#1 pick in the NFL draft is a burden no team wants
Michigan
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From Detroit Free Press:
OK, just before midnight Thursday, after wading through the aftermath of the Jay Cutler trade, I came up with this crazy, should-have-gone-to-bed-instead idea that the Lions should try to trade the No. 1 pick to the Broncos for No. 12 and No. 18.
I said it was a long shot, but that wasn’t strong enough. It’s not going to happen (though I still think they should try everything, no matter how silly). The better blog would have been to write about how ridiculous it is that the No. 1 pick is such a burden.
The draft is supposed to be set up to help the weak get stronger. The Lions just suffered through the NFL’s first 0-16 season. Their consolation prize? Something nobody wants, the No. 1 pick.
The No. 1 pick is attached to a huge rookie contract — more than $30 million guaranteed. It’s like attaching a weak runner to a lead ball and telling him that’s going to help him get back in the race.
You don’t want to draft anyone No. 1, because no matter whom you take, you’re paying way too much for an unproven player. You can’t trade the pick for that very reason.
My crazy idea shouldn’t have been so crazy. Under the old trade chart — which assigns value points for picks — the No. 12 and No. 18 picks should have added up in value to between the No. 3 and No. 4 picks. That means the No. 1 pick should have been more valuable. But it isn’t anymore.
Some people have raised the theory that the Lions should just pass on the pick, let the clock run out, move down a little bit and make their pick. That’s within the rules, but that isn’t realistic, either.
One, you’re assuming you would get a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the price of whomever you would eventually pick. You wouldn’t. The first thing the agent will say, whether it’s reality or not, is that you would have taken his client No. 1, so he deserves No. 1 money, not the money at whatever slot he was really drafted.
Two, you’re assuming you don’t care if you pass up certain players. It’s a nice theory that all the players could be rated evenly at the top. But why have a scouting staff and general manager then? You have to trust your evaluation and make a pick.
The No. 1 pick has a lot of drawbacks these days, but it still lets you pick whomever you want. To pass that up would be embarrassing, like you don’t have the confidence to make the pick.
The point is, the system should be set up to help the Lions. It’s not. And as the new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated, the rookie pay scale has got to be an issue. One of the members of the league’s working group of the labor situation knows that all too well. He’s Lions president Tom Lewand.
OK, just before midnight Thursday, after wading through the aftermath of the Jay Cutler trade, I came up with this crazy, should-have-gone-to-bed-instead idea that the Lions should try to trade the No. 1 pick to the Broncos for No. 12 and No. 18.
I said it was a long shot, but that wasn’t strong enough. It’s not going to happen (though I still think they should try everything, no matter how silly). The better blog would have been to write about how ridiculous it is that the No. 1 pick is such a burden.
The draft is supposed to be set up to help the weak get stronger. The Lions just suffered through the NFL’s first 0-16 season. Their consolation prize? Something nobody wants, the No. 1 pick.
The No. 1 pick is attached to a huge rookie contract — more than $30 million guaranteed. It’s like attaching a weak runner to a lead ball and telling him that’s going to help him get back in the race.
You don’t want to draft anyone No. 1, because no matter whom you take, you’re paying way too much for an unproven player. You can’t trade the pick for that very reason.
My crazy idea shouldn’t have been so crazy. Under the old trade chart — which assigns value points for picks — the No. 12 and No. 18 picks should have added up in value to between the No. 3 and No. 4 picks. That means the No. 1 pick should have been more valuable. But it isn’t anymore.
Some people have raised the theory that the Lions should just pass on the pick, let the clock run out, move down a little bit and make their pick. That’s within the rules, but that isn’t realistic, either.
One, you’re assuming you would get a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the price of whomever you would eventually pick. You wouldn’t. The first thing the agent will say, whether it’s reality or not, is that you would have taken his client No. 1, so he deserves No. 1 money, not the money at whatever slot he was really drafted.
Two, you’re assuming you don’t care if you pass up certain players. It’s a nice theory that all the players could be rated evenly at the top. But why have a scouting staff and general manager then? You have to trust your evaluation and make a pick.
The No. 1 pick has a lot of drawbacks these days, but it still lets you pick whomever you want. To pass that up would be embarrassing, like you don’t have the confidence to make the pick.
The point is, the system should be set up to help the Lions. It’s not. And as the new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated, the rookie pay scale has got to be an issue. One of the members of the league’s working group of the labor situation knows that all too well. He’s Lions president Tom Lewand.
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Comments
Salaries are out of control in professional baseball, but not in professional football.
Cutler and his 4000 yards for a song and a dance. LOL Why doesn't Detroit do what they do every year, pick a WR at #1 and then
flush him down the toilet!
JS