Offseason Post: Thoughts on the Draft...

Seemed like it was time. :)

BTW, adding my link again here to the ESPN and NFL Network coverage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CWK_cXUoNY

Before I get into the players, some thoughts on the draft strategy in general:

So much has been made of the Niners not addressing their "needs". They lost a bunch of players and they needed immediate starters, right? Well I think it's pretty obvious that the perceived needs of the team differed greatly between the media and fans and the team itself. I mean, "OMG, they lost BOTH starting corners, they lost 2 LBs, Frank Gore, Justin Smith might retire and Iupati and Crabtree left as FAs!! The world is ending and the Niners need to draft and hit on every pick at those positions where they lost players!!!". Right?

Wrong. That popular viewpoint that is earning the Niners horrible draft grades all over the country is based on a fallacy. Its based on the impression that the Niners desperately needed to find replacements for all of those lost free agents. The truth? In many cases, they already had. They are untested for sure and time will tell if they are adequate replacements, but outside of Borland, they didn't lose a single player they didn't EXPECT to lose this year or in the near future. Willis was something of a surprise, but they knew it was coming at some point and was a big reason they selected Borland in the first place.

Lost Gore? Already drafted Hyde and Hunter.
Lost Iupati? Already drafted Martin and Thomas.
Lost Crabtree? Already drafted Patton and Ellington AND signed Torrey Smith.
Lost BOTH starting Corners (not really true to begin with...Brock was a starter)? Drafted Dontae Johnson, Kenneth Acker, and Keith Reaser last year.

All the complaining about Niners not taking immediate day 1 starters? Well, you are about to see why. They selected the above players KNOWING what was coming down the line. Would drafting a bunch of players at those positions with no guarantee that they are any better than the guys they took the last two years be the smart move what they have a whole NEW lost of players whom they may lose NEXT year.

Tell me if these positions sound familiar...

DE: Justin Smith retiring, Ray McDonald released.
SS: Antoine Bethea is 30.
OLB: Ahmad Brooks likely short for the Team.
TE: Vernon Davis likely in his final year
WR (and more specifically, big, strong, possession WR): Anquan Boldin possibly in final year
OG: Alex Boone in final year of contract.

Now look at those needs next year and compare them to the players they selected. Do ya see it? What I'm saying here is that the 49ers ARE drafting for positions of need. NEXT years need. That may drive some of you crazy, but you are failing to realize they've been doing this for a few years now and they ALREADY HAVE players they like who they drafted to fill the positions they EXPECTED to need help with this year. While people are all up in arms over drafting for future need, it IS the future now for those picks from years past. The frustration over this to me is just really short sighted and misses the entire point of their draft strategy from the beginning.

Are the players they selected last year for this years need and this year for next years need adequate replacements? Well that's an entirely different conversation, but does taking a CB in the 4th round address a need when they already took 3 guys last year that they like? Is adding a FOURTH guy to that mix smarter than addressing needs down the road?

One more thing. "Projects". I keep reading criticism of Niners taking projects. Well, 1) ALL college players are projects, 2) Just because a player is considered a project doesn't mean that he should not be taken fairly high if his ceiling is off the charts, 3) I'm reminded of a line from York about the coaches he wanted. "Teachers". That really stuck in my mind when Tomsula was hired along with his staff and they selected player after player with huge potential but with work to do.

On to the picks themselves...


1) Arik Armstead: "Project". Off the charts athleticism. I have to admit to not being stoked about the pick. I knew it was a very real possibility in the weeks leading up to the draft but I fell into the "I want a sexy pick" trap at 15. Truth be told, some of Niners best picks in round 1 have NOT been "sexy" picks. When they focus on the big guys up front, good things tend to happen. Joe Staley, Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati...all interior players drafting in first round. Staley was also a big project pick BTW. Peeps keep citing Kentwan Balmer. I think that's ludicrous. That's like saying Megatron was a bad pick because Detroit selected Mike Williams a previous year. Different players.

Kid has off the charts tools and even though he's a project, he actually has more experience at the position than most other players would coming in. It won't be a Tank Carradine transition. Tank was an edge rusher learning to player a completely different style. Armstead while he needs refinement, already knows the position.


2) Jaquiski Tartt: I have to admit, this one was a major WTF moment. Denzel Perryman was sitting there and I really thought he's be the pick...and they take a safety? Really? Now tho, while I still wish they'd found a way to take Perryman, I really like Tartt. As I stated above, it doesn't fill an immediate need, but I positional need aside, I really like the player. Bruiser who can run. Watching highlights I really like the way he closes on ball carriers. Seems to accelerate through the player. This went from being a major WTF to one of my favorite picks.


3) Eli Harold: Again...OLB? Seems they are stacked there. Another case of really liking the player, but not understanding immediately what they were doing. I think this was the pick where I was kinda starting to realize that they were looking at next years needs, not this years. Pretty obvious in retrospect. You can never have enough pass rushers. Seems a little light and skinny to me, but seems a great value in that spot.


4) Blake Bell: Reminds me a bit of Brent Jones and Gronk. No idea if he's close to the player eventually that either of those guys are, but that's really what my initial thoughts were after the pick.


5) Mike Davis: Shocker. Baalke took a RB. It's only 7 years in a row now that they've done so. :) Like the player. I like that he's a load and not a scat back. They have enough of that with Bush and Hunter. I like that they have 2 bruisers now.


6) DeAndre Smelter: Love this pick. They didn't need to look for a speed WR anymore. With Simpson and Smith on the roster, they need to be looking at a guy to take over for Anquan down the road. This guy is perfect. big, strong, compact, faster than you'd expect, and HUGE hands. Tremendous athlete. LOVE this pick.


7) Bradley Pinion: I must confess another major WTF moment when I saw this pick, but again...kinda makes sense. I've read peeps trippin' on Niners selecting a punter, but it seems people quickly forget that Andy Lee was a 6th round pick himself. He's also 32 and making 2.5 mil. The age for a punter not really an issue, but the money might be. That's a big savings AND he addresses two other issues....HUGE leg on kickoffs (which Dawson doesn't have anymore) and long FG attempts. Dude is a freakin' 6'5" and 230 lb monster of a punter.

I'm not sure I want to see Lee go as I think he's the best in the league, but this pick isn't nearly as preposterous as some peeps let on.


8) Ian Silberman: Around this point of the draft I must confess to having no clue what to say. Clearly OG is a need moving forward with Iupati gone and Boone likely to follow.


9) Trenton Brown: See above....tho 6'8", 355!?! I mean seriously? If nothing else that size piques my curiosity.


10) Rory "Busta" Anderson: Must admit I knew very little about him prior to the draft, but I'm sitting there watching his ESPN highlights and then listening to Kiper and McShay talk about him and I'm thinkin, "huh? He looks pretty damn good for a 7th round pick". I'm sure there are some holes there and they mentioned him not really being a blocker and bad some bad drops...but couldn't we say the same about Delanie Walker coming in? Just sayin'.

Nice take, Marvin. Good points about drafting for the future. I like how you listed the expected departures and who was drafted. I agree with many of the assessments listed above. I was about to post this into the "are you happy" thread, but I'll put it here because I like the discussion in your threads.


I voted a weak 'no', but I'll defer to the 49ers scouting department. They have done a fine job at drafting defensive players and they went defense for the first three rounds, which I do like. I wanted a DLman in the 1st and was happy Baalke stayed true to his team building philosophy. I hate hearing reports that AArmstead is raw and has a questionable motor. I see this pick as having Tomsula's blessing and if there's one thing he knows, it's DLmen.

The Tartt pick was a head scratcher. I'm sure he's a good prospect, but why draft a third safety with Reid and Ward expected to man the positions in the near future? I know there is some convo about him being a nickel LB in the Tartt thread, but that's asking a lot out of him to do that. He's big for a DB, but he's still a DB. He isn't going make a living by taking on OL when they move to the second level as a nickel run defender. That's a lofty expectation. "He's our Kam Chancellor" - the 49ers do not run a defense like SEA so that doesn't mean much unless the 49ers will be overhauling their defensive coverage scheme. The 49ers, if Mangini continues to run a similar scheme to Fangio, require safeties that can man cover. This is why the Ward pick made so much sense last season. This is why the Tartt pick raises questions as to how they plan to use him. We can speculate all we want, but I won't believe that they want to run a Big Nickel (2CBs/3 safeties) look until I see it. The only way this pick fully pays off is if Reid retires early, or Ward stays at slot CB, or the 49ers start using a Big Nickel as their base personnel which is pretty mad scientist-ish (ask Mike Nolan).

The Harold pick was a BPA luxury pick. Highly rated player so the value is there, but OLB was pretty deep already. What does this mean for Lemon? Lemon was a 3rd rounder that the 49ers moved up to draft, which shows they really liked him. Are they giving up on him already? I like this pick, but he isn't getting playing time over Aldon/Brooks/Lynch unless he comes to ball. At 20 years old (not fully physically mature), I don't see him unseating any of those three guys. Even once he matures his body, say at 22-23 years old, he has to contend with Lynch and Aldon who look to have the edge rusher positions on lock. If Aldon goes off the deep end, then this pick suddenly becomes full of foresight.

The Bell pick should mean this is VD's last season as a 49er. Seems like a good athlete that Sparano can mold to his liking. Him and Vance can make a nice duo and the fact that the 49ers addressed the 2nd TE position leads me to believe that the 2TE set is alive and well in Geep's playbook. Either that or they are giving up on Vance, which I doubt.

So I gave it a 'No' vote because there were no picks that made me say "hell yeah", but I know that's what it's about. A bit disappointed that neither OL or ILB was addressed in the mid rounds. I would have liked to see a mid rounder push Pears for playing time, and Looney for a roster spot. Also would have liked an ILB to push any of the journeymen vet ILBs. I was fine with not taking a CB. As the theme of the offseason goes for me - keep an open mind. We'll see how it all translates, but I feel we won't know about these picks until 2016. Time to put the teacher hats on and get to work, coaches.

Originally posted by thl408:
Nice take, Marvin. Good points about drafting for the future. I like how you listed the expected departures and who was drafted. I agree with many of the assessments listed above. I was about to post this into the "are you happy" thread, but I'll put it here because I like the discussion in your threads.


I voted a weak 'no', but I'll defer to the 49ers scouting department. They have done a fine job at drafting defensive players and they went defense for the first three rounds, which I do like. I wanted a DLman in the 1st and was happy Baalke stayed true to his team building philosophy. I hate hearing reports that AArmstead is raw and has a questionable motor. I see this pick as having Tomsula's blessing and if there's one thing he knows, it's DLmen.

The Tartt pick was a head scratcher. I'm sure he's a good prospect, but why draft a third safety with Reid and Ward expected to man the positions in the near future? I know there is some convo about him being a nickel LB in the Tartt thread, but that's asking a lot out of him to do that. He's big for a DB, but he's still a DB. He isn't going make a living by taking on OL when they move to the second level as a nickel run defender. That's a lofty expectation. "He's our Kam Chancellor" - the 49ers do not run a defense like SEA so that doesn't mean much unless the 49ers will be overhauling their defensive coverage scheme. The 49ers, if Mangini continues to run a similar scheme to Fangio, require safeties that can man cover. This is why the Ward pick made so much sense last season. This is why the Tartt pick raises questions as to how they plan to use him. We can speculate all we want, but I won't believe that they want to run a Big Nickel (2CBs/3 safeties) look until I see it. The only way this pick fully pays off is if Reid retires early, or Ward stays at slot CB, or the 49ers start using a Big Nickel as their base personnel which is pretty mad scientist-ish (ask Mike Nolan).

The Harold pick was a BPA luxury pick. Highly rated player so the value is there, but OLB was pretty deep already. What does this mean for Lemon? Lemon was a 3rd rounder that the 49ers moved up to draft, which shows they really liked him. Are they giving up on him already? I like this pick, but he isn't getting playing time over Aldon/Brooks/Lynch unless he comes to ball. At 20 years old (not fully physically mature), I don't see him unseating any of those three guys. Even once he matures his body, say at 22-23 years old, he has to contend with Lynch and Aldon who look to have the edge rusher positions on lock. If Aldon goes off the deep end, then this pick suddenly becomes full of foresight.

The Bell pick should mean this is VD's last season as a 49er. Seems like a good athlete that Sparano can mold to his liking. Him and Vance can make a nice duo and the fact that the 49ers addressed the 2nd TE position leads me to believe that the 2TE set is alive and well in Geep's playbook. Either that or they are giving up on Vance, which I doubt.

So I gave it a 'No' vote because there were no picks that made me say "hell yeah", but I know that's what it's about. A bit disappointed that neither OL or ILB was addressed in the mid rounds. I would have liked to see a mid rounder push Pears for playing time, and Looney for a roster spot. Also would have liked an ILB to push any of the journeymen vet ILBs. I was fine with not taking a CB. As the theme of the offseason goes for me - keep an open mind. We'll see how it all translates, but I feel we won't know about these picks until 2016. Time to put the teacher hats on and get to work, coaches.

Just a note on something you touched on with Tartt...I recall reading somewhere that they planned to stick with the same defense in terms of the front 7 but that they wanted to revamp the way the secondary played.

For what it's worth...

Originally posted by Marvin49:
Seemed like it was time. :)

BTW, adding my link again here to the ESPN and NFL Network coverage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CWK_cXUoNY

Before I get into the players, some thoughts on the draft strategy in general:

So much has been made of the Niners not addressing their "needs". They lost a bunch of players and they needed immediate starters, right? Well I think it's pretty obvious that the perceived needs of the team differed greatly between the media and fans and the team itself. I mean, "OMG, they lost BOTH starting corners, they lost 2 LBs, Frank Gore, Justin Smith might retire and Iupati and Crabtree left as FAs!! The world is ending and the Niners need to draft and hit on every pick at those positions where they lost players!!!". Right?

Wrong. That popular viewpoint that is earning the Niners horrible draft grades all over the country is based on a fallacy. Its based on the impression that the Niners desperately needed to find replacements for all of those lost free agents. The truth? In many cases, they already had. They are untested for sure and time will tell if they are adequate replacements, but outside of Borland, they didn't lose a single player they didn't EXPECT to lose this year or in the near future. Willis was something of a surprise, but they knew it was coming at some point and was a big reason they selected Borland in the first place.

Lost Gore? Already drafted Hyde and Hunter.
Lost Iupati? Already drafted Martin and Thomas.
Lost Crabtree? Already drafted Patton and Ellington AND signed Torrey Smith.
Lost BOTH starting Corners (not really true to begin with...Brock was a starter)? Drafted Dontae Johnson, Kenneth Acker, and Keith Reaser last year.

All the complaining about Niners not taking immediate day 1 starters? Well, you are about to see why. They selected the above players KNOWING what was coming down the line. Would drafting a bunch of players at those positions with no guarantee that they are any better than the guys they took the last two years be the smart move what they have a whole NEW lost of players whom they may lose NEXT year.

Tell me if these positions sound familiar...

DE: Justin Smith retiring, Ray McDonald released.
SS: Antoine Bethea is 30.
OLB: Ahmad Brooks likely short for the Team.
TE: Vernon Davis likely in his final year
WR (and more specifically, big, strong, possession WR): Anquan Boldin possibly in final year
OG: Alex Boone in final year of contract.

Now look at those needs next year and compare them to the players they selected. Do ya see it? What I'm saying here is that the 49ers ARE drafting for positions of need. NEXT years need. That may drive some of you crazy, but you are failing to realize they've been doing this for a few years now and they ALREADY HAVE players they like who they drafted to fill the positions they EXPECTED to need help with this year. While people are all up in arms over drafting for future need, it IS the future now for those picks from years past. The frustration over this to me is just really short sighted and misses the entire point of their draft strategy from the beginning.

Are the players they selected last year for this years need and this year for next years need adequate replacements? Well that's an entirely different conversation, but does taking a CB in the 4th round address a need when they already took 3 guys last year that they like? Is adding a FOURTH guy to that mix smarter than addressing needs down the road?

One more thing. "Projects". I keep reading criticism of Niners taking projects. Well, 1) ALL college players are projects, 2) Just because a player is considered a project doesn't mean that he should not be taken fairly high if his ceiling is off the charts, 3) I'm reminded of a line from York about the coaches he wanted. "Teachers". That really stuck in my mind when Tomsula was hired along with his staff and they selected player after player with huge potential but with work to do.

On to the picks themselves...


1) Arik Armstead: "Project". Off the charts athleticism. I have to admit to not being stoked about the pick. I knew it was a very real possibility in the weeks leading up to the draft but I fell into the "I want a sexy pick" trap at 15. Truth be told, some of Niners best picks in round 1 have NOT been "sexy" picks. When they focus on the big guys up front, good things tend to happen. Joe Staley, Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati...all interior players drafting in first round. Staley was also a big project pick BTW. Peeps keep citing Kentwan Balmer. I think that's ludicrous. That's like saying Megatron was a bad pick because Detroit selected Mike Williams a previous year. Different players.

Kid has off the charts tools and even though he's a project, he actually has more experience at the position than most other players would coming in. It won't be a Tank Carradine transition. Tank was an edge rusher learning to player a completely different style. Armstead while he needs refinement, already knows the position.


2) Jaquiski Tartt: I have to admit, this one was a major WTF moment. Denzel Perryman was sitting there and I really thought he's be the pick...and they take a safety? Really? Now tho, while I still wish they'd found a way to take Perryman, I really like Tartt. As I stated above, it doesn't fill an immediate need, but I positional need aside, I really like the player. Bruiser who can run. Watching highlights I really like the way he closes on ball carriers. Seems to accelerate through the player. This went from being a major WTF to one of my favorite picks.


3) Eli Harold: Again...OLB? Seems they are stacked there. Another case of really liking the player, but not understanding immediately what they were doing. I think this was the pick where I was kinda starting to realize that they were looking at next years needs, not this years. Pretty obvious in retrospect. You can never have enough pass rushers. Seems a little light and skinny to me, but seems a great value in that spot.


4) Blake Bell: Reminds me a bit of Brent Jones and Gronk. No idea if he's close to the player eventually that either of those guys are, but that's really what my initial thoughts were after the pick.


5) Mike Davis: Shocker. Baalke took a RB. It's only 7 years in a row now that they've done so. :) Like the player. I like that he's a load and not a scat back. They have enough of that with Bush and Hunter. I like that they have 2 bruisers now.


6) DeAndre Smelter: Love this pick. They didn't need to look for a speed WR anymore. With Simpson and Smith on the roster, they need to be looking at a guy to take over for Anquan down the road. This guy is perfect. big, strong, compact, faster than you'd expect, and HUGE hands. Tremendous athlete. LOVE this pick.


7) Bradley Pinion: I must confess another major WTF moment when I saw this pick, but again...kinda makes sense. I've read peeps trippin' on Niners selecting a punter, but it seems people quickly forget that Andy Lee was a 6th round pick himself. He's also 32 and making 2.5 mil. The age for a punter not really an issue, but the money might be. That's a big savings AND he addresses two other issues....HUGE leg on kickoffs (which Dawson doesn't have anymore) and long FG attempts. Dude is a freakin' 6'5" and 230 lb monster of a punter.

I'm not sure I want to see Lee go as I think he's the best in the league, but this pick isn't nearly as preposterous as some peeps let on.


8) Ian Silberman: Around this point of the draft I must confess to having no clue what to say. Clearly OG is a need moving forward with Iupati gone and Boone likely to follow.


9) Trenton Brown: See above....tho 6'8", 355!?! I mean seriously? If nothing else that size piques my curiosity.


10) Rory "Busta" Anderson: Must admit I knew very little about him prior to the draft, but I'm sitting there watching his ESPN highlights and then listening to Kiper and McShay talk about him and I'm thinkin, "huh? He looks pretty damn good for a 7th round pick". I'm sure there are some holes there and they mentioned him not really being a blocker and bad some bad drops...but couldn't we say the same about Delanie Walker coming in? Just sayin'.

what if I told you that punter was the 11th ranked punter on cbs sports line dot com

what if I told you that OL was the 47 ranked OT on cbs sports line dot com

this draft doesn't make a lot of sense to me at all

Originally posted by SoCold:
what if I told you that punter was the 11th ranked punter on cbs sports line dot com

what if I told you that OL was the 47 ranked OT on cbs sports line dot com

this draft doesn't make a lot of sense to me at all

I'd tell you it doesn't matter how CBS ranked them because they aren't scouts whose job it is to draft players for a living.

You are talking about a Tackle taken in 6th or 7th round. If they were taken in the 1st or second, I could see it.

Punter? So what? They liked THAT punter. We have no idea how the rest of the teams ranked him. Should also be noted that they KNEW they could get him a bit later so bounced down 15 picks or so, picked up a 7 and then parlayed a 7 into a 6 next year.

Ya know how every single year it looks like teams get steals in low rounds because guys are projected much higher? That because people take players projected lower BEFORE them.

Is the issue that the teams are stupid? Maybe, just maybe, its because teams rank players differently than media scout organizations.

Nice work Marv. But the disconnect between the team's regularly stated intention and the fans short term expectations may not be bridgeable right now.

Originally posted by Marvin49:
Just a note on something you touched on with Tartt...I recall reading somewhere that they planned to stick with the same defense in terms of the front 7 but that they wanted to revamp the way the secondary played.

For what it's worth...

If you can link me to where you read that I'd like to read that. Mangini comes from the school of pattern matching so I'd be very surprised if he didn't continue what Fangio and Donatell had going.

andy lee is pretty useless if you ask me, he's fallen off the last couple of years. he RARELY directional puns and pins teams inside the 10yd line, everything is a freaking touchback. This pinion kid apparently specializes in pinning teams deep in their territory, that's a weapon...something lee isn't anymore

From Round 1 to the last round, I woul say..

SOLID BACKUP this year, but I expect Tartt to takeover the SS position asap..

As usual, Baalke did things nobody predicted. I totally agree with Marvin that there were a few WTF moments, but when you looked closely, you could make sense of it all. The only player they took with an injury issue was Smelter, and I think he could be a great replacement for Boldin next season.

Great point by Marvin on the media and national perception of what the team's needs were. Tartt is a perfect example. That may have not looked right to the rest of the country, but if you've been paying attention, you know that Tartt is incredible insurance and a future starting safety who is as strong against the run as any linebacker. Harold might not make sense to the rest of the country, but if you been paying attention, he could be a great depth replacement for the underwhelming Cory Lemonier and even an eventual replacement for Aldon Smith if Smith doesn't rebound and get a lot better this year. Blake Bell could be the ultimate replacement for Walker that the team has been looking for since he left. Pinion makes no sense to the rest of the country unless they know that Andy Lee is very expensive and Dawson cannot seem to get a KO out of the end zone. Pinion could be a double-threat in the ST kicking game.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Marvin49:
Just a note on something you touched on with Tartt...I recall reading somewhere that they planned to stick with the same defense in terms of the front 7 but that they wanted to revamp the way the secondary played.

For what it's worth...

If you can link me to where you read that I'd like to read that. Mangini comes from the school of pattern matching so I'd be very surprised if he didn't continue what Fangio and Donatell had going.

I'll try, but it was some time ago. It also wasn't in depth and just a throwaway line that got my attention.

Originally posted by English:
Nice work Marv. But the disconnect between the team's regularly stated intention and the fans short term expectations may not be bridgeable right now.

Very True.

While I was disapponted with some of the picks, I think back to some of the past few drafts. The past two years, Baalke drafted players who were well known and getting great value to the point I couldnt believe the quality of players he was getting. So, with that I think maybe I was getting a little spoiled thinking he might be able to do the same this year. We, as fans, have become so much more educated on the process and players available in the draft, will always scratch our heads when a player is drafted that maybe was rated lower than draft sites have rated them. Maybe not what we wanted or expected but I think he has a plan that is always projecting a few years ahead. And while the draft itself wasnt as satisfying I am happy with many of the UDFA they signed.

OBTW....

Another thought I forgot to add...

The drafting of Tartt makes me wonder if Wards move to CB may be a permanent one...so add that to Johnson, Acker, and Reaser drafted last year.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

Originally posted by SoCold:
what if I told you that punter was the 11th ranked punter on cbs sports line dot com

what if I told you that OL was the 47 ranked OT on cbs sports line dot com

this draft doesn't make a lot of sense to me at all

I'd tell you it doesn't matter how CBS ranked them because they aren't scouts whose job it is to draft players for a living.

You are talking about a Tackle taken in 6th or 7th round. If they were taken in the 1st or second, I could see it.

Punter? So what? They liked THAT punter. We have no idea how the rest of the teams ranked him. Should also be noted that they KNEW they could get him a bit later so bounced down 15 picks or so, picked up a 7 and then parlayed a 7 into a 6 next year.

Ya know how every single year it looks like teams get steals in low rounds because guys are projected much higher? That because people take players projected lower BEFORE them.

Is the issue that the teams are stupid? Maybe, just maybe, its because teams rank players differently than media scout organizations.

Took the words right out of my mouth