Quote:Because he is not a fit for your team/scheme, for one.


If you don't have a spot for a huge NT in your scheme, you don't draft one, even if an elite one is there. Perhaps you employ a scheme where Henry Melton is your style, not Vince Wilfork.


If you don't have a need for a road grader G, you don't select a great road grader G. Perhaps you need a guy who is better on the move.

 

 

Quote:1.  It's unavoidable.  Most teams only have one pick per round per draft.  Once that pick is spent, there will be other elite players remaining.

 

2.  That elite player may not fit your scheme.  If your scheme requires the linemen to pull a lot, it wouldn't be smart to draft the elite mauler that excels in a phone booth but does not have the feet to pull on traps, counters and screens.  That elite player would be less than effective in a scheme that does not fit his strengths and weaknesses.

 

3.  Sometimes having a balanced team requires it.  If you recall in 1996, the Jaguars once again had the second pick in the draft.  Boselli was in his second year, and they signed Leon Searcy from Pittsburgh as a free agent.  The Jaguars tackles were already set, and already the best tackle tandem in football.  They could have drafted Ogden at that point, which would have meant they would have dramatically overpaid in free agency for a guard AND for a RT (because either Ogden or Boselli would have to be switched).  Meanwhile, other areas of the team would be neglected.  As it is, the Jaguars drafted Kevin Hardy, who wasn't a bad player at all.  In fact, he was a very good OLB trapped in a horrible scheme that didn't fully utilize his talents.   He was a good all around LB, but wasn't able to have the explosive plays that make for pro bowls due to how he was used until Capers arrived.  That year (1999) he put up double digit sacks and made Pro Bowl.

 

 

I was interested in JW's response.

 

1. My question is a loaded one because, to pass on an elite player, you need to select a player who isn't elite. If there are two elite players and you select one, that doesn't mean you passed on taking an elite player because you drafted A over B. You only pass on an elite player when you select neither elite player A or elite player B.

 

2. I would rather fit my scheme around an elite player than pigeon-hole players into a scheme. Elite players have elite strengths, but they also don't have great deficiencies. If a guard doesn't have the footwork to pull is he truly elite?

 

3. This goes back to my point in #1 and #2. Hardy was an elite player as well. It wasn't like we passed on an elite player to select a player who wasn't. When you have a player with his strengths, you have to put him in position to exploit those strengths. 

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