With three weeks left before the NFL Draft, we are in a period where we know what to expect.
All the experts will offer their mock drafts. All the teams will lie and put out false information to try and influence their competition. Fans and media members (including myself) will develop their strong preference for players they have barely seen. And general managers around the league will remind everyone that they take the “best available player” instead of drafting for “need.”
I’m here for the first three. Mock drafts are fun. Lying season is just about gaining a competitive advantage. And voicing your strong preference is half the fun of being a fan. Those are draft traditions! But I’m done with the best available/need debate.
It’s a false dichotomy.
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Are we seriously to believe that in 2025, with all of the billions of dollars in the NFL, with all of the millions of dollars on the line for executives, and with all of the time spent dissecting and discussing each draft prospect, that decision makers ultimately have to decide between those two philosophies? That is entirely unbelievable. It is a gross simplification of the game akin to the way Tecmo Bowl offered four play calls for each down. Sure, it was a fun and easy way to play the game, but it wasn’t exactly on the same level of subtlety we see in the NFL.
Let’s assume that NFL teams have more options available to them besides choosing between the best available player and the biggest need. Certainly, those two qualities are still relevant. Teams have to consider what they already have on their roster, and obviously they spend countless hours grading each prospect to see who has the most talent. But I would hope they are at least considering one other factor: impact.
You might call it value, but in this context, impact indicates the ability of the player to affect the game. That would, of course, include their talent, but it also would put a premium on the position of each player.
This isn’t a new concept by any stretch. The NFL already uses its franchise tag system to quantify the importance of each position. Tackles are worth more than guards. Receivers are worth more than running backs. Quarterbacks are worth more than, well, most anything in the world. The league values and pays its players according to their positions. Honestly, that has always made me a little uncomfortable because teams should value positions differently.
For example, Mike Martz’s Rams put a premium on offense, specifically on the passing game. Why would Martz pay according to the same positional scale as a Rex Ryan team that valued its defense and running game? Why would Sean Payton’s teams pay like Pete Carroll’s? Teams are built according to different principles and with different philosophies. How could all of those teams pick players according to the same value chart?
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald wants a team that is physical. He expressed frustration with his team’s inability to bully opponents last season and he clearly admired what the Lions, Eagles and Ravens were able to do in that regard.
Well, if you want to play that style of football, you need to place a premium on the positions that make it possible. You need to value your offensive line more than the average team. You can probably afford to place less emphasis on your receivers. You better have a dominant defensive front.
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The Seahawks have an incredible opportunity in this draft to continue to shape the roster into Macdonald’s image. They can’t do that simply by drafting to fill holes nor by selecting the best player available at each pick. They need to value to the players that will impact their style of game.
Without sitting in their meetings, I would assume the players that would impact their team the most weigh more than 300 pounds, or have the unique size and quickness we see among defensive linemen and edge players.
I sure hope they draft for impact this April.
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