Still want a top five draft pick? After sitting out 12 practices Currry is in the fold signing a $34 million dollar contract. Where would that contract rank him in the Patriots line-up? That needs to change, players making that jack who have never played a down.
There are different camps on rookie salary:
one camp believes in pre-emptive locking up top talents that solidify a key position for the next decade with top of the line money. The deals with Jake Long, Matt Ryan, and Rivers, E. Manning would fall in this category.
The other camp takes a more cautious approach- let a player prove they are a one-in-a-decade talent before committing the big $s. And expect to pay more as the market rates go up.
In my view pats are in the second camp. The deals are more incentive ladened and less guaranteed $s; this is fair to the player and protects the franchise in case the player does not work out.
The high % of missings and high $s in the top 10 draft slots make it full of perils for all NFL franchises to navigate. It is probably where the winners and losers are sorted out. Maybe SEA will work out but the odds are against it.
Smart teams pay top dollars where the talent is scarce; and pay medium $s where the talent is abundant; and pick and choose which positions you want top of line talent (say QB, DE, LT) and which positions you can get by with medium talent (say RB, TE, CB, S, OL).
