tynimiller
Cheesehead
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Okay a lot of discussion comes and goes on what we expect from draft picks, and sadly that is often centered around the round of their selection...and sometimes to a degree that is very justified.
Example, AJ Hawk...amazingly solid and dependable player that excelled at what he did well and sucked at what he well sucked at. But in his prime would have started on nearly every team given what he did well he did well. However, he was not worth the pick we used him at many argue and I'd tend to agree.
That got me thinking though, what do you expect from draft picks, realistically. Amish brought up just recently that for a Super Bowl contender expectations get less the deeper you go...which makes sense to me, the better team you have the harder it is for guys to break into the lineup.
With all that said my "VERY rough general thoughts" are as follows, each draft class and depth of positions changes this:
Top 10 pick no matter position:
IMO should be a starter from day one. They are the future of the team in many cases or at minimum the future of their position for years to come...anything less is disappointing, not necessarily a bust if they don't go All Pro but disappointment for sure.
Mid/Late 1st through Late 2nd Round:
A lot of this depends on the draft year and class but in this area I expect starter or competitive for a starting role...nearly at any position. QBs or RBs perhaps not and WRs I could see justifying a 3rd option for a year in this slot, but this guy should be able to come in and contribute at minimum situational scenarios with the #1's on game days.
3rd/4th Rounders:
The area of the draft I call the meat and potatoes of the draft. Often times not gonna be anything fancy, but oh man the payoff can be sweet. I still have higher expectations for skill type positions here like WRs and RBs and perhaps TEs, but expectations begin scaling back especially with LBs, DBs and QBs.......often times this is where you can still find awesome OL and a few DL or specialists who excel at one facet of their position but lack skills in another spot. To me I expect these guys to fully live out their rookie contract, contribute on STs and hopefully you find one maybe two long term success a draft from them.
5th/6th Rounders:
Expectations of long term success are scaled back, yet some skill positions like WRs can still be hand that excell in maybe one facet of the game like stretching the field but lack hands...or maybe they will win jump balls but won't beat a DB to a spot. Depth is built here for sure, and typically are guys you want to have on your chart but not see much playing time unless up by a big margin on game days....or excel on STs. Again, I don't expect many to see their second contract...and it is a bonus if they do and they've already exceeded expectations.
7th/Undrafted:
Workhorses, practice squads and depth. That is all you can hope for. You get anything more than ST's or practice body help from them be extremely happy! The gems found here are rare, but often times when you find them they are the Donald Drive type stories....motivated workhorses that will fight and claw to make a roster and keep progressing.
I think people need some reality checks in expectations when it comes to drafts.....people expecting TT and Company to find 3 or 4 or 5 bonafide first year starters a draft are just asinine thoughts and quite frankly you should go be a Viking fan.
Example, AJ Hawk...amazingly solid and dependable player that excelled at what he did well and sucked at what he well sucked at. But in his prime would have started on nearly every team given what he did well he did well. However, he was not worth the pick we used him at many argue and I'd tend to agree.
That got me thinking though, what do you expect from draft picks, realistically. Amish brought up just recently that for a Super Bowl contender expectations get less the deeper you go...which makes sense to me, the better team you have the harder it is for guys to break into the lineup.
With all that said my "VERY rough general thoughts" are as follows, each draft class and depth of positions changes this:
Top 10 pick no matter position:
IMO should be a starter from day one. They are the future of the team in many cases or at minimum the future of their position for years to come...anything less is disappointing, not necessarily a bust if they don't go All Pro but disappointment for sure.
Mid/Late 1st through Late 2nd Round:
A lot of this depends on the draft year and class but in this area I expect starter or competitive for a starting role...nearly at any position. QBs or RBs perhaps not and WRs I could see justifying a 3rd option for a year in this slot, but this guy should be able to come in and contribute at minimum situational scenarios with the #1's on game days.
3rd/4th Rounders:
The area of the draft I call the meat and potatoes of the draft. Often times not gonna be anything fancy, but oh man the payoff can be sweet. I still have higher expectations for skill type positions here like WRs and RBs and perhaps TEs, but expectations begin scaling back especially with LBs, DBs and QBs.......often times this is where you can still find awesome OL and a few DL or specialists who excel at one facet of their position but lack skills in another spot. To me I expect these guys to fully live out their rookie contract, contribute on STs and hopefully you find one maybe two long term success a draft from them.
5th/6th Rounders:
Expectations of long term success are scaled back, yet some skill positions like WRs can still be hand that excell in maybe one facet of the game like stretching the field but lack hands...or maybe they will win jump balls but won't beat a DB to a spot. Depth is built here for sure, and typically are guys you want to have on your chart but not see much playing time unless up by a big margin on game days....or excel on STs. Again, I don't expect many to see their second contract...and it is a bonus if they do and they've already exceeded expectations.
7th/Undrafted:
Workhorses, practice squads and depth. That is all you can hope for. You get anything more than ST's or practice body help from them be extremely happy! The gems found here are rare, but often times when you find them they are the Donald Drive type stories....motivated workhorses that will fight and claw to make a roster and keep progressing.
I think people need some reality checks in expectations when it comes to drafts.....people expecting TT and Company to find 3 or 4 or 5 bonafide first year starters a draft are just asinine thoughts and quite frankly you should go be a Viking fan.
