Year after year, the same teams/GM’s seem to hit it big on draft day. Some have made it an art form that others attempt to emulate. Guys like Ted Thompson, Ozzie Newsome, and Jerry Reese have turned their art form into a science of building consistent teams. Most teams tend to stick with similar draft strategies year in and year out. This predictability allows draftniks a better chance to predict a team’s selection. For our purposes we will define the draft strategies as: Best Player Available, Filling Needs, Quality over Quantity and Quantity over Quality. Each of these draft techniques are used with varying degrees of success but we will try to give some insight into which is the most effective based on results of the teams.
Best Player Available
This draft technique is used by teams who believe that the NFL Draft is where you acquire talent. These teams tend to draft the top player on the board (within reason) that can help their team win. For the most part, these teams will approach free agency as a means of filling needs. I tend to think this is the most effective technique since over time you will build a very strong team and not risk diluting talent by reaching for positions. Due to the fact that these teams will draft based on their board it is very hard to predict their selections. Teams that utilize this technique the most are: Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, and Detroit Lions.
The Indianapolis Colts have stuck to selecting the best player on their board during the Bill Polian tenure and some might say Bill Polian is a “founding father” of drafting the best player available. With a new General Manager it will be interesting to see if the Colts stick to their old methods or adopt the Eagles methods of trading down to acquire additional picks.
Jacksonville Jaguars General Manager Gene Smith religiously sticks to his board and does not wane based popular opinion: Gene Smith has shown no reservation on selecting small school prospects and other players who are on the top of his draft board such as: Tyson Alualu, Derek Cox, Terrance Knighton, Cecil Shorts, and Will Rackley to name a few.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are constantly drafting the Best Player Available and have spent a decade getting steals at the bottom of each Round. It is no wonder certain teams can maintain success while drafting in the mid to late 20’s year in and year out. Read the rest of this entry » «The Science of Drafting 101»