(03-10-2020, 05:12 PM)SeldomRite Wrote:

(03-10-2020, 03:28 PM)NYC4jags Wrote: Horrible example. 

Passing on Morris Claiborne to select Fletcher Cox would be much more accurate to what PS9 is describing. And the cowboys likely wish they'd done exactly that.

I can't believe how many posters here actually don't believe that every GM will absolutely but need ahead of a small discrepancy in prospect rating.  It happens almost constantly throughout every draft.

Personally I think these clowns aren't any more able to discern talent than us people on a message board, that's why they go with need so hard. It's easy to see what your team doesn't have, it's harder to figure out which players are better than others in subtle ways when they've never even played pro football.

Well, the worst GMs are indeed able to discern talent better than the vast majority of MB posters.  Some of them (like Gene Smith) probably should have never been promoted beyond regional scouting, but that's another topic. That's about personnel management, roster building strategy, etc.   You're talking about talent evaluation specifically. 

The second half of your first sentence asserts that "they go with need so hard."  Well, they really don't go hard with need 95% of the time.  Sometimes they reach too "hard" for need. (see 70% of QB selections) But most of the time they merely are willing to move a few notches down their big board to help their roster with a need rather than create redundancy.  It very often works out just fine. 

Another thing that factors in here is that many of these better GMs are wise when it comes to evaluating other teams' likely picks or positional focus. They know VALUE.  They know where they can score players they need. 

For instance, Baltimore was all in 100% on drafting Lamar Jackson. They jettisoned Flacco and hired an offensive coordinator specifically for Jackson prior to drafting him. 
But they drafted Hayden Hurst ahead of him. 
Now the Ravens may have had the most respected GM and front office in the league at that time. 
But you'd have me believe that they either had Hayden Hurst rated higher than Lamar Jackson, or that they "needed" TE more than they needed a QB, right?  Since it's always either one (BAP) or the other (need) with you.

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