You have to decide who you are and go for it....create an Identity. The Patriots have one. The Rams, Saints, Chiefs have one. Every time we changes staffs we change philosophies and never have the players to run that system.
Pass team? Run Team? Defensive team? etc. What are you hanging your hat on?
I start by firing Grier. I haven't like anything this front office has done in recent years.....extensions, FAs, picks, etc. He may not have been in charge of it all but he was part of it. I just don't see eye for talent and the plan other top GMs seem to have when building a team. The pieces just never fit. And if you try to sell me something positive on some players, don't.....49-10, 43-0. Talent, even young talent, hangs better than that. A couple of good young players on a 55 man roster should not be accepted.
Since we don't have a proven QB, you start there. We aren't sucking on purpose to keep Rosen. Cheap backup or trade bait once you get Tua....he Rosen only really comes into play if we can't get Tua (bc he stays in not bc we aren't the worst team in football).
To not kill your young QB, you need Olinemen and people to help him. So in our particular case, i build the offense and find pieces for the D when you can. Get a stud tackle. Get another solid OL....i always look for tackles (i like what Tennessee did with bookends) bc they are harder to find, but high graded interior guys tend to fall, so snatch one up. Sign some veteran FAs to fill in gaps and teach the young guys. But also be open to a stud pass rusher with one of your 1st rounders. Those guys are rare and have a much higher value.
We have young TEs, so i think we're fine there for now. No reason to overload a position with all our holes. We need more talent at RB and WR for our young QB.
- RBs can be found anywhere....usually round 3-5 has great value. If a large chunk of the underclassmen come out, this draft could be deep at RB and the value will be there. You only jump early for an elite talent....Swift, Taylor and Etienne.....only if the value is just too hard to pass. If one of those guys is staring at you early in Round 2, well......
Let the board fall to you. Might need a young vet to bridge.
- At WR, we desperately need a #1 go-to guy for or QB but i don't see the depth to wait too long or value in this draft over OL/Rush/elite RB. After the top handful of guys it gets thin quick. Again, it all depends how the board falls and if a top guy slips. Jeudy is incredible. Ruggs Shenault are intriguing. Might need to go FA route.
On defense.....Dline, Dline, DLine. Keep taking shots. Pass rushers. Then look for athletes and value/upside for LB/DB. It doesn't make sense to put a ton of picks/money on DBs if you have no pass rush or run defense. Even the top DBs can only cover for so long.
Ultimately though, you need to let the board fall to you. Stop jumping at roster holes. That only leads to guys like Juwan James and Charles Harris. There's plenty more but it's the point of drafting value and guys that will be great players. Assign a multiplyer to grades of high value positions (according to rarity AND according to your system) and rank accordingly.