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Take draft grades with a grain of salt


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I do not ever read draft grades and I don't understand why anyone would. Why would fans look for some sort of validation for their team's selections from people who, last I checked, had no sort of unique ability to see into the future?

 

Now, maybe if the oracles of Delphi were still around, or even Nostradamus - but, Mel Kiper?

 

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Edited by billsfan1959
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I have no interest in immediately-after-the-fact draft grades.

 

I mean like, DUH, the media draft pundits work on mock drafts for months. 

Then the teams, whose scouts and GM have actual accountability for how the players they recommend perform, show they have different valuations on those players.

 

What are the media draft pundits gonna do, say "hallelujah, I see the light now Brother, you're right I'm wrong"?

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does anyone have a link to consensus draft grades for the Bills? I find them fun to read ...their opinions are either here nor there at this point frankly we all know it is way too soon to judge accurately ... I just like reading a variety of perspectives...

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57 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

I have no interest in immediately-after-the-fact draft grades.

 

I mean like, DUH, the media draft pundits work on mock drafts for months. 

Then the teams, whose scouts and GM have actual accountability for how the players they recommend perform, show they have different valuations on those players.

 

What are the media draft pundits gonna do, say "hallelujah, I see the light now Brother, you're right I'm wrong"?

Haha! Absolutely right: Praise the teams who took the players you like and question the teams who took the players you don't like. Hmmmm....

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22 minutes ago, muppy said:

does anyone have a link to consensus draft grades for the Bills? I find them fun to read ...their opinions are either here nor there at this point frankly we all know it is way too soon to judge accurately ... I just like reading a variety of perspectives...

 

That would actually be interesting, but I don't know of one.

And because I thought "hmmm, I'd kind of be interested myself" I did Google.

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They are opinions based on a certain quantity of information.  Media pundits look at a certain amount of film, and measurables, all the stuff we know exists, and form opinions about player rankings before the draft.  They also look at team needs based on publically available information.  If a team picks a player hat's high in a pundit's rankin, and especially if that player fills a need that they perceive based on available information, the pick gets a good grade.  Teams generally have more information on prospects than do media pundits, becausse they also have access to the same info pudits obtain, puls they have a staff of scouts who watch more film, talk more directly with players and talke with past coaches, sometimes going all the way back into high school than pundits can afford to spend.  Sometimes teams have some ideas about how they are going to fill particular team needs that media pundits are unaware of.  Still there is an inescapeable subjective aspect to ranking players.  Sometimes the media pundits are right and team GMs are wrong.  It probably goes the other way more often though.

 

When I looked at the Bills draft picks, I saw the name of Ray Ray McCloud, did my pitiful little bit of research, and my thought was, "Why in the heck did they draft this kid?"  But in the end, all I can do is wait and see.  Maybe in their evaluations the team is looking at something others aren't seeing or weighting something as far more important than what the media thinks.  Ray Ray is versatile if nothing else.  Maybe that's more important to McDermott and company than we ever dreamed.  At the very least, he's got a cool name.  And if you don't like that you can call him "Highlander."

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