Friday, April 2, 2010

"I'll Take 'Draft Busts for Millions', Alex."

Draft busts. They are an "albatross" in the NFL. If a team can avoid drafting too many, then they can keep payroll low and win totals high.  If a team drafts too many then........


Pro Football Weekly touched on that very subject today. They questioned the "bust factor" in two highly rated players: Taylor Mays and Jason Pierre-Paul. 


These type of discussions are always raised about draft picks who have certain issues. 


It is difficult to know whether a draft pick will be a successful NFL player or not.

I believe that the teams that draft successfully understand how to use the players they draft. They find players with strengths that fit their system, and then try to minimize the players' faults.

A perfect example was Dwight Freeney. Being only 6' 1", he was viewed as having "bust potential" because taller offensive tackles with long arms could latch on to him. It was believed Freeney wouldn't have the size to get off of their blocks. The Colts drafted him and let him use his strengths, speed and leverage to become one of the top pass rushers in the league.

Busts happen more times than not because teams don't have the foresight to envision that draft pick's future role on the team. They can't go on measurables or hoping that the player will be able to make a drastic change. They have to know what this player is going to bring to the team based on something they have already seen.

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