consider it for any franchise in a bubble. 

I realize it's not always as cut and dry as all that, but I think you guys knows what I mean.

[Beerfish]

Too much of a grey area for me to vote on.  If BPA is way ahead of the next guy on your board then by all means but at some point positional need HAS to trump.

What happens if the BPA at 6 is a safety this year?

The Jets should not have to worry too much about this in any case as we have holes all over the team.

[JoJoTownsell1]

2 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

Too much of a grey area for me to vote on.  If BPA is way ahead of the next guy on your board then by all means but at some point positional need HAS to trump.

What happens if the BPA at 6 is a safety this year?

The Jets should not have to worry too much about this in any case as we have holes all over the team.

Agreed. If a RB is ranked 1 and a QB is Ranked 2, you don't take the RB when you are a team without a franchise QB. The problem comes when the RB is ranked 1 and the QB is ranked 12. Do you just take the RB? Do you grab the QB because you need one? Do you trade down hoping that QB is still available a few spots later? 

No GM should ever pin themselves into a corner like that. Even if Minkah Fitzpatrick is the highest rated player on Macc's board, there is no way he takes him at 6.....I hope....

[JetsFanatic]

Free Agency is for need; Draft is for best available player.

[HessStation]

If I were a GM

[Jack Straw]

1 minute ago, JetsFanatic said:

Free Agency is for need; Draft is for best available player.

I hope you like a starting defense with 5 safeties and 6 defensive ends, if that's the case.

[Patriot Killa]

2 minutes ago, Jack Straw said:

I hope you like a starting defense with 5 safeties and 6 defensive ends, if that's the case.

But we have Darron Lee. The Safety/Linebacker. I’d say we’re set. Wouldn’t you?

[kelly]

if u can't get darnold.. BPA  

 

 

 

cheers ~ ~ 

[FidelioJet]

I think you create a draft board with who you believe is best for your team....keeping need in mind but understanding player value.

You do the work and decide the order in which you would take any individual player.  Then you stick with that draft board and don't deviate..

But you do need to remove players from that board based upon who you picked.  i.e. - if you took a safety at 6 - safeties should be removed from your board - or at least moved much further down.  

[Jets Voice of Reason]

It's really as simple as adding positional need as a value you factor into when evaluating a player. 

I.e weight what position they play into your overall score so that being a qb inflates the scoring while being punter or kicker or position you are deep in a lower score etc. That way if a guard is in your top 5 player evaluations, he really must something special as a player to get that high a score in your evaluation. 

[JiFtheOracle]

Positional value > both.  

[CrazyCarl40]

If I was a GM you know what I’d do? Two chicks at the same time. 

[DMan77]

2 minutes ago, CrazyCarl40 said:

If I was a GM you know what I’d do? Two chicks at the same time. 

Oh man do they have that kind of sway these days? 

[DMan77]

So lets say you knew ahead of time. Pretend you can see the simulated careers into the future. Everyone loves a hypothetical right? 

And let's just be the Jets because it's easier for this exercise.

#6 comes up. On the board is a safety that you know through your crystal ball will be a hall of famer and a record setting guy.

Also on the board is a QB that you know will be a solid starter, possibly with a pro bowl along the way. So good, not great. Solid not spectacular. 

What's more valuable? What do you go with? Where's the line that switches what you do? 

[nycdan]

Some positions you can always seem to fill in FA.  OG, TE, S, WR.  I would start with a true draft board by value, but then de-emphasize some due to position played.  Even though the Guard from Notre Dame looks to be awesome, I would be hesitant to take him at 6 over players at other positions.  I would also allow a strong need to override a few slots of value.  So if the 5th guy on my board was an LT and I really need an LT, I don't have an issue going down a bit.

Everything I just said goes out the window when you need a QB and there's one available, even if he's not graded as highly as whoever else is on the board.

[JetFaninMI]

2 minutes ago, DMan77 said:

So lets say you knew ahead of time. Pretend you can see the simulated careers into the future. Everyone loves a hypothetical right? 

And let's just be the Jets because it's easier for this exercise.

#6 comes up. On the board is a safety that you know through your crystal ball will be a hall of famer and a record setting guy.

Also on the board is a QB that you know will be a solid starter, possibly with a pro bowl along the way. So good, not great. Solid not spectacular. 

What's more valuable? What do you go with? Where's the line that switches what you do? 

Well since we already have this guy in Adams(according to some on this board). I would go in almost any other direction. The QB I might not take but would have a hard time passing up. Its all moot anyway as Macc is going to sign a QB in FA. Like Broadway Joe did I guarantee it.

[jetsons]

46 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

Too much of a grey area for me to vote on.  If BPA is way ahead of the next guy on your board then by all means but at some point positional need HAS to trump.

What happens if the BPA at 6 is a safety this year?

The Jets should not have to worry too much about this in any case as we have holes all over the team.

 a safety @ 6... for macc that would just make it 2 yrs in a row  :/

[varjet]

I think these situations require the GM to have intelligence, judgment and flexibility.  

I can't say I have seen this from Macc in the first 3 rounds of his first 3 drafts.  

One way to quantify this is to cap the highest core certain positions can receive.  Let's say out of 10, an punter can never be higher than a 6, a Guard 8, Safety 9.  If Lattimore is a 9.1 and Adams is a 9, you still pick Lattimore. 

And if Williams is that good and you still pick him, then do something sooner with the other 2 DTs.

What can you say in Mac's three years of drafting was a smart, creative, team changing pick, like Kamara or Kareem Hunt was?  His best pick was probably taking Maye in the second round of 2017, which he fell to because of his age and injury last year.   Its tough to argue that a player for Florida who played on the same team as Quincy Wilson, Hargrave, Neal and others was a hidden gem.  

Unless Mac is able to get this team into the playoffs in 2018, he is toast.  He was given a pass because no one would take the job given the direction taken in 2015-16.

[Jetster]

Let's stop with the foolishness that Macc would even consider another Safety at the top of the draft or anywhere in this draft. He hit on Adams & Maye plus Brooks was real solid B4 getting hurt. You guyscN contemplate all you want but what Macc does in free agency FIRST will determine our draft board. 

My feeling is they go after positions of need & veteran leadership. It would not shock me to see the 1st three players targeted in free agency to be Cousins/Johnson or Fuller at CB, and someone like Jensen at Center. None of these guys are close to their AARP cards, all of them are leaders that can step right in & improve everything around them.

Cousins obviously adds confidence, gets the ball out pretty quickly is very accurate, can keep defenses from playing 9/10 guys in the box and that helps the Oline + the running game. Jensen helps the guard positions with vets Carpenter + a healthy Winters. Our LT + Shell won't have to hold blocks as long which will allow them to block in space & at the 2nd level more often. 

Johnson or Fuller, step right in with our young safety trio of Adams/Maye/Brooks, so that they can give some help to whoever our 2nd & 3rd corners will be. 

Im seeing a draft of pass rusher, OT, CB, RB. BPA at those positions.

[slats]

1 hour ago, JiF said:

Positional value > both.  

Have to go BAP weighted by positional value. Should a RB or safety or an ILB be a top ten pick, they'd have to be especially special. Guards would never make it that high on my board. QBs and pass rushers would be weighted the most heavily, followed by receivers and CBs. This league is all about passing and stopping the pass. LT is always discussed as a premium position, but with the quick passing most teams employ nowadays, I just don't think it's the cornerstone position it once was - but a truly premium LT would still potentially be a high pick on my board. 

[Joe W. Namath]

There is only one path we need to follow:

Cousins as free agent qb.

Rnd 1- cortland sutton WR

Rnd 2- ronald jones 2 RB

Rnd 3- best olineman available.

Offense rebuilt w/ these 4 moves.  What free agent dollars we have can be plugged in for def.

[Jetsplayer21]

So if BPA is always a DL, you pick a DL every yr ? Lol 

[Sperm Edwards]

10 minutes ago, Jetsplayer21 said:

So if BPA is always a DL, you pick a DL every yr ? Lol 

I sense you've seen this movie already.

[JiFtheOracle]

6 minutes ago, slats said:

Have to go BAP weighted by positional value. Should a RB or safety or an ILB be a top ten pick, they'd have to be especially special. Guards would never make it that high on my board. QBs and pass rushers would be weighted the most heavily, followed by receivers and CBs. This league is all about passing and stopping the pass. LT is always discussed as a premium position, but with the quick passing most teams employ nowadays, I just don't think it's the cornerstone position it once was - but a truly premium LT would still potentially be a high pick on my board. 

Pretty much. Though, I think even WR's to be drafted in the top 10 they better be Julio or AJ types.  If you look at the top 20 WR's just from a reception standpoint drafted over the last 10 years, 7 of the 20 were 1st round picks, 2 were top 10 (with Mike Evans just not having enough starts yet). And the other ones taken that high are arguably busts or just JAG's. 

As far as LT's, they're still found high in the draft.  The only starting LT that I think off the top of my head who was taken late, is Beachum, ironically.  I think he was like a 7th round pick.  Most of the good ones were taken in the rounds 1-3 with the majority being selected in the 1st.  I know we joke about it but there is merit in the planet theory.  Big dudes who can move are rare and get selected high because of it. There is also the recent trend of T's transferring to G's.  So really the landscape of the OL in the league are comprised of high picks. 

QB > Pass Rusher > CB > LT > DL > WR > RB > S > G > ILB - that's how I'd prioritize and weigh prospects accordingly.

[slats]

5 minutes ago, JiF said:

Pretty much. Though, I think even WR's to be drafted in the top 10 they better be Julio or AJ types.  If you look at the top 20 WR's just from a reception standpoint drafted over the last 10 years, 7 of the 20 were 1st round picks, 2 were top 10 (with Mike Evans just not having enough starts yet). And the other ones taken that high are arguably busts or just JAG's. 

As far as LT's, they're still found high in the draft.  The only starting LT that I think off the top of my head who was taken late, is Beachum, ironically.  I think he was like a 7th round pick.  Most of the good ones were taken in the rounds 1-3 with the majority being selected in the 1st.  I know we joke about it but there is merit in the planet theory.  Big dudes who can move are rare and get selected high because of it. There is also the recent trend of T's transferring to G's.  So really the landscape of the OL in the league are comprised of high picks. 

QB > Pass Rusher > CB > LT > DL > WR > RB > S > G > ILB - that's how I'd prioritize and weigh prospects accordingly.

3

Largely agree all around, especially the bold. 

If I'm drafting in the second half of the round, the LTs definitely come into play for me, just don't love them super early. I prefer drafting OL projects, but understand supplementing that with earlier picks (I'd target OL in the second round this year). Jet fans are sick of it, but I still rate DL higher than LT. 

[Jetsplayer21]

4 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

I sense you've seen this movie already.

Ya too many Times ha. We certainly will never have a problem bringing in ex d-cords to be HCs, they must love the BPA ha. 

[SenorGato]

2 hours ago, JetsFanatic said:

Free Agency is for need; Draft is for best available player.

Generally agree with this since cap hell no long happens in the NFL 

[slats]

1 minute ago, SenorGato said:

Generally agree with this since cap hell no long happens in the NFL 

I get that this is your new tagline, but the NFL owners are already planning the lockout for when this contract is up. TV ratings are down, and the networks will be looking to pay the league accordingly. It's more likely than not that a cap hell adjustment is on the horizon. 

[CrazyCarl40]

2 hours ago, DMan77 said:

Oh man do they have that kind of sway these days? 

Don’t call him Big Macc for nothing. 

[Jetsfan80]

3 minutes ago, slats said:

I get that this is your new tagline, but the NFL owners are already planning the lockout for when this contract is up. TV ratings are down, and the networks will be looking to pay the league accordingly. It's more likely than not that a cap hell adjustment is on the horizon. 

Yep.  The league was very willing to raise the salary cap significantly because the TV revenue stream was on the rise, and they wanted to look like the "good guys" while simultaneously getting what they wanted in other areas (London Football, continuation of Thursday night games, etc).

Now that that TV revenue is starting to dry up little by little, the next CBA will not remotely go the players' way. 

Things are about to get ugly, and fast. 

[New York Mick]

Best player available that’s needed. 

[SenorGato]

5 minutes ago, slats said:

I get that this is your new tagline, but the NFL owners are already planning the lockout for when this contract is up. TV ratings are down, and the networks will be looking to pay the league accordingly. It's more likely than not that a cap hell adjustment is on the horizon. 

That’s 3 years from now! Adapt 3 years from now!

Wouldn’t that be some sh*t THO if these scumbags lowered the cap based on cable revenues as the league searches for stream options? 

[flgreen]

I'd trade all of this year's picks, for picks in the 2019 draft, then "Go gay for Shea" .  Why not?  I've got a two year extension

[56mehl56]

59 minutes ago, Joe W. Namath said:

There is only one path we need to follow:

Cousins as free agent qb.

Rnd 1- cortland sutton WR

Rnd 2- ronald jones 2 RB

Rnd 3- best olineman available.

Offense rebuilt w/ these 4 moves.  What free agent dollars we have can be plugged in for def.

So you believe our Oline is solidified with a 3rd round draft choice. If you sign Cousins you better make sure to plug tholes on the Oline otherwise he'll look like Eli Maning this season.

[JiFtheOracle]

41 minutes ago, slats said:

Largely agree all around, especially the bold. 

If I'm drafting in the second half of the round, the LTs definitely come into play for me, just don't love them super early. I prefer drafting OL projects, but understand supplementing that with earlier picks (I'd target OL in the second round this year). Jet fans are sick of it, but I still rate DL higher than LT. 

It obviously depends on the prospect but in general I agree and you could be on my team in some capacity if I were a GM.