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Athletic Draft Grade

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Finswatch

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From the Athletic under Draft Losers:
Miami Dolphins
Despite forfeiting their third-round pick because of impermissible contact with Tom Brady and the agent for Sean Payton, the Dolphins still finished the draft with seven picks. Yet they didn’t seem to hit on any big-time stars. Edge rusher Chop Robinson has upside, but he’ll need time to develop. So will second-round offensive tackle Patrick Paul. A team needing to shrink the gap between itself and the Buffalo Bills needed more slam-dunk selections.

What is a slam dunk selection
Drake Maye?
Keon Coleman??

To me, the Bills lost as much or more than we did before the draft and didn't come away with "slam dunks" to replace Diggs, Poyer and Davis and Morse.
They got a big WR who lacks the speed and quickness of either of the receivers they lost. Got a good safety in Bishop and a good center in Van Pran Granger but both will need time to develop.

The Jets got a future LT and a slot receiver from a small school so where are the slam dunks?

The Pats had another blah draft, imo, and won't be ready for prime time for awhile

Prediction here that the combo of Jalen Wright and Malik Washington make a bigger contribution than any other AFC East rookie duo.
 
Finswatch said:
From the Athletic under Draft Losers:
Miami Dolphins
Despite forfeiting their third-round pick because of impermissible contact with Tom Brady and the agent for Sean Payton, the Dolphins still finished the draft with seven picks. Yet they didn’t seem to hit on any big-time stars. Edge rusher Chop Robinson has upside, but he’ll need time to develop. So will second-round offensive tackle Patrick Paul. A team needing to shrink the gap between itself and the Buffalo Bills needed more slam-dunk selections.

What is a slam dunk selection
Drake Maye?
Keon Coleman??

To me, the Bills lost as much or more than we did before the draft and didn't come away with "slam dunks" to replace Diggs, Poyer and Davis and Morse.
They got a big WR who lacks the speed and quickness of either of the receivers they lost. Got a good safety in Bishop and a good center in Van Pran Granger but both will need time to develop.

The Jets got a future LT and a slot receiver from a small school so where are the slam dunks?

The Pats had another blah draft, imo, and won't be ready for prime time for awhile

Prediction here that the combo of Jalen Wright and Malik Washington make a bigger contribution than any other AFC East rookie duo.
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Isn't it the athletic too that has given a low grade or low rating of tua compared to the starting nfl qbs. Like I take them with a grain of salt. Sure they complimented Wright and malik, but whatever
 
Finswatch said:
Draft grades are dumb especially when given right after the draft happened but to say we didn't catch the Bills because we didn't get any stars is ridiculous
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This.

One of my biggest fascinations with the draft is fans obsessing over draft grades (not just Dolphin fans). There’s no reason to attempt assigning a letter grade to a team’s draft class just a day or two after the draft because it’s literally IMPOSSIBLE to know how any of these rookies are going to turn out. A good example would be SF’s grade 2 years ago when they drafted Brock Purdy. There was ZERO chance anybody was gonna grade him out as the best pick in the draft and almost an immediate franchise QB. Some say it’s not an exact science but I don’t think it’s a science on any level. The best analogy I can think of is that it’s pretty similar to throwing darts with your eyes closed.
 
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Just popped in to say "The Athletic"?

All I need to know to not waste three minutes of my life. I could just as well use that time sticking my finger in a light socket or spooning through a stool sample.
 
I think Dane Brugler and Nate Tice do a great job with draft coverage. If you haven't seen Dane's draft guide, The Beast, it's an impressive as any.

That said, he and I often see things in a different light. Same with Nate. It's one of the reasons I like their coverage. They have a different perspective on a lot of this stuff than I do.

Dane probably wanted Miami to draft Barton. And, if you followed me before the draft, that's who I liked, too. But, Chop's potential impact as an ultra-athletic Edge is much greater than Barton's as an ultra-athletic OG. There's a reason the top Edges make 33% more than the top OG's. So, if you prioritize potential impact and financial savings with draft picks, which is a good way to do things, Chop is a better bet.

I argued, and I think Dane and Nate would have agreed, that Miami NEEDED to add some high-end talent to the OL room. And, they did that with their next pick - again, at a premium position.

By contrast, Dane and Nate love Pittsburgh adding 3 IOL and an Off-ball LB. Those are obviously non-premium positions, but they have guys who figure to push for starting spots early. Imo over time, Miami's approach will be more beneficial, because the hits will hit bigger.
 
Our drafting of Edge first might tell us the FO realizes the return time of Chubb and Phillips may be well into the season.
They felt that needed attention first, but recognize the OL multiple issues and tried to plug that hole with our only other high pick.
 
Jssanto said:
Our drafting of Edge first might tell us the FO realizes the return time of Chubb and Phillips may be well into the season.
They felt that needed attention first, but recognize the OL multiple issues and tried to plug that hole with our only other high pick.
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No has nothing to do with that. Assuming weaver brings over the same philosophy the ravens ran, they often rotated edge rushers.

Ravens had 4 players take over 300 snaps at OLB then split another 300 snaps between another 3 guys.

Clowney 56.53%
Van Noy 42.01%
Oweh 37.77%
T Robinson 28.95%
M Harrison 17.03%

Weaver will rotate edges often just about every player will have 50% or less.

We started two guys in the playoffs that weren’t on rosters all season, picking edge rushers shouldn’t be questioned. It’s arguably the second most important position behind qb.
 
MARINO1384 said:
No has nothing to do with that. Assuming weaver brings over the same philosophy the ravens ran, they often rotated edge rushers.

Ravens had 4 players take over 300 snaps at OLB then split another 300 snaps between another 3 guys.

Clowney 56.53%
Van Noy 42.01%
Oweh 37.77%
T Robinson 28.95%
M Harrison 17.03%

Weaver will rotate edges often just about every player will have 50% or less.

We started two guys in the playoffs that weren’t on rosters all season, picking edge rushers shouldn’t be questioned. It’s arguably the second most important position behind qb.
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I don't disagree about Baltimore, or that it a viable way to approach the position, but if that is the basic philosophy, I have to wonder if having guys like Chubb, and JP in the future, makes financial sense.

I mean is it practical to give Phillips a top level edge contract for rotational play?
 
What's very interesting to me, is that draft grades are kind of perverse. They assume that the day after the draft, the Athletic (or ESPN, or PFF or whoever) still know more than the teams. No. They should be looking at how the draft played out, and using that information to talk about where they went wrong in evaluating players.

ESPN for example are heavily criticizing the Rams for "overpaying" to move up and draft Braden Fiske. No, ESPN. It was you that undervalued Fiske, Les Snead knows exactly what he's doing.
 
Mach2 said:
I don't disagree about Baltimore, or that it a viable way to approach the position, but if that is the basic philosophy, I have to wonder if having guys like Chubb, and JP in the future, makes financial sense.

I mean is it practical to give Phillips a top level edge contract for rotational play?
Click to expand...

Phillips will play on his 5th year then a decision will be made. Achilles is a super tough injury and hard to not lose a step. Phillips had enough burst that he might have had a step to lose but can’t assume he’s going to be the same player. Barrett is a short term rental. Chubb is the only guy that will almost be guaranteed on the roster at edge in 2026 currently under contract due to his contract.
 
TurboDurden said:
What's very interesting to me, is that draft grades are kind of perverse. They assume that the day after the draft, the Athletic (or ESPN, or PFF or whoever) still know more than the teams. No. They should be looking at how the draft played out, and using that information to talk about where they went wrong in evaluating players.

ESPN for example are heavily criticizing the Rams for "overpaying" to move up and draft Braden Fiske. No, ESPN. It was you that undervalued Fiske, Les Snead knows exactly what he's doing.
Click to expand...
I think the Rams are getting criticized for the “value” of the trade to move up. I heard it was like one of the worst values, trade wise, in many years.
 
MARINO1384 said:
Phillips will play on his 5th year then a decision will be made. Achilles is a super tough injury and hard to not lose a step. Phillips had enough burst that he might have had a step to lose but can’t assume he’s going to be the same player. Barrett is a short term rental. Chubb is the only guy that will almost be guaranteed on the roster at edge in 2026 currently under contract due to his contract.
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I realize all of that.

My comment was more a big picture philosophical observation/question, rather than specific mechanics moving forward.

To put it another way, if heavy edge/IOL rotation is the basic philosophy, does it really make sense to have big $ contract investment at those positions?
 
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