Stanjames Sports Blog

How should a pro NFL draft go down? Most pro NFL teams' strategies fall into one of two main catagories, neither or which I believe to be correct.

Many pro NFL teams (my Vikings included) subscribe to the notion that no matter what, you always take the best player available. No other considerations matter. If the pro NFL team has six pro-bowl caliber receivers, and a WR falls to them, they don't hesitate to pull the trigger. The theory behind this is that the team is constantly improving its overall talent pool, and I admit it does have this effect. But what they fail to consider is that in addition to overall talent, you also must have a talent balance.

Balance, then, is what the second group of pro NFL teams are all about. They draft exclusively to need. Again, the underlying theory makes a certain amount of sense. If you are one pro NFL linebacker away from a championship, why not add that linebacker, even if you have to overreach in the draft to get him? The problem is that while this makes sense in a limited way, ultimately your overall level of talent dips too low to compete year after year.

Which brings me to my own personal strategy for the pro NFL draft. It is simply this: With the first pick in every single pro NFL draft you take a lineman. Offensive or defensive doesn't matter. Why? Because linemen are who win football games over the long haul. Also, they get hurt often, they get old fast, and leave gaping holes on teams which have no quality backups. If you were to take the Lions (0-16) from last year, and put all the best linemen from the entire pro NFL on their team, they would go 8-8 at worst. I guarentee it!