I. for one, have completely changed my position.   I used to say, rank the players 1-300 and draft the top player available when your pick comes up.   But it's waaaay more complicated than that.   It's about building a TEAM.   And that means, don't take a player that doesn't fit your scheme, and don't take a player unless you like him personally and you think he will fit your locker room culture.  And then, tilt your choice towards your needs, if you can.  If you adhere to those rules, there will be BAPs that you pass over in order to take scheme fit and personality fit. 

 

And this is where a lot of us go astray in our mock drafts.    Hypothetically, let's say when our pick comes up, our biggest need is Center, and the best Center is on the board, and the "draft experts" have him rated higher than any other player left on the board.   And let's suppose we don't take him; we take someone else.   This is where a lot of people get upset and frustrated.   But if you think about it, we may have passed on him for scheme fit, or for personality.   We can look at all the youtube videos we want, but we aren't in the meeting room when he meets the coaches and scouts, and we don't get to interview people who know him personally, his teammates and college coaches, and we might overlook the fact that he doesn't fit a zone blocking scheme or like we run, or whatever other system requirements we have.  

 

If you listen to the conference calls for the three defensive players we took, they all have that personality that Gus is looking for.  Talkative, confident, and they all bonded with the coaching staff at the Senior Bowl.   Gus wants a team with personality.   Those three guys have a lot of personality. 

 

So, BAP or needs-based drafting?   No, it's on a much higher plane than that.   And it's something we cannot assess prior to the draft, and it means we will not understand the pick sometimes.  

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