The dumbest pick in the draft?

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Legend
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I will say one thing about the Cowboys draft....

If you aren't trying to make a splash, then you never will. Drafting Zeke and then to a greater extent of risk, the injured linebacker, is adding people that played at superstar levels. It may or may not pan out for them, but if you're gonna be "Americas Team", you better be trying something. And they are.
 

Wolfecola

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How does he help them beyond their strength. Does he play defense? Does he rush the passer? Does he tackle ball carriers?. No.....he pretty much does what the others guys did......but maybe a bit better.......But.... their defense still gives up 30 some odd points a game.
Wow.....I'd say you won me over w/ that bit a brillance...............:deadhorse:

Cowboys were 5th in PY/g last year and 17th in points allowed. However, they were 31st in points scored. Does Ramsey help their offense score points?

A single defensive back does not improve an entire team in the way a complete running back like Elliott can. You would think us Rams fans would know that first hand because of Gurley.

McFadden has completed a 16 game season only twice in his career; last season with the Cowboys, and his last season with the Raiders in which he had less than 200 carries. Elliott gives the Cowboys insurance, and takes pressure off of Romo if one of his running backs go down. It's really quite simple, and I don't need bits of sarcasm to further my point.
 

GabesHorn

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A player like Elliott helps the Cowboys more than a single defensive back would; a DB can only do so much. Ramsey went to the perfect team imo; Jaguars have an established front seven pretty much.

I love the Todd-father, but imo Elliott is a much more complete back than Gurley. Dude will make his money on third down in this league-- hold me to that.
Sorry but Gurley is in another league doing what he did from a Freshman at Georgia to what he did while still not close to being healthy behind our rookie O-Line Very early in the season last year that his jersey and shoes from those games reside in the Pro Football H.O.F. We have all seen the team Zeke Elliot ran behind. They almost broke the leagues record for most drafted. Elliot can pass block but IS NOT in the same zip code as Todd Gurley when we see him totally healthy this season. Just hope he stops those crazy hurdles he keeps making. Zeke is not a threat to score on each play RB. I'm gonna hold you too this each and every week of NFL football. Even behind that awesome OL they have assembled. Todd won't even suit up that first pre-season game we start off with the plow boys. Goff's gonna keep the ROY streak alive in L.A. Too. Elliot is good but not sure if he is Home Run good in the NFL. We got a bet. GO RAMS
 

Wolfecola

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Sorry but Gurley is in another league doing what he did from a Freshman at Georgia to what he did while still not close to being healthy behind our rookie O-Line Very early in the season last year that his jersey and shoes from those games reside in the Pro Football H.O.F. We have all seen the team Zeke Elliot ran behind. They almost broke the leagues record for most drafted. Elliot can pass block but IS NOT in the same zip code as Todd Gurley when we see him totally healthy this season. Just hope he stops those crazy hurdles he keeps making. Zeke is not a threat to score on each play RB. I'm gonna hold you too this each and every week of NFL football. Even behind that awesome OL they have assembled. Todd won't even suit up that first pre-season game we start off with the plow boys. Goff's gonna keep the ROY streak alive in L.A. Too. Elliot is good but not sure if he is Home Run good in the NFL. We got a bet. GO RAMS

You seem confused by the comment that Elliott is the more complete running back. Complete =/= better.
 

DaveFan'51

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I'm Sorry, there may have been some surprising picks in this years Draft. But to me the Dumbest one is The 49ers spending all those picks to move back up into the 1st round, for an OG! And one they could have had in the second !! JMHO
 

GabesHorn

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You seem confused by the comment that Elliott is the more complete running back. Complete =/= better.
Please enlighten me as best you can.besides being a better blocker to start with in the pros. Not Sure he holds that tittle anymore. I am confused by your comment , thus the response. Please help me understand complete in your book. Remember we had other issues we had to slowly work Todd into . We did'nt want any setbacks. I see more than complete. I see HOF talent from JUMP. Zeke Elliot I do not.
 

SAK11

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After review, I would say Dallas taking Elliot w/ the 4th pick. He is a great back and maybe he raises the bar over McFadden. But they already had added Alfred Morris which already was an upgrade......and then passed on what could be the best defensive player of the draft (not to mention an area of need for them.......) I mean I get the concept of adding a great back to a great line should produce great results. But they needed help on defense (and keeping Romo healthy if possible......)

In the short term McFadden and Morris could make a decent combo, but neither one is nearly as good as Elliot, and both are probably closing in on the end of the careers [Morris' numbers have got worse every year, McFadden's an obvious injury risk]. They needed a young RB going forward anyway so they took the opportunity to not wait until next year where they have no idea if they'll have the chance to grab a back nearly as good and complete as Elliot. He has stud potential and Dallas is a team that's at it's best with a workhorse back taking the pressure off of Romo and using that dominant o-line as they should. I don't see this as a bad pick at all, he could be an immediate star and should be one of the better RBs in the league going forward, especially in that situation. Seems to me they just took the best player available on their board. Gurley showed the impact a stud RB can have, even though most thought the Rams were fine going forward with Mason.

I'd go with the kicker as the worst pick, just can't justify taking a kicker in the 2nd.
 

Warner4Prez

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They've got their franchise QB, they're set at WR with V-Jax and Evans, three deep at RB with three viable starters and have a lot of hope for ASJ at TE.

On D, the have a very tight LB group, a top 5 DT, newly acquired help at the DE spot, a little shaky in the secondary though.

It's a team that has the makings of looking to outscore the opposition and snag some games late from the jaws of defeat. Do you put your eggs in the basket of a kicker that generate you points when you need them? Or throw a pick at the 8th or 9th CB off the board hoping he becomes a starter.

It may look stupid at first blush, but dig a bit deeper and it reads like a team confident in their plans and knowing what they need to succeed.
 

Mackeyser

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Their GM worked under Ted Thompson. The Packers draft QBs often. I actually love the strategy. Never know when it'll pan out. I think Cook was a steal at that point. And if he impresses on Sundays, they'll be able to flip him for a pick. Or if Carr goes down, they won't be screwed over.

Exactly... same reason I was mentioning about not devoting resources to developing Mannion in earnest. He's clearly an afterthought. Backups are most certainly NOT an afterthought for Ted Thompson...
 

Wolfecola

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Please enlighten me as best you can.besides being a better blocker to start with in the pros. Not Sure he holds that tittle anymore. I am confused by your comment , thus the response. Please help me understand complete in your book. Remember we had other issues we had to slowly work Todd into . We did'nt want any setbacks. I see more than complete. I see HOF talent from JUMP. Zeke Elliot I do not.

"Complete; adjective; having all the necessary or appropriate parts."

Further comparison of the running backs is moot, as it seems you've already made up your mind and refuse to look at things objectively.
 
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jrry32

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They've got their franchise QB, they're set at WR with V-Jax and Evans, three deep at RB with three viable starters and have a lot of hope for ASJ at TE.

On D, the have a very tight LB group, a top 5 DT, newly acquired help at the DE spot, a little shaky in the secondary though.

It's a team that has the makings of looking to outscore the opposition and snag some games late from the jaws of defeat. Do you put your eggs in the basket of a kicker that generate you points when you need them? Or throw a pick at the 8th or 9th CB off the board hoping he becomes a starter.

It may look stupid at first blush, but dig a bit deeper and it reads like a team confident in their plans and knowing what they need to succeed.

I throw a pick at the top player on my board and address my kicker problem with a veteran free agent and a late round pick/UDFA.

Dig a bit deeper and it makes no sense at all. Connor Barth hit 100% of his kicks inside 40 yards in 2015. And they were looking to replace him. That team still has plenty of holes.

It looks stupid at first blush, second blush, third blush, and whatever blush I am on now.
 

Warner4Prez

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I throw a pick at the top player on my board and address my kicker problem with a veteran free agent and a late round pick/UDFA.

Dig a bit deeper and it makes no sense at all. Connor Barth hit 100% of his kicks inside 40 yards in 2015. And they were looking to replace him. That team still has plenty of holes.

It looks stupid at first blush, second blush, third blush, and whatever blush I am on now.

He hit 82% last year. Missed games in 2014 and 2013 and hit another 84% in 2012. Not exactly the image of consistency for a position that demands it when the game is on the line.

Can you find a kicker in the 7th or as a UDFA? Sure. Can you find Tony Romo, Tom Brady and Kurt Warner around the same time as well? Sure. But do you want to roll the dice? Or would you rather get the guy that your people (whom you pay handsome salaries to) say is the best.
 

WvuIN02

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Pretty sure you wouldnt even see any recent SB winners who are not teams who won 23 games in 5 years take a luxury pick on a kicker. There's a reason the &*^% teams stay that way while the same teams have winning formulas.
 

jrry32

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He hit 82% last year. Missed games in 2014 and 2013 and hit another 84% in 2012. Not exactly the image of consistency for a position that demands it when the game is on the line.

Which is why they were looking to replace Barth. But he still hit 100% of his kicks inside 40 yards which is where Aguayo is automatic. Aguayo is NFL average outside 40 yards. Which is why Aguayo is terrible value in the 2nd. I already ran the numbers in this thread.

Barth went 23/28 last year with 17 of his attempts coming within 40 yards and 11 attempts outside of 40 yards. If you run Aguayo's numbers, he would have gone 25/28 if his averages held. That means the difference between Aguayo and a Kicker the Bucs were desperately trying to replace would have been 6 points. That's one TD.

That's not worth a 2nd round pick in my book.

Can you find a kicker in the 7th or as a UDFA? Sure. Can you find Tony Romo, Tom Brady and Kurt Warner around the same time as well? Sure. But do you want to roll the dice? Or would you rather get the guy that your people (whom you pay handsome salaries to) say is the best.

Come on man, don't make that comparison. Two QBs went in the top 2 picks. One kicker was drafted, period. It's not comparable. Teams draft kickers primarily in the late rounds or sign them in UDFA.

So yes, I'm going to "roll the dice."

In fact, here's how you roll the dice:
Draft Brad Craddock or Ross Martin
AND
Sign Shayne Graham

Have them compete. Winner is your new kicker.
 

RAMpage28

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He hit 82% last year. Missed games in 2014 and 2013 and hit another 84% in 2012. Not exactly the image of consistency for a position that demands it when the game is on the line.

Can you find a kicker in the 7th or as a UDFA? Sure. Can you find Tony Romo, Tom Brady and Kurt Warner around the same time as well? Sure. But do you want to roll the dice? Or would you rather get the guy that your people (whom you pay handsome salaries to) say is the best.

The difference between finding the next great QB vs the next great kicker is pretty big. Those late and udfa guys at QB are exceptions because most successful ones are drafted hugh. Kickers are not drafted high as is the value of the position. Most are lucky to get 6th round consideration.

So there are a lot of great kickers from late picks to UDFAs. You don't need to go up and secure a kicker often because there typically isn't a need to. Teams don't typically value them that high.

Not really an accurate comparison.
 

Warner4Prez

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The difference between finding the next great QB vs the next great kicker is pretty big. Those late and udfa guys at QB are exceptions because most successful ones are drafted hugh. Kickers are not drafted high as is the value of the position. Most are lucky to get 6th round consideration.

So there are a lot of great kickers from late picks to UDFAs. You don't need to go up and secure a kicker often because there typically isn't a need to. Teams don't typically value them that high.

Not really an accurate comparison.

Moreso just illustrating a point. There's always a great find, diamond in the rough UDFA or late round pick. Regardless of position. It doesn't make it a great strategy to hang your hat on.

Treating any position as something that can be fixed after the draft leaves you in a spot where you hope to have someone come in and challenge your kicker who made 66%.
 

jrry32

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Moreso just illustrating a point. There's always a great find, diamond in the rough UDFA or late round pick. Regardless of position. It doesn't make it a great strategy to hang your hat on.

Yes, it does make it a great strategy when that is exactly where kickers are drafted. Aguayo was the first kicker drafted before Round 4 in over a decade.

Treating any position as something that can be fixed after the draft leaves you in a spot where you hope to have someone come in and challenge your kicker who made 66%.

The Rams chose not to bring in real competition for Zuerlein. Because it isn't hard to find real competition. The Steelers signed Chris Boswell in OCTOBER (i.e. during the season) and he went on to hit 29 out of 32 FGs in 2015.(90.6%)

The Rams could have easily gone after Ross Martin or Brad Craddock or another good rookie kicker. Or they could have gone after a veteran kicker. They chose not to. Why? Because Fisher loves Zuerlein's incredible leg.
 

…..

Legend
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I don't get it...why the lengthy discussion on when to draft a kicker?

I draft my Fantasy Football kicker in the last round of every draft, every year, without fail.
 

jrry32

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I don't get it...why the lengthy discussion on when to draft a kicker?

I draft my Fantasy Football kicker in the last round of every draft, every year, without fail.

That is why you are the man, Dog. ;)