What does “Generational Talent” mean to you?

[rabidfireweasel]

I think one of the most overused phrases around draft time is “Generational Talent”. To me, the meaning should be self evident- you are All Decade team type player- one of the top 2-3 players at your position for a decade.

I started having this debate last year with local friends about Marvin Harrison Jr.- who was the generational talent flavor of the day. I was saying, I am not sure how much better he is than Odunze or Nabers. I don’t see a world where he is better than Jefferson or Chase. If he flourishes and equals Nakua or AJ Btown, that makes him a great player, but like the 3rd-5th best receiver in the league.

So, I can see looking at Travis Hunter and if you believe he can dominate on both sides of the ball- that would be generational. But I don’t see him as generational on offense or defense. Excellent, yes, but not generational. I think he is only generational if he excels on both sides.

I can see if you really think that Abdul Carter is like Micah Parsons or prime Von Miller, that is generational.

To me, if you think a QB prospect is generational, you should be slotting them between Mahomes and Allen/Lamar Jackson. Those are the current generational talents.
Matt Stafford is not and never was. Big Ben was not- he was behind Brady and Manning. Joe Burrow is not, to me. He is very good, but he does not stand above others in his generation. He is an All Pro talent- but not generational.

But, I realize, I might just be old and cranky. I ask you, wise Draft Forum, what does generational talent mean to you.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

To me, @manxman2601 is a generational talent.

 

[manxman2601]

It's not a phrase I like to use because it's so hard to identify. I doubt there was anyone calling Brady a generational talent when he was coming out of Michigan for example. I prefer to judge each draft on its own merit rather than comparing prospects to previous drafts (mainly because I don't have a grading system that stays the same for year to year). So take Abdul Carter. It doesn't really matter if he's generational or not. Is he the best pass rusher in the class? Will he help my team more than any other prospect? How well does his skillset translate to the NFL? Those are the questions I ask rather than how does he compare to previous pass rushers. I suppose the only time it's worth asking that question would be if you were considering trading up for him and whether the value in that is worth what you are having to give up.

 

[Dec54]

I think one of the most overused phrases around draft time is “Generational Talent”. To me, the meaning should be self evident- you are All Decade team type player- one of the top 2-3 players at your position for a decade.

I started having this debate last year with local friends about Marvin Harrison Jr.- who was the generational talent flavor of the day. I was saying, I am not sure how much better he is than Odunze or Nabers. I don’t see a world where he is better than Jefferson or Chase. If he flourishes and equals Nakua or AJ Btown, that makes him a great player, but like the 3rd-5th best receiver in the league.

So, I can see looking at Travis Hunter and if you believe he can dominate on both sides of the ball- that would be generational. But I don’t see him as generational on offense or defense. Excellent, yes, but not generational. I think he is only generational if he excels on both sides.

I can see if you really think that Abdul Carter is like Micah Parsons or prime Von Miller, that is generational.

To me, if you think a QB prospect is generational, you should be slotting them between Mahomes and Allen/Lamar Jackson. Those are the current generational talents.
Matt Stafford is not and never was. Big Ben was not- he was behind Brady and Manning. Joe Burrow is not, to me. He is very good, but he does not stand above others in his generation. He is an All Pro talent- but not generational.

But, I realize, I might just be old and cranky. I ask you, wise Draft Forum, what does generational talent mean to you.

The best of his peers in a generation (10 years) The best of the best as Will Smith remarked

 

[manxman2601]

To me, @manxman2601 is a generational talent.

Blush. You are too kind. Thank you.

Personally I think this forum is. No bickering like you see on the main forum, just a really good exchange of insights and thoughts where disagreement is respectful and thought provoking.

 

[Steve102]

I think one of the most overused phrases around draft time is “Generational Talent”. To me, the meaning should be self evident- you are All Decade team type player- one of the top 2-3 players at your position for a decade.

I started having this debate last year with local friends about Marvin Harrison Jr.- who was the generational talent flavor of the day. I was saying, I am not sure how much better he is than Odunze or Nabers. I don’t see a world where he is better than Jefferson or Chase. If he flourishes and equals Nakua or AJ Btown, that makes him a great player, but like the 3rd-5th best receiver in the league.

So, I can see looking at Travis Hunter and if you believe he can dominate on both sides of the ball- that would be generational. But I don’t see him as generational on offense or defense. Excellent, yes, but not generational. I think he is only generational if he excels on both sides.

I can see if you really think that Abdul Carter is like Micah Parsons or prime Von Miller, that is generational.

To me, if you think a QB prospect is generational, you should be slotting them between Mahomes and Allen/Lamar Jackson. Those are the current generational talents.
Matt Stafford is not and never was. Big Ben was not- he was behind Brady and Manning. Joe Burrow is not, to me. He is very good, but he does not stand above others in his generation. He is an All Pro talent- but not generational.

But, I realize, I might just be old and cranky. I ask you, wise Draft Forum, what does generational talent mean to you.

To me, generational talent means that the guy is an immediate impact player. Walks in your locker room and he's The Man, and everyone knows it. He's the guy that has to be accounted for on every play, regardless of which side of the ball he lines up on. Game changer. pro Bowl, All-pro, year in and year out, and if he's healthy enough throughout his career, destined for Canton.

I agree with your take on the WR position. Randy Moss was a generational player. The kid at Ohio State (Jeremiah Smith) might be, but it's way early. The other names you mention are really great players, but they aren't generational.

Those guys are once in a generation, and you know them when you see them.

Moss.
LT.
Deion.
Hog Hannah.

Maybe Gronk.

Truly special players.

 

[PatsFan2]

To me, generational talent means that the guy is an immediate impact player. Walks in your locker room and he's The Man, and everyone knows it. He's the guy that has to be accounted for on every play, regardless of which side of the ball he lines up on. Game changer. pro Bowl, All-pro, year in and year out, and if he's healthy enough throughout his career, destined for Canton.

I agree with your take on the WR position. Randy Moss was a generational player. The kid at Ohio State (Jeremiah Smith) might be, but it's way early. The other names you mention are really great players, but they aren't generational.

Those guys are once in a generation, and you know them when you see them.

Moss.
LT.
Deion.
Hog Hannah.

Maybe Gronk.

Truly special players.

Travis Kelce says hello.

 

[Steve102]

Travis Kelce says hello.

Hmmm. No. He's really good, but Gronk was a different breed of player.... and Gronk was a maybe at that. I am not taking anything away from the player, he's a first ballot HoFer. I just want to separate what generation means to me. A guy like Bo Jackson. Things that made you go OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhh when they do them. John Riggins trucking guys in the Super Bowl. Earl Campbell running dudes over. Barry Sanders breaking ankles. Gronk has some plays like that in his resume. Randy Moss has a 1TB hard drive full of 'em. Truly special players.

 

[Dec54]

To me, generational talent means that the guy is an immediate impact player. Walks in your locker room and he's The Man, and everyone knows it. He's the guy that has to be accounted for on every play, regardless of which side of the ball he lines up on. Game changer. pro Bowl, All-pro, year in and year out, and if he's healthy enough throughout his career, destined for Canton.

I agree with your take on the WR position. Randy Moss was a generational player. The kid at Ohio State (Jeremiah Smith) might be, but it's way early. The other names you mention are really great players, but they aren't generational.

Those guys are once in a generation, and you know them when you see them.

Moss.
LT.
Deion.
Hog Hannah.

Maybe Gronk.

Truly special players.

LT truly generational. Not sure about Deion

 

[bakes781]

You know who was labeled a generational talent?

 

[manxman2601]

Was Andrew Luck a generational talent? I would say yes. Obviously it didn't work out that way but he was projected to be the next great QB.

 

[manxman2601]

Don't forget, this thread is about how they are projected, not what they turned out to be. I would also add that I think you're just as likely to fail to identify a generational talent than you are to correctly identify one. See Aaron Donald.

 

[Steve102]

LT truly generational. Not sure about Deion

He was, he was just a little contact averse.

 

[borg]

..

 

[RobertWeathers]

Was Tom Brady a generational talent? How is he different than Lawrence Taylor? Randy Moss?

Discuss.

 

[NashuaPats]

What about “blue chip talent”? Or blue chip vs generational talent? I think of blue chip prospects as players who will most likely become all pro or near all pro players.

I think a generational talent may come across every few years (as there are many positions.) while there are about a half dozen blue chips each year.

In this draft, I think Hunter could be considered generational because of his two way play, but I don’t think he’ll do it full time in the NFL.

I think, from what I’ve read, five players in this draft could be considered blue chip. Hunter, Carter, Graham, Johnson, and Jeanty.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

In the context of draft discussions, I take it to mean someone who's prospect profile and NFL projection is at such a high level that only comes around. The type of guy where if you have the #1 pick it means a trade isn't even an on the table option.

 

[manxman2601]

In the context of draft discussions, I take it to mean someone who's prospect profile and NFL projection is at such a high level that only comes around. The type of guy where if you have the #1 pick it means a trade isn't even an on the table option.

And is someone you'd want to trade up for.

 

[Steve102]

Was Tom Brady a generational talent? How is he different than Lawrence Taylor? Randy Moss?

Discuss.

Coming out? Nope.

The difference is, IMO, purely athleticism. Guys that are labeled generational are so much better than their peers.

I don't think we can really grasp how gifted these guys are, just at the NFL level alone. A guy who's the 52nd or 53rd man on the roster is still a gifted athlete, but he's not at the level of the #1 guy on that team, and that #1 guy on the team is not as gifted as the truly generational guy.

Tom Brady is the shining example of what hard work can get you, but he wasn't the best, most gifted guy coming out. He became that later on, thru incredibly hard work, extreme focus on his craft AND superior coaching.

 

[manxman2601]

Coming out? Nope.

The difference is, IMO, purely athleticism. Guys that are labeled generational are so much better than their peers.

It's more than athleticism, it has to be athleticism + something. Aaron Donald was very athletic but had the production to back it up. There are productive people without the athleticism, just as there are athletic people without the production that fail. I'd also add that size/weight can also be factors to differentiate the great from the not so great - see Gronk or Calvin Johnson. you need at least two of the three (athleticism/production/size-weight) to have a chance at being 'generational' and preferably all three.

Edit: Also work ethic.