Will Borland/Coffee/Lattimore/Jenkins etc.. change Baalke's draft strategy?

Baalke has been known for, and at times successfully, taking chances in the draft with guys who were undervalued for various reasons.

Injuries, size, questions on character/commitment, changing positions, etc..

Aside from the normal hit/miss of ANY player in the draft, we have seen several players over the last few years (most notably Coffee, Lattimore and now Borland), basically opt out of the NFL for personal or injury reasons. Others, like Jenkins, have just been what most expected, which was a bust because he didn't have the physical tools or the drive/toughness to compete in the NFL. But Baalke saw something he liked that ran counter to the general opinion.

Do you think seeing these players either fail or bail on the NFL will change Baalke's willingness to take chances on these types of players or is this just one more factor in the myriad of reasons a player may or may not make it in the NFL? Plenty of "studs' with all the talent and drive and measurables in the world don't pan out as well.

Does any of this make Baalke go more traditional in his approach? Or do you think he will still take chances on guys he like with various question marks?

At this point the only thing I would change is the idea of going after red-shirt ACL players. We no longer have the luxury of taking guys who don't need to play.

Originally posted by jreff22:
At this point the only thing I would change is the idea of going after red-shirt ACL players. We no longer have the luxury of taking guys who don't need to play.

This

Baalke didn't draft Coffee.

Every player has his own issue like you said, if not they would all be top 10 picks. Baalke has had a ton of draft picks the past couple years and has been able to take a chance on a player like Lattimore or Borland. Who knew Borland would retire after one season?? He clearly had a ton of talent and that's all I want Baalke to keep doing.... keep drafting talent.

I believe Baalke and his current scouting department are one of the best in the league at finding talent and that's one of the reasons we will remain a good team.

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Baalke didn't draft Coffee.

Every player has his own issue like you said, if not they would all be top 10 picks. Baalke has had a ton of draft picks the past couple years and has been able to take a chance on a player like Lattimore or Borland. Who knew Borland would retire after one season?? He clearly had a ton of talent and that's all I want Baalke to keep doing.... keep drafting talent.

I believe Baalke and his current scouting department are one of the best in the league at finding talent and that's one of the reasons we will remain a good team.

I know Baalke didn't draft Coffee, but he has seen the effect his players making such a decision first hand. And as to the bolded above apparently Borland and his family knew it all along. That raises the question of if we asked how committed he was. Either we didn't ask the right questions to learn how he really felt or he lied about it if we did.

So that's the question. Does a player with maybe more talent, but some other question mark (injury, desire, character, size, etc...) get as much consideration as they have in the past. Or does he go with "safer" players.

Herm Edwards is a big fan of saying "The most important ability is AVAILABILITY." If the questions marks, particularly injury or dedication to football, raise the issue of if they will be on the field at all, let alone be good enough to succeed long term, does that trump all the "potential" in the world? A less talented guy on the field is worth more than two more talented guys in street clothes.

The randomness of it all would lead me to believe he's going to keep doing what he's always done, take chances on what he considers great talent. Nobody could've foreseen Coffee or Borland's early retirement; it's just not something you can evaluate for with any degree of certainty. AJJ, like many 1st round picks in the past and in the future, just didn't pan out...not much else to say there.

In terms of guys that were injured pre-draft, Lattimore of course didn't pan out but Tank and Dial are set to play important roles this year, and we could also see contributions from Thomas, Millard, Ramsey and Reaser. Now, if none of these guys work out he may have to change his approach or he may be out of work.

But in general, I can't see him making any major changes to his strategy based on recent events.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
The randomness of it all would lead me to believe he's going to keep doing what he's always done, take chances on what he considers great talent. Nobody could've foreseen Coffee or Borland's early retirement; it's just not something you can evaluate for with any degree of certainty. AJJ, like many 1st round picks in the past and in the future, just didn't pan out...not much else to say there.

In terms of guys that were injured pre-draft, Lattimore of course didn't pan out but Tank and Dial are set to play important roles this year, and we could also see contributions from Thomas, Millard, Ramsey and Reaser. Now, if none of these guys work out he may have to change his approach or he may be out of work.

But in general, I can't see him making any major changes to his strategy based on recent events.

If these 2 picks work out the O might just be ok

For example. When I was doing my mock draft I was looking at OG prospects in the mid to later rounds.

One that stuck out to me was Jarvis Harrison, G Texas A&M. Good looking prospect in many ways. Super talented and athletic. But scouting reports say his real love is basketball and they question his work ethic and dedication to football.

He's probably a 5th/6th rounder. Do you take a guy like that with more talent than most other available in the 5th or later? Or go with someone who might not be as talented, but is all in to play in the NFL?

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:

Originally posted by jreff22:
At this point the only thing I would change is the idea of going after red-shirt ACL players. We no longer have the luxury of taking guys who don't need to play.

This

May be day 3 of the draft but they need some guys that can suit up and play.

Originally posted by TexasNiner:
For example. When I was doing my mock draft I was looking at OG prospects in the mid to later rounds.

One that stuck out to me was Jarvis Harrison, G Texas A&M. Good looking prospect in many ways. Super talented and athletic. But scouting reports say his real love is basketball and they question his work ethic and dedication to football.

He's probably a 5th/6th rounder. Do you take a guy like that with more talent than most other available in the 5th or later? Or go with someone who might not be as talented, but is all in to play in the NFL?

I wouldn't, just take him off the board and don't think about him.

Originally posted by TexasNiner:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Baalke didn't draft Coffee.

Every player has his own issue like you said, if not they would all be top 10 picks. Baalke has had a ton of draft picks the past couple years and has been able to take a chance on a player like Lattimore or Borland. Who knew Borland would retire after one season?? He clearly had a ton of talent and that's all I want Baalke to keep doing.... keep drafting talent.

I believe Baalke and his current scouting department are one of the best in the league at finding talent and that's one of the reasons we will remain a good team.

I know Baalke didn't draft Coffee, but he has seen the effect his players making such a decision first hand. And as to the bolded above apparently Borland and his family knew it all along. That raises the question of if we asked how committed he was. Either we didn't ask the right questions to learn how he really felt or he lied about it if we did.

So that's the question. Does a player with maybe more talent, but some other question mark (injury, desire, character, size, etc...) get as much consideration as they have in the past. Or does he go with "safer" players.

Herm Edwards is a big fan of saying "The most important ability is AVAILABILITY." If the questions marks, particularly injury or dedication to football, raise the issue of if they will be on the field at all, let alone be good enough to succeed long term, does that trump all the "potential" in the world? A less talented guy on the field is worth more than two more talented guys in street clothes.

Okay so not sure why you included Coffee then? Trent wasn't the GM to make the decision on drafting him.... As far as Borland's family knew it would be his 1st and last season, why would any team draft him in any round if they actually knew he would be available for only one year??

I been hearing people talk about Borland on the radio all day and one thing that everyone keeps saying is his desire and character were never question marks. He loved the game and played it at 100% all the time. This retirement came out of right-field and our FO had zero idea he was gonna be one and done or they wouldn't have spent a 3rd rd pick.

I mean that was one of his positives was his dedication to football and the reason he wasn't higher was because of size/speed and injuries. So I don't really understand what your trying to get at....

There's a reason there are 7 rounds in a draft and players go higher/lower. You have to take in a ton of factors like position of need, ability, knowledge of game, red flags etc....if Latt came back to full health we wouldn't be discussing this. Borland looked like a home run draft pick but felt the game wasn't worth the long-term problems it brings, good teams take chances and win some (Lynch) and lose some (lattimore).

I love the way Baalke approaches the draft and hope he keeps getting good talent.

Borland and Coffee was more of a surprise. Baalke knew the risks of drafting lattimore.

Originally posted by gold49digger:
Borland and Coffee was more of a surprise. Baalke knew the risks of drafting lattimore.

This....even though Baalke had zero to do with Coffee, Borland was a solid pick in the 3rd and we all saw his talent last year. There is absolutely no way Trent could have known that he would have retired after a season lol. He values his draft picks too much to use a 3rd on a one and done player.

I bet Borland was insured. If you can play one season, make some nice money for a kid coming out of college, and then cash in on a insurance policy and live off investing that money for the rest of your life without the health concern... why wouldn't you? I think we are about to start seeing more players cutting their careers short. Paying 1-5 years max and hanging it up. Hopefully this forces players to be more educated with their money and preparation they take towards the game.

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Baalke didn't draft Coffee.

Every player has his own issue like you said, if not they would all be top 10 picks. Baalke has had a ton of draft picks the past couple years and has been able to take a chance on a player like Lattimore or Borland. Who knew Borland would retire after one season?? He clearly had a ton of talent and that's all I want Baalke to keep doing.... keep drafting talent.

I believe Baalke and his current scouting department are one of the best in the league at finding talent and that's one of the reasons we will remain a good team.

Can we once and for all come to the realization that Trent Baalke was the head of college scouting for our drafts well before he was the GM...

Everyone is always saying "This player was drafted before Baalke was GM", or "That was McCloughan's pick". Trent Baalke has been in charge of scouting the college ranks for our drafts since 2008. Every player we have taken since the 2008 draft was probably at least highly recommended by Baalke.