Is building through the draft overrated?

[biggie.]

With how aggressive the Rams have been, I've noticed a lot of people saying they like this approach and that draft picks are overvalued.

What do y'all think? Is buikding through draft overrated and teams are better off going after established players?

[MSURacerDT55]

[DontTazeMeBro]

I wouldnt say you need to build through it. But you do need to draft well. Most Super Bowl teams I’ve seen have had a lot of contributors on rookie contracts taking up very little cap space. Your 2nd contract players I don’t think it really matters whether you drafted them or acquired them via free agency or trade.

I don’t like the extreme approach the Rams are taking. I think the Von Miller trade was incredibly stupid.

[43M]

Only if you cant do it.

Draft picks are only overrated in the sense that people place such a premium on every pick...but the reality is, much more often than not, the bulk of your roster, including most key players, will be acquired via draft.   

Trades and FA can be used to plug holes and perhaps add a key missing piece, but the teams that draft well are the ones that typically have staying power.

The Rams arent really BUILDING with their trades.    They are clearly in win now mode and trying to add pieces that can help them win THIS year and maybe next year.  

Free agency and trading can be invaluable if used the right way....but only as a supplement to the draft, not in place of it.

[jrry32]

You need a mix of both. Rams can afford to make these trades because we are good at finding contributors in the Draft, in UDFA, and on waivers.

[Jameson_Neat]

They landed the generational player with a draft pick.

It all starts there.

 

[JAF-N72EX]

It's not necessarily about "building through a draft" persay. It's more about "do you have a staff in place who can properly develop players, regardless if they come via the draft, FA, UDFA, PS, etc".

To put it simple, step one is having someone(s) in the FO to be a good talent evaluator in order to spot high potential players in free agency or the draft. Step two is having a good set of coaches to get the most out those players and put them in the right positions to succeed.

 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

No it's not overrated at all. The best teams build through the draft and set the foundation and then bring in FA's to complement the foundational pieces they have.

[Jakuvious]

Even the Rams started with the draft. Best I can tell, 12 of their 22 starters were drafted by the Rams. And that's even with a wave of guys moving on the past year or two. The number was much higher not too long ago. The Rams free agent acquisitions would not be enough if they weren't continuing to draft, evaluate, and develop talent well that they do draft. It's a big deal, for instance, being able to draft a Van Jefferson to immediately replace Josh Reynolds. You can afford to lose John Johnson only because you've done well with Taylor Rapp and Jordan Fuller. You had Akers and Henderson as cheap replacements for Gurley. You can't pay for veteran contracts across the roster, so you need some positions to succeed at a discount to offset. The Rams are bottom 6 in league spending at S, LB, and OL. They're aren't bad at those spots, just cheap. And that enables them to pay Ramsey and Stafford and Donald. And part of how they do this is loading up on comp picks and trading around to get more overall picks in the draft, even if they sacrifice their top ones. If the day ever comes that the Rams don't get a couple positive contributors out of their like 4 annual mid-round picks, you'll see the cracks start showing up. Jrry would know better than I, but at a glance, early returns this year don't look as good. So maybe this year finally hurts. But too early to tell.

Additionally, I don't think you can get to the point the Rams are at now, trading for players and picking up high profile low cost guys, if you weren't already successful building the normal way anyways. The Rams weren't making moves like this before 2017. You cannot build a roster this way with a 4-12 team without a QB. You're not going to run this roster blueprint if you're Washington or Detroit.

[Wyld Stallyns]

Despite not having any 1st round picks, the Rams have been adding a lot of mid rounders (especially round 4 draft picks) to build up the bottom of the roster.

So they add high valued players (Ramsey, Stafford, Miller and OBJ) and then draft guys in the lower rounds who develop into replacements for outgoing free agents. Those free agents that leave then become round 3-5 comp picks which churn the bottom of the roster.

I see a little of Bill Polian’s ideas used where only the best of the best get big contracts. One difference I see is Polian never valued LBs or CBs too high to pay a guy like Ramsey

[NYRaider]

3 hours ago, BofaDeez54927 said:

They landed the generational player with a draft pick.

It all starts there.

 

This. The Rams having Aaron Donald who can wreck games and Jalen Ramsey who can erase the other teams #1 WR has given them more flexibility then most teams have.

[JAF-N72EX]

I'm waiting for someone to bring up the Patriots anomaly and how Belichik got away with so many poor drafts in retrospect and was still able to win so many SBs.

Sure, Belly missed on draft picks in hindsight....but his team won year in and year out and therefore always ended up with a low amount of capital. To counter this, he would look at free agency AND trade down in the draft in order get more "shots" at guys (more darts at the board, per-say), who may not necessarily be household names but guys who fit his scheme and guys who his staff could make the most out of.  I mean let's be honest.....any one of us could started at WR with Belichick/Brady and put up numbers. THAT's HOW GOOD Belichick is a talent evaluator and how well he trusted his staff (i.e McDaniels) to develop them and put them in the right positions to succeed.

Alternatively, I would also use Ted Thompson as a prime example of someone relied solely on the draft and completely strayed away from free agency during his tenure, and was hit and miss in his evaluations. Plus he didn't have a staff who was capable of developing the players he was drafting, which is why the Packers have struggled to build a defense around Rodgers for the last decade. Casey Hewyard, is a perfect example. He was a good pick by Ted in hindsight, but he was only average under his staff and the minute he left he blew up and has been one of the most consistent CBs in the league ever since. Blake Martinez is another example. He was a below average player in GB and while he wasn't ever a "well known guy" he had his best year the minute he left and went to a team who knew how to capitalize on his strengths .

This all goes back to my point about how there needs to be a good mix of both draft and FA, etc, and having the proper talent evaluator, and the right staff to put it all together for the betterment of the team in the long run in order for all of it to work simultaneously. You can't just rely on the draft and you can't just go crazy in free agency either. There needs to be a mix of both at that starts with the person(s) in charge of talent.

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by JAF-N72EX

[Hunter2_1]

Making the correct picks is not overrated. 

But you could argue coaching and getting the right kind of players in trumps having seasons upon seasons of top 10 picks. NE's average first draft pick position from 2006-2019 was in the mid 30s (this obviously includes trades and lost picks). The Lions and NYJs were in the top 12 and they'll still perennial failures. 

A mix of both is surely the right way

 

Edit: Ha! There you go JAF, ask and you shall receive. You're right

Edited November 12, 2021 by Hunter2_1

[NYRaider]

5 hours ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

No it's not overrated at all. The best teams build through the draft and set the foundation and then bring in FA's to complement the foundational pieces they have.

This as well. When you hit on mid-round picks and they become solid starters on cheap deals you can afford to go after guys like OBJ, Von, Stafford, etc. 

[stl4life07]

I wouldnt say the draft itself is overrated. I think the value of drafts are overrated. We have to think about how the Rams started? When Les became the GM back in 2016, what was the first thing he did? He made the RG3 trade? That was before the draft. He moved from I think 2nd to 6th. Then in the draft he moved from 6th to 15th thus acquiring even more picks over the years. So he kept moving down. Even in the following drafts in the 1st round he would trade down to acquire more high draft picks. When the Rams finally got a real coach in McVay and thus the right coaches started to get on the staff and true development started happening, Les looked at the roster and saw that it was talented full of young guys that they are ready to contend now thats when he started to get aggressive. 

I think people forget how the Rams started when Les became GM. They werent trading for established players. They were trading for high draft picks to build their roster of young talent. Now that they have a talented ready made roster they are looking for established talented players to help them win a championship. Even still the Rams are drafting players its just mid to late rounds. The Rams every draft end up picking 8+ times. They trade the most times in the draft under Les so they still draft they just do it differently than other teams. They trust their ability to find guys in the mid to late rounds and all they have to hit on is 2-3 players from their 8+ draft picks and they feel like they are in a great position. Not to mention they have certain positions they dont deem as valuable like inside linebacker so while every team is trying to upgrade all their positions, the Rams are thinking they can find an inside linebacker in the 6th round and he will be fine in the system. Ironically if Earnest Johnson can play half of how he played against the Texans, the Rams found themselves a gem at inside linebacker without even trying lol. 

So again I think the draft itself isnt overrated I think so many people overvalue draft picks. How many 1st round picks we've seen the Raiders, Seahawks, Dolphins, and so many other teams just waste? Id rather just trade for an established player than throw away a 1st round pick year after year. The Pats cant draft receivers and backs to save their life. Why wont they trade a couple of 1st round picks if lets say Michael Thomas ever became available for the Saints? But it also comes down to trusting the FO. Some owners are cheap and FO is scared to make these moves. I love it though. If you trust your system and ability to make good if not great decisions then go for it. Not every team can do it but I do belief more teams in the NFL currently can do it if they just actually go for it. Since no team is willing to go for it then the Rams are just reaping all of the benefits lol.