IF Miami goes WR Rd. 1

[truedolfan57]

Need a LBer

 

[tl77]

ti77 - I love the Draft but I'm pretty ignorant about how a GM assembles a board. It sounds like you have a deeper understanding.
Let's hypothetically assume that our preferences are O-line (ZBS fits only) - we need RT and an OG, a tackling mike LB, WR (playmaker), TE, Safety. I also think that we should consider drafting a backup QB. Does that mean we only rate the players in those positions or is there a means of discounting the ratings based on the team needs. Eg Calvin Pryor is the top Safety in the Draft and say we rate him very highly. Maybe there is a surprise and he's available when we pick at the #19 slot. Safety is seen as a team need but a much, much lower need compared to the 2 O-linemen, do we take him because he is BPA on our board?

First I want to say I'm definitely no draft expert and I'm sure there are others here with more experience/understanding. I'm just a huge fan of scouting and the draft process and have read as many draft books/articles as I could over the years.
It's hard to really know how each team assembles their own board. From Hickeys comments thus far it appears he combines bpa and need to create a grading system for the prospects. Now how he weighs need vs talent and what % each plays in the decision is unknown.

They wouldn't be leaving players off the draft board if they aren't at a need position, but rather as you said, discount their rating. This is hypothetical and oversimplified, but lets say after all the scouting and grading is done Jawuan James has a grade of 80 & Pryor is graded 85. Lets also say you've come up with a process that adds 3pts to a players value if he is at a position of need or you deduct 3pts if he is not. Your grade of James is now at 83 and Pryor is 82. Or you could have a sliding scale of points added/deducted based on your ranking of needs. If OT is #1 need, players in that position would get the 3pts, LB is looked at as 2nd need, so add 2pts and so on.

Also anyone who has more insights on constructing draft boards please post away! I love talking/reading about this stuff