In the NFL Draft, Failing to Plan Means Planning to Fail

If you want to be successful in the draft over the long haul, you need to have a plan. Do you jettison your 30-plus-year-old players to other teams in favor of stockpiling picks like New England? Do you place more emphasis on offensive and defensive linemen with your top picks like the Steelers? Maybe you trade down more than other teams to amass more middle-round picks and fill in the bottom of your roster with youth like the Cowboys did last year while building your front line team from the free agent segment?

Whatever you do, you need to have a plan. The one thing that tends to be a friction point in any draft-related discussion is whether to use the Best Player Available (BPA) strategy or use the draft to address specific needs on the team.

I’ve thought about this a lot over the years and I think the idea of being able to play the BPA game, in the purest sense, is limited to the teams of dynasty and teams of ineptitude.

For instance, the Saints may be in a better position to look at the draft and take the highest ranked player on their board regardless of position. And why not? They are the reigning champions and that means they can make the argument that they have the fewest holes (Free Agency defections notwithstanding) of any team in the league.

By the same token, the Saint Louis Rams can probably benefit from taking anyone, anywhere of high caliber in the draft and benefit on the field from that improvement in talent level. For instance, is their primary need a DT? No, but if he’s #1 on their board, then by all means, they should take him. The draft was designed to accelerate Pete Rozelle’s view that parity was vital to the success of the league. Getting the best players to the least successful teams was the best way to execute on that strategy.

That doesn't mean that both teams are without needs but their situations are such that they, more than other teams, can let the draft come to them in a way the Cowboys, Eagles and others would not…or should not.  

Teams that are on the cusp, or are trying to backfill a major free agency loss, have to temper those BPA ideas with the need to fill a specific position(s) with younger and/or better talent.

San Diego is in this situation. They have huge needs at NT, CB, Safety, Running Back and Right Tackle. I really don’t think they can afford to take Sam Bradford (I’m being egregious for the sake of argument here) if he is there when they pick. He may be the BPA, but he is way outside their areas of need.

Dallas is in this situation too. Dallas' needs are much more specific because they are viewed as being a few positions away from being able to reach the pinnacle. They need help on the O-line, first and foremost. They need help at NT. They MAY need help at Safety, depending on what Sensei does. They do NOT need a running back. So if CJ Spiller (again, egregious here…) is the BPA at 27, he’s not a good pick for this team.

Now, I'm of the opinion that Dallas is best served by moving UP in this draft, using pieces like Telly B and Choice to move up 10-12 spots to get a franchise LT. I also think they would benefit by looking at a Nose Tackle in the 2nd round (and not a WR or a Safety) for reasons I haven't been shy about espousing the virtues of.

It is not logical to think that Dallas can strictly use a BPA strategy or the tried-and-failed strategy of trading down and subsequently carpet bombing the draft with picks in the 3rd through 7th rounds, given that there aren't a lot of impactful spots on this roster that are up for grabs. No, I think Dallas needs to do some things that are uncharacteristic of how they’ve approached the draft in recent years and really TARGET, and by extension, aggressively reach for some players who can positively impact this team in the next 2-3 years. I don’t see how any draft by the Cowboys could be viewed as a success without coming away with an OT in the first 2 picks. I won’t weigh in on WHO I like just yet because I am still looking at video (and let me say, I continue to be amazed at the amount of highlight reel stuff available on the web! You couldn’t get that stuff 15 years ago when I was forced to buy every draft magazine in sight) of the players and am only part way through the Combine, but the point is the point. In fact, you all can stake a claim to who you like…

In the end, Dallas needs a plan. A plan that becomes a roadmap for building a team that is competitive year in and year out. I don’t care if it is Ciskowski’s board or Stephen’s ‘locker room chemistry’ or even coins getting flipped that carries the day, but as a fan, I want to be able to articulate the plan to anyone who asks. It’s long past time for Dallas to take on a Draft Identity. This is a great year to start.

GO COWBOYS!