Tommy-the-Greek
April-23rd-2005, 06:53 AM
For those who want to move up, this gives you something to think about.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/football/sf_49ers/story/12767797p-13618913c.html
Low is the way to go in NFL
As the 49ers and Patriots will attest, good players can be had in later rounds.
By Jim Jenkins -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, April 22, 2005
Quality isn't always at the top of the NFL draft. Often, the best bargains and even more talented players are found much lower.
In 1979, the 49ers chose Joe Montana out of Notre Dame in the third round, and we all know how he turned out.
Another example came in 2000 when the New England Patriots grabbed an overlooked Michigan quarterback named Tom Brady in the sixth round. All he has done is lead the Patriots to three of the last four Super Bowl titles.
Montana, wearer of four NFL championship rings, ranks as Bill Walsh's crowning acquisition. And over the long haul, few folks were shrewder draft shoppers than the 49ers' former coach and general manager.
John McVay, who retired to Granite Bay last year after serving in various executive posts through all five of the 49ers' Super Bowl championship seasons, was Walsh's right-hand man. As such, McVay was confident of anticipating most of his former boss' personnel moves.
An exception might have come in 1986, arguably the most productive draft in not only 49ers history but of any NFL franchise.
"That was the year we kept moving down," McVay recalled this week. "We kept trading, beginning with the first round, and still were able to pick up good players left and right. I remember our scouts telling us not to worry, that there would be plenty of talent in the middle rounds. They were right."
In the then-12-round draft, the 49ers chose 14 players, all after the first round. Of those players, eight became starters and played roles in winning Super Bowls, including fullback Tom Rathman and wide receiver John Taylor (third-rounders) and defensive lineman Charles Haley and tackle Steve Wallace (fourth-rounders).
It was a nice haul, but McVay admitted Walsh made more than a few people nervous as the wheeling and dealing took place.
Said McVay: "After we kept trading down, I finally said to Bill, 'Coach, we'd better start taking somebody, or pretty soon we're going to have every pick in the seventh round.' But it turned out to be a bonanza for us."
That draft, however, happened well before the NFL had a salary cap. Today, teams willing to dip lower in the draft do so for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the financial impact of miscalculating on a high draft choice.
Hard-line agents in search of megabucks can dictate why one team might view one prospect at the same position in stark contrast to another.
Some of those scenarios are already developing for this weekend's draft.
Rob Rang, a senior analyst for NFL Draft Scout, a respected service used by teams, finds it interesting how much disagreement there is on grading even some of the high-profile players, noting, "The magnitude of the disparity is shocking."
But none of this comes as news to McVay.
"Over the years," he said, "I've found that you can get burned worse in the draft than you can by a free agent if you make a mistake. You have to be very careful with the picks you make.
"A lot of first-rounders just don't pan out, even though their agents will want at least the same money for (a lesser-talented client) as a player picked in the same spot a year earlier. That can lead to a holdout and a big problem for a team counting on that guy."
Accustomed to treading carefully and looking beneath the spotlight is the NFL's current model franchise, the Patriots. In terms of personnel expertise, New England coach Bill Belichick and his top aides, including 2003 and 2004 NFL Executive of the Year Scott Pioli, go to the head of the class for doing their homework and finding the right multipurpose players.
At his pre-draft news conference this week, Belichick didn't sound overly impressed with the depth at most positions in this draft, so the hunt appears to be on again for would-be Patriots who might be missing from other teams' boards.
"We draft based on what is up there and what we feel those players can do for our football team," Belichick said. "If you start drafting by need, and they can't perform or fill roles for you, then you really haven't done anything."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/football/sf_49ers/story/12767797p-13618913c.html
Low is the way to go in NFL
As the 49ers and Patriots will attest, good players can be had in later rounds.
By Jim Jenkins -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, April 22, 2005
Quality isn't always at the top of the NFL draft. Often, the best bargains and even more talented players are found much lower.
In 1979, the 49ers chose Joe Montana out of Notre Dame in the third round, and we all know how he turned out.
Another example came in 2000 when the New England Patriots grabbed an overlooked Michigan quarterback named Tom Brady in the sixth round. All he has done is lead the Patriots to three of the last four Super Bowl titles.
Montana, wearer of four NFL championship rings, ranks as Bill Walsh's crowning acquisition. And over the long haul, few folks were shrewder draft shoppers than the 49ers' former coach and general manager.
John McVay, who retired to Granite Bay last year after serving in various executive posts through all five of the 49ers' Super Bowl championship seasons, was Walsh's right-hand man. As such, McVay was confident of anticipating most of his former boss' personnel moves.
An exception might have come in 1986, arguably the most productive draft in not only 49ers history but of any NFL franchise.
"That was the year we kept moving down," McVay recalled this week. "We kept trading, beginning with the first round, and still were able to pick up good players left and right. I remember our scouts telling us not to worry, that there would be plenty of talent in the middle rounds. They were right."
In the then-12-round draft, the 49ers chose 14 players, all after the first round. Of those players, eight became starters and played roles in winning Super Bowls, including fullback Tom Rathman and wide receiver John Taylor (third-rounders) and defensive lineman Charles Haley and tackle Steve Wallace (fourth-rounders).
It was a nice haul, but McVay admitted Walsh made more than a few people nervous as the wheeling and dealing took place.
Said McVay: "After we kept trading down, I finally said to Bill, 'Coach, we'd better start taking somebody, or pretty soon we're going to have every pick in the seventh round.' But it turned out to be a bonanza for us."
That draft, however, happened well before the NFL had a salary cap. Today, teams willing to dip lower in the draft do so for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the financial impact of miscalculating on a high draft choice.
Hard-line agents in search of megabucks can dictate why one team might view one prospect at the same position in stark contrast to another.
Some of those scenarios are already developing for this weekend's draft.
Rob Rang, a senior analyst for NFL Draft Scout, a respected service used by teams, finds it interesting how much disagreement there is on grading even some of the high-profile players, noting, "The magnitude of the disparity is shocking."
But none of this comes as news to McVay.
"Over the years," he said, "I've found that you can get burned worse in the draft than you can by a free agent if you make a mistake. You have to be very careful with the picks you make.
"A lot of first-rounders just don't pan out, even though their agents will want at least the same money for (a lesser-talented client) as a player picked in the same spot a year earlier. That can lead to a holdout and a big problem for a team counting on that guy."
Accustomed to treading carefully and looking beneath the spotlight is the NFL's current model franchise, the Patriots. In terms of personnel expertise, New England coach Bill Belichick and his top aides, including 2003 and 2004 NFL Executive of the Year Scott Pioli, go to the head of the class for doing their homework and finding the right multipurpose players.
At his pre-draft news conference this week, Belichick didn't sound overly impressed with the depth at most positions in this draft, so the hunt appears to be on again for would-be Patriots who might be missing from other teams' boards.
"We draft based on what is up there and what we feel those players can do for our football team," Belichick said. "If you start drafting by need, and they can't perform or fill roles for you, then you really haven't done anything."