Diana Russini in The Athletic - draft and tanking idea

[gonzo1105]

I mean they should just do a lottery like the NBA and NHL does. Just make the percentages tighter and only do like the top 7 teams instead of all non playoff teams. 

[Albany,n.y.]

12 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

I mean they should just do a lottery like the NBA and NHL does. Just make the percentages tighter and only do like the top 7 teams instead of all non playoff teams. 

It should consist of teams that have never won a Super Bowl instead of going by that year's standings. 👿

[HOUSE]

Suck for Luck, remember that?

He got bored and retired

[Since1981]

How about we have a GM stop arguing with fans about getting a W1 or W2 and just freakin win with the LEAGUE MVP THROWER?!

[Governor]

23 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Agree. The Browns tanked once the year they ended up taking Garrett. They weren't trying to tank the next year they were just so bad they go Baker anyway. 

 

The last few years we have had the Browns (Garrett and Baker), the Jags (Lawrence and Walker) and now likely the Titans (Ward and ??) end up with back to back #1 picks. It is no guarantee at all that you get good.

 

That uncertainty lf the draf and the physicality of the game (meaning it is really hard to tell guys putting their bodies on the line not to try) means that intentional full tanks are rare and I don't see it increasing any time soon.

 

 

The last true and blatant complete season tank I can remember was the Colts to get Andrew Luck. There were a couple games near the end where it was “all eyes on the colts” because they were in danger of winning. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Governor

[dorquemada]

On 11/23/2025 at 8:36 AM, Sojourner said:

If you’re tanking with a QB like Josh, you don’t deserve his services lol

 

If he’s injured and out for the season, sure. Go ahead. 

 

Good news is, without Josh, this is a zero win team so it wouldn't be tanking, per se, it would be the natural outcome of a terribly built roster and Bozo T. Clown level coaching staff

[GunnerBill]

11 minutes ago, Governor said:

The last true and blatant complete season tank I can remember was the Colts to get Andrew Luck.

 

The Cleveland 1-15 came after that and was definitely a tank. They even traded cap room for a pick remember allowing the Texans to essentially dump Osweiler's contract onto their salary cap for the cost of a 2nd round pick. That is the definition of a team trying not to win. But agree the Colts tanked for Luck too. 

 

They are the only two genuine tanks I can recall.

[Mr. WEO]

if tanking in the NFL was a real thing, this would be an interesting solution

[dave mcbride]

49 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

The Cleveland 1-15 came after that and was definitely a tank. They even traded cap room for a pick remember allowing the Texans to essentially dump Osweiler's contract onto their salary cap for the cost of a 2nd round pick. That is the definition of a team trying not to win. But agree the Colts tanked for Luck too. 

 

They are the only two genuine tanks I can recall.

The Jets may well get the number one pick in 2026, and they are arguably tanking right now. They traded their two best defensive players and benched their QB. I am not sure Fields is better than Taylor, but he is capable of a big offensive game in one out of every 4-5 games. I wouldn’t say that about Tyrod at this point.

 

Also, circle the date: December 21. That’s this year’s tank bowl, with the Jets traveling to New Orleans.

Edited 2 hours ago by dave mcbride

[GunnerBill]

7 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

The Jets may well get the number one pick in 2026, and they are arguably tanking right now. They traded their two best defensive players and benched their QB. I am not sure Fields is better than Taylor, but he is capable of a big offensive game in one out of every 4-5 games. I wouldn’t say that about Tyrod at this point.

 

Also, circle the date: December 21. That’s this year’s tank bowl, with the Jets traveling to New Orleans.

 

Yea I suppose I differentiate the "we suck" by mid season tank from the more intentional tank from the start. In the Jets position now you should absolutely be trying to lose.

[gonzo1105]

12 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

The Jets may well get the number one pick in 2026, and they are arguably tanking right now. They traded their two best defensive players and benched their QB. I am not sure Fields is better than Taylor, but he is capable of a big offensive game in one out of every 4-5 games. I wouldn’t say that about Tyrod at this point.

 

Also, circle the date: December 21. That’s this year’s tank bowl, with the Jets traveling to New Orleans.

I actually disagree that the Jets are tanking. Yes they got rid of two of their best players, I get that. They are honestly doing what the Bills did when they first got there. Glenn is trying to shift the culture of the team. He is trying to win games still in my opinion and I think Tyrod was an indicator of that as he is a better but still not great option to Fields 

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

I think this would be a terrible idea. 

 

1) Tanking is NOT a big issue in the NFL. There's only a few examples of teams tanking an entire season in the past 20+ years (IE Colts for Luck or Browns for Garrett). There's been any number of janky final games of the season like our game vs Pats last year, but I don't see how this proposal would help that. 

 

2) This would make tanking MORE blatant. Teams would be in a desperate scramble to make it to the minimum number of wins to keep their pick, and as soon as they reached it they would trade/bench everyone to ensure they don't win any additional games. 

 

3) Any team that loses what would've been an early 1st round pick is going to be severely crippled going forward. Can you imagine being a fan of a team that can't make it to the minimum number of wins and then loses their 1st round pick? That team would lose all it's fans in a few years and fold...

[MJS]

20 hours ago, Puckman5 said:

I'm not suggesting tanking, ever, but I disagree that the draft "works".  Bad teams shouldn't keeping getting high picks year after year until they're competitive.  Moving through the draft gives teams the opportunity to address different needs in different years.  If you have people making poor draft decisions, they need to go or the organization can dwell in the basement.  Just like I don't think the sabres should be rewarded for their perpetual suckitude.  Don't allow a stream of high picks go to teams that have proven they're likely to mismanage them.  It's not good for the league or the player.  

Why? The league benefits by bad teams getting better. Fans get more invested that way and have more hope for their teams.

 

The players get paid handsomely to go play football for the team that drafts them. It's up to them to make the most of it.

[Buffalo Ballin]

16 hours ago, HOUSE said:

Suck for Luck, remember that?

He got bored and retired

I can picture House saying this to Cuddy or Wilson.

 

Love the show. Huge fan. Knew it was unlike any other medical show I've seen.

 

 

There's actually no point in tanking in the NFL. Zero.

 

No ONE singular player changes the franchise odds unless this is the NBA. It's really about culture. That starts with GM and Coach.

[Puckman5]

25 minutes ago, MJS said:

Why? The league benefits by bad teams getting better. Fans get more invested that way and have more hope for their teams.

 

The players get paid handsomely to go play football for the team that drafts them. It's up to them to make the most of it.

You're still constantly giving bad teams better players. Too many stay bad until management or coaches change.  Give every team the same shot at a acquiring talent.  Make poor decisions, get poor results.  If you can't develop your players and provide them with poor coaching, you'll still stink.  You don't give a homeless drunk a Ferrari every year because he's down on his luck and it's somehow better for society.  Give everyone an equal shot at the talent pool. I'm not even sure it would benefit the Bills with some of their decision making, but it certainly stop feeding lower end talent to organizations that do it the right way.  

Edited 38 minutes ago by Puckman5