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Very interesting article about mock drafts

bckey

bckey

All Pro
Excellent article written by Michael Lombardi at SI.com. It has some inside information on just how important mock drafts are for NFL teams. Tejas posted this on the Texans main board.



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/nfl/specials/draft/2008/04/14/lombardi.mocks/index.html?eref=T1



Here is an excerpt:

While I was with the Raiders, the mock drafts were important data for us to research. We would assign someone to sort all the Mocks and keep tabs on where and when any player was projected to go in the first round.. We would tally the amount of times we saw each player in the first round and had a pretty good idea, come draft day, of when players might be picked.

But most important to me were the players who were not mentioned.



And here is another excerpt:

If the mock you're reading does not have six defensive linemen in the first round, stop reading it. Defensive linemen will go quickly. You have to work defensive and offensive linemen heavily in the first round.

After the 10th pick in the first round, it is all about how well you know what each team needs. Study the team needs and forget about the "Best Player Available" theory. It no longer applies. The draft today is so even in terms of talent that teams just pick to fill their needs. Put the player in the spot that fits those specific team needs.
 
Pretty cool article.

A perfect example of a player who was never mentioned in the top 15 picks occurred during the 2002 mock draft period. The Raiders held two No. 1 picks as a result of the Jon Gruden trade with Tampa. Some people in our draft room loved the talent of Syracuse defensive end Dwight Freeney. In our mock research, we never read Freeney's name in the top 15; he was rumored to be a late first-rounder or early second. My sources around the league led me to believe the Denver Broncos were a potential suitor for him at 19. Seeing Freeney in the uniform of our archrival would have been my worst nightmare. We had made plans to move up based on our mock research and we felt that we would be safe at No. 17, two spots ahead of Denver.

The draft that year seemed to go as expected until the 11th pick. All the publications suggested Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy and president Bill Polian needed to get a lineman who could add size to their defensive front. Unfortunately, it was not Wendell Bryant from Wisconsin as most mocks had suggested. It was Freeney. That one hurt. Our draft room in Oakland was stunned.

Was it a reach? Could the Colts have traded down and still gotten Freeney? The answer is a resounding no. Trading down always looks appealing to the fans, but when you have a player you love and know he can make a difference in your team's success, why risk losing him? The key to the draft is not what team has the most picks, but what team makes the best picks. The most critical lesson to learn here is one that was taught to me by Walsh. He used to say to me all the time during our draft preparation, "It does not matter where we pick them, it matters how they play."
Click to expand...
 
Shameless bump because this is the final week before the draft and this is such an good and interesting article about nfl teams using mocks to help them prepare for the draft.
 
great article. the trading down thing is right, ASSUMING you've targeted one player. you don't want to risk trading down and missing out on him. now if you have several players you view as equals or damn near it, and it's physically impossible for you to not miss out on one of them by trading down a few spots, then go ahead and do it.
 
Not sure what you were smoking before that whole 'main board' comment, you've got THE board right here.

As for the article it is a good one, fascinating that Rice was considered in the same breath as those other players... I guess in the end you never quite know what your getting.
 
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