Do YOU prefer draft or free agency?

[trez]

Free Agency is where the skins get players like Brandon Lloyd, Adam Archuleta, Jeremiah Trotter, Warrick Holdman, Bruce Smith and Shar Pourdanesh.

The Draft is where the redskins get players like Carlos Rogers, Patrick Ramsey, Rod Gardner, Andre Johnson and Jim Molinaro.

So which is the better way to build a team, in your opinion?

[Bantu]

The draft is always the best way to build a team. Just look at all the teams that are in the playoffs on a consistent basis, and one will see that they keep and use their draft picks. Free agency should only be used to supplement the roster.

[HailSkinz1]

In my opinion, you BUILD through the draft and SUPPLEMENT through free agency. The draft, except for the highest picks, is a cheaper way to stock pile talent, if you have an eye for talent. Once you have your "core" players, then add a few free agents that get you over the top.

That's the way I think it should be done.

Hail,

H

[the burgundy and gold]

i think free agency because you know what you're getting for the most part. With a few exceptions: Archuleta. In the draft you have some idea what you're getting in the first 2 rounds but after that you really have no idea what you're getting. i think the importance of each is 70% free agents and 30% drafted players.

[skinfan2k]

i think free agency because you know what you're getting for the most part. With a few exceptions: Archuleta. In the draft you have some idea what you're getting in the first 2 rounds but after that you really have no idea what you're getting. i think the importance of each is 70% free agents and 30% drafted players.

what team has used free agency in that manner and won anything?:rolleyes:

[Jacoby6644]

I prefer the draft as long as you can evaluate talent. You get the biggest bang for your buck, because you are typically not paying market value in the later part of a rookie contract. So if you draft well you get a lot of value as the players develop. It also give you the ability to offer extensions to players that flurish, without necessarily paying the going rate.

If the player doesn't work out, you didn't spend a ton of money and don't usually get raped on the cap.

[CaptChaos86]

Its tough to tell either way. In free agency a player could be great for one team and then suck for the other (Arch) but i think building through the draft is good. You can build for the future instead of getting guys who have one or two good seasons left in them.

[MRMADD]

It's simple math: only 20-25% of NFL players are eligible for free agency every year; only 5% actually change teams. Of those, only a tiny percentage are really good.

So you have a supply-and-demand situation: limited supply of good players, which means extraordinarily high prices. Derrick Dockery, who is a decent guard, but certainly no star, got 6 year, $54 million contract, $26.5 million guaranteed.

Compare that to last year's #6 pick in the draft: 5 years, $23 million.

It's simple, isn't it? Free agency gives you limited supply at skyrocketing prices. The draft gives you access to every single player to enter the NFL, and you get them cheap. Very cheap. And you get to keep them for years.

Anyone who believes that you can build a team through free agency is clueless.

[ChampSkinsFanatic]

I prefer the draft, but who is Andre Johnson?

[Audible_Red40]

In my opinion, you BUILD through the draft and SUPPLEMENT through free agency. The draft, except for the highest picks, is a cheaper way to stock pile talent, if you have an eye for talent. Once you have your "core" players, then add a few free agents that get you over the top.

That's the way I think it should be done.

Hail,

H

I am with you on this one, well said.

[rumpshakers]

DRAFT, DRAFT....build through young talent, supplement with Free Agency

[ChiefPowhatan17]

I tend to enjoy the draft, because I like to see the development of young players into great players. Plus, when you draft a player out of college, that player tends to have some loyalty to the team, as long as the team treats him well. Plus it is harder to gel as a team with so many Free Agents. I don't hate getting free agents, I like to get quality guys, but only a few at a time.:logo:

[VaSkinsNut]

I prefer the draft, but who is Andre Johnson?


Texans WR

[Tazhog]

I vote free agency!
In the draft you run more risks
FA you get NFL proven players

Draft; young talent, you train how to, they learn them leave to another team for $
FA; Pay $ now for veteran players that are proven!

The risks are smaller in FA vs. Draft...
If I were a GM, The future is now! I'd trade picks for players!

[JetSkins]

how could you pick free agency, building through it has failed miserably for the 'skins

[EnFoRcEr_uPu]

Free Agency is where the skins get players like Brandon Lloyd, Adam Archuleta, Jeremiah Trotter, Warrick Holdman, Bruce Smith and Shar Pourdanesh.

The Draft is where the redskins get players like Carlos Rogers, Patrick Ramsey, Rod Gardner, Andre Johnson and Jim Molinaro.

So which is the better way to build a team, in your opinion?

Not to sound rude, but I like how you left out guys like Taylor and Cooley. =\

[trez]

Andre Johnson was the tackle the skins picked up in the first round in the 1990's that never cracked the starting lineup.

[LoudMouth12thMan]

Free Agency...Moss, Portis, Washington, Springs, Griff, Carter, ARE...oh and Brunell :paranoid:

Then again I think we should start focusing more on building through the draft.

Seriously, I think a balance between the two is best.

HTTR

[Peregrine]

Im not going to answer that. Its not an either or. The best teams build through the draft, AND free agency.

[trez]

http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/teams/WAS

[HailSkinz1]

Andre Johnson was the tackle the skins picked up in the first round in the 1990's that never cracked the starting lineup.

And it wasn't just that we drafted Andre Johnson, we traded picks with the stinking Cowboys to get him. At the time the move was questioned because they (mediots) said we did not do our homework. Johnson was not motivated to play football. Well, they were right. Johnson never intended to play ball, but he took our money and made other investments.

Right now, I think most would agree that the Redskins are "building" through free agency. We sign more players at higher prices than any other team (save for this year so far).

And look what it's getting us.......

Hail,

H

[greenhunter7]

draft you pay less and if they are that good then chances are the team is not going to let them get away escpecially for a cheap price

[Chief skin]

The front office has used freeagency as its means to build a winner ever since it bought the team, the results speak for themselves. FAILURE the draft is how winners are built and supplemented by free agency

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

It's not a one or the other issue. Both have a place.

However, the key issue that the Redskins do not seem to get is that the most important contract - from the team's perspective - is the rookie contract. In the NFL, rookies not taken in the first 15 or so picks are generally paid far below their market value. So you have to make hay while the son still shines with the players on their first contract.

It's really a simple formula. In the NFL, the way to win is to get high production out of a low-cost player. On the Skins, the best example is Cooley. He is being paid a pittance compared to his overall value. Any team needs about five guys like him in order to really be successful.

[Chump Bailey]

In my opinion, you BUILD through the draft and SUPPLEMENT through free agency. The draft, except for the highest picks, is a cheaper way to stock pile talent, if you have an eye for talent. Once you have your "core" players, then add a few free agents that get you over the top.


Yep, it's not either or but a balance of both. Build the foundation with the draft and augment with FA.

[Veretax]

See I don't agree with either of these... I think you need a well balanced approach. Feeling short term needs when an appropriate player becomes available as a FA, and feeling long term projected needs through the draft.

[TankRizzo]

Draft. We've proven through free agency that there is no guarantee in performance (Bruce Smith, Carrier, Wilkinson, Stubblefield, Archuletta, Lloyd, etc. etc. etc.). At least through the draft you get them cheap for a short time.

[Mr. S]

free agents are fine in addition to draft picks, not the other way around. Sure, some teams draft and still suck (Detroit, Arizona), but for the most part, the draft is the way to go. You will never have a perfect draft class, but you can always find talent in any round, just more success in the top.

Also, free agents, just cause they do well in one area, does not necessarily mean they will in another. Archuleta is obvious. Grant Wistrom was never the same, neither were any of the 2004 Free Agent DE's (there were a bunch htat year). You are not getting a guaranteed product in a free agent. It's why it's better to just draft, build up the youngsters, and then complement them.

[PleaseBlitz]

Gotta have a balance. Of course, you gotta have picks to have a balance.

[fwo40]

Free Agency...Moss, Portis, Washington, Springs, Griff, Carter, ARE...oh and Brunell :paranoid:

Then again I think we should start focusing more on building through the draft.

Seriously, I think a balance between the two is best.

HTTR

Portis and Moss who are the 2 best players by far on that FA list were NOT FA.

They were traded for.....

And Brunell was RFA I think....in any case giving up a 3rd for him was junk.

[pjfootballer]

I didn't vote because I beleive you have to have a balance of both. The draft is too much of a crapshoot and FA is full of busts. They have to counter-balance each other. You do both to make up for the mistakes you made in one for the other.

[Dana87]

I'll have a little of each, Thank you.

[The Consigliere]

Andre Johnson was the tackle the skins picked up in the first round in the 1990's that never cracked the starting lineup.

We traded our first in '96 for Sean Gilbert. We then packaged our second and another pick in a trade with the Cowboys to get their pick, the last of the first round. The vast majority of the board at that time ("In the Bleachers or something of that sort) assumed that it was a trade to get Norv his very own Moose Johnston in the stud fullback whod dropped 15 slots more than expected, Mike Allstott. I hoped it was for the Longhorn stud edge rusher Tony Brackens, rated a top 10 pick back in the summer of '05 who'd slipped due to a bad injury the previous fall (he'd go on to have a solid if short career in Jacksonville). Instead we went after Andre Johnson, a LT from Penn State whose claim to fame was that he shut down Simeon Rice, when they played Illinois. He never played a single snap in the NFL as Trez mentioned.

However, it's abundantly clear that you mix and match free agency, trades, and the draft if you want to be a success. Utilizing one or the other nearly exclusively doesn't get the job done. You need to mix and match. However the redskins fixation on free agency has proven an utter failure consistently in this league as a strategy.

The draft is necessary because it is generally cheaper, it is a much better means of finding depth and special teams players and lastly you get players looking for their big second contract, HUNGRY PLAYERS. FA's are most definitely not inherently hungry, there wouldn't be a term "Contract Year" if this wasn't so, of course there are exceptions, the winners of the league who have a passion for the sport and for winning, but there are just as many westbunks and stubbystanks simply on the hunt for a big contract. As such its essential to build with young, hungry players, and augment with veteran leadership through free agency, and veteran studs if necessary to fill roles. In my view, at least till this year, smart teams would tackle free agency and the draft with an eye towards value. For instance, centers, safeties, and even guards and linebackers can generally be found very cheaply on draft day, but you have to pay top dollar for tackles, edge rushers, QB's, WR's, corners and the like, so on draft day, the 2nd and 3rd round can usually garner you an elite center, an elite guard, and probably an elite safety. With 2nd and third rounders, you're usually already scraping the bottom of the barrell when it comes to DE/DT/WR/CB prospects.

[Seabee1973]

I prefer the draft, but who is Andre Johnson?


the next best thing at offensive line we drafted in 96 we traded draft picks with the boys i believe to grab him

[Seabee1973]

I vote free agency!
In the draft you run more risks
FA you get NFL proven players

Draft; young talent, you train how to, they learn them leave to another team for $
FA; Pay $ now for veteran players that are proven!

The risks are smaller in FA vs. Draft...
If I were a GM, The future is now! I'd trade picks for players!

yup every year since 2000 the future has been now and it hasnt worked

[Seabee1973]

Andre Johnson was the tackle the skins picked up in the first round in the 1990's that never cracked the starting lineup.

never started an nfl game

[boofMcboof]

Free Agency is where the skins get players like Brandon Lloyd, Adam Archuleta, Jeremiah Trotter, Warrick Holdman, Bruce Smith and Shar Pourdanesh.

The Draft is where the redskins get players like Carlos Rogers, Patrick Ramsey, Rod Gardner, Andre Johnson and Jim Molinaro.

So which is the better way to build a team, in your opinion?



How about asking it this way:

Free Agency is where the Skins get players like Marcus Washington, Cornelius Griffin, Shawn Springs, Santana Moss, Randy Thomas and Casey Rabach.

The Draft is where the redskins get players like Sean Taylor, Fred Smoot, Chris Samuels, Jon Jansen, Chris Cooley and Ladell Betts.

So which is the better way to build a team, in your opinion?

[atloldskin]

Lets not forget Griffin, Rabach, Thomas, Washington, Carter, and Springs in free agency. Moss and Lloyd via trades. Who do we have from the draft other than Taylor? Dockery--oh that's right he left as soon as he could via free agency!

And half the guys on this board screamed for us to draft Mike Williams! The draft is not a sure thing; free agency at least gives you an experienced player as long as we don't overpay.

[MRMADD]

Lets not forget Griffin, Rabach, Thomas, Washington, Carter, and Springs in free agency. Moss and Lloyd via trades. Who do we have from the draft other than Taylor?

Let's take a look at the offense:

Draft: Campbell, Samuels, Jansen, Cooley, Betts. (And we'd have one more if we could have locked up Dockery back when he was cheap)

Free agency: Thomas, Raybach, ARE

Trades: Moss, Portis, Lloyd

It looks like the offense is primarily drafted. The defense is another story -- and we're arguably paying the price with their performance.