Overall draft strategy and free agency

[seabowl]

Overall free agency and draft strategy for top three rounds for the most part have been substandard. Yes I'm focusing on the negative here but there are more negative than positive IMO.

Green is a flat out bust. Even when healthy he was average to below at best.
Penny IMO was another Christine Michael soon after I saw him play for us. Bust.
Collier, hoping for a miracle but I just don't see star or close to star potential in him.
The signings of Mayowa and Irvin were more wishful thinking than anything.
McDowell, took a chance on a headcase and got burnt.
Brooks, decision still out.
Taylor, see McDowell. Not going to say he is a bust at all but the med staff should have known this.
Dunlap we'll see but not holding my hopes up for anything team changing with him. Yes I know we only gave up a 7th but it's not about the compensation but rather the sorely needed production.

It's like we either hit a homerun or strike out looking the last several years.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

My opinion:

Green is a flat out bust. Even when healthy he was average to below at best.

I don't have a problem with the Green pick. That's a decent flier pick at the point we made it. Green was a high ceiling/low floor player and was young.

Penny IMO was another Christine Michael soon after I saw him play for us. Bust.

Definitely agree. Horrible pick and decision. Better prospects later -- but indicative of our Needs based drafting that gets us into trouble.

Collier, hoping for a miracle but I just don't see star or close to star potential in him.

See Penny pick.

The signings of Mayowa and Irvin were more wishful thinking than anything.

It's an ok move. Wasn't terrible as a modest plan B kind of signing.

McDowell, took a chance on a headcase and got burnt.

See Penny/Collier. Maybe more of a Green type prospect but not one you burn 3 trades back on and take at the top of your draft.

Brooks, decision still out.

I disagree. You don't take an MLB in round one unless he's going to be special. Brooks isn't that. You get that kind of contributor in spades on day 2 of virtually every draft.

Taylor, see McDowell. Not going to say he is a bust at all but the med staff should have known this.

See Penny/Collier/McDowell. Needs based drafting at its very worst. I'm particularly salty because I felt strongly we should get Jeremy Chinn. A player who I felt would be the best defender in the draft at any position. Which half a season in, looks like he's on pace to achieving. One could easily argue that taking Taylor and not Chinn cost us ultimately McDougald, two first round picks and likely another starter who will either be cut or not resigned in order to retain Adams. If we had Chinn, we don't make the Adams trade. Or at least we don't before the season at that price.

Dunlap we'll see but not holding my hopes up for anything team changing with him. Yes I know we only gave up a 7th but it's not about the compensation but rather the sorely needed production.

Love the move for the cost. Ability to shed a bad contract and a 7th for someone that should contribute is a big win.

To me, as always, the common denominator has been the needs based forcing of picks year over year over year. We suck at that. I've spent enough time outlining why it's dumb. But in the intervening years since I've done that, we've duplicated it. Twice. With the predictable results. And thus we end up in a repeated cycle of "Addressing needs" instead of "Solving needs". Meanwhile allowing much better/more obvious solutions to next year's imminent needs pass by on the board. So the following year, we now have two needs. And so on and so forth.

Honestly, we've had some of our best results in trading up in the draft. Not down. Although the Barton trade up didn't work out. The DK Metcalf/Damien Lewis/Tyler Lockett trades up worked marvelously.

 

[seabowl]

Great point on Chinn. Without the Russell Wilson pick where would we have been the last 8 years with these players? Maybe the 2013 bowl but nowhere near the success. Average overall drafting with some strong home runs and many complete strikeouts

 

[Basis4day]

Taylor, see McDowell. Not going to say he is a bust at all but the med staff should have known this.

You are aware of the limitations that Covid placed on the medical evaluations this past year, correct?
Last spring it was very much up in the air if there was even going to be a 2020 season.

 

[seabowl]

Taylor, see McDowell. Not going to say he is a bust at all but the med staff should have known this.

You are aware of the limitations that Covid placed on the medical evaluations this past year, correct?
Last spring it was very much up in the air if there was even going to be a 2020 season.

Not buying it. They had all of his medical records and even in camp they thought he’d be good to go

 

[Basis4day]

Taylor, see McDowell. Not going to say he is a bust at all but the med staff should have known this.

You are aware of the limitations that Covid placed on the medical evaluations this past year, correct?
Last spring it was very much up in the air if there was even going to be a 2020 season.

Not buying it. They had all of his medical records and even in camp they thought he’d be good to go

The medical records said he had a titanium rod inserted into his leg in late January 2020 and the medical staff was barred from examining his recovery in person a month out from the draft. What did you expect them to find? It was reported he would need time to recover and again, it was unclear if there would even be a season so taking a player who openly needed time to heal from a major surgery made a lot of sense if the 2020 season was delayed or canceled.