Why was this year's draft so much better than last's?

[FredFromDartmouth]

Why was this years draft so much better? Was it because Elliot Wolf was able to install his grading system? Was it because of Vrabel (instead of Mayo who probably had no say in the draft)? Was it because Bob Kraft was not meddling? Was it Cowden? Of course they are not going to tell us, so we can only speculate.....

 

[Ring 6]

Why was this years draft so much better? Was it because Elliot Wolf was able to install his grading system? Was it because of Vrabel (instead of Mayo who probably had no say in the draft)? Was it because Bob Kraft was not meddling? Was it Cowden? Of course they are not going to tell us, so we can only speculate.....

It’s not yet.
A lot of people liked last years draft the day after.
Ultimately drafts are considered good if he picks match the consensus, which isn’t necessarily a very good yardstick.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Are we the jet's now ... winning the off season

 

[maust]

Jeez Fred, I know you need people reacting to you but there's honestly a pretty good discussion about this very subject here:

If this draft is the work of Eliot Wolf’s grading system then

 

[Patsfan1645]

I'm just here for the bump.

 

[PowerRunRevival]

The difference was that they filled all their needs, didn’t reach or draft a position after that position had a run.

Last year they tried to fill their needs but waited too long to draft a tackle picking Wallace at the end of an OT.

The difference could be Vrabel/Cowden or it could be as Wolf put it and that organization was better this year.

It also could have just been that they were luckier this year and the draft fell in the way they wanted (outside the top 3).

This is the best I’ve felt about a draft right after it happened that I can remember. That doesn’t mean it will turn out well. In the same vein last year looked like a bad draft outside of Maye, but that changes quickly if guys like Polk or Wallace have a bounce back season.

As of now we don’t have enough info on whether the draft was successful, but I sure wouldn’t mind having this positive feeling after every draft.

 

[KCSVEN]

Why was this years draft so much better? Was it because Elliot Wolf was able to install his grading system? Was it because of Vrabel (instead of Mayo who probably had no say in the draft)? Was it because Bob Kraft was not meddling? Was it Cowden? Of course they are not going to tell us, so we can only speculate.....

Mayo vs Vrabel. Simple as that.

Wolf has a good reputation as an evaluator of talent. The Patriots have been among the best in the NFL in rounds 4-6 where scouting comes into play the most.
Last year Wolf had to hold Mayo's hand, had to get him coaches thru his contacts, had to babysit him and teach him. This also led to Mayo having no clear direction to what type of players he wants.
Wolf also didn't have the clear title last year, he had never been in charge and then was not put clearly in charge, so nobody was really responsible for the whole process from free agency to the draft. Wolf had no experienced co-workers with any power to put them in any direction. I also think BB leaving the way he did left them with incomplete evaluations of their own players, so they falsely expected improvements.
They also seemed to ignore draft analytics and picked positions that are less likely to succeed at certain points out of need. They seemed to get desperate as they got at the end of the position runs and reached. They went for position over player but chose the wrong positions to fill at the point in the draft they were at.,
One of the worst teams in the NFL signed very few UDFA and now admit they were not properly prepared.
The whole process was amateur hour

Kraft has never really meddled so that's just not even worth discussing

This year was almost perfection. The draft was an analytical dream draft. They got ahead of the position runs, they picked guys lower than they were rated to go, they picked up a future pick. They aggressively and immediately signed UDFA's.

I don't know if the more analytical approach was part of Wolf's new rating system or more from Vrabel's team bringing it from the Browns but probably both.

Last year they passed on Ladd to draft Polk, analytically just based on separation stats that was dumb. If they were passing on Ladd they should have taken a OL not get desperate for a WR with data that says he will fail.

This year they got a Ladd McConkey equivalent in round 3. Kyle Williams is the anti-Polk. No way the same guys that picked Polk would pick Williams. They are opposites from a scouting perspective.
If you can figure out who was most responsible for the Williams pick, you'll get an idea who made this draft a much more successful one.
In the end it's Vrabel's guys with the clear idea of how to do things, the understanding of the draft ebbs and flows, combined with good scouting led by Wolf.

 

[203Pat]

Obviously we have no idea how this draft will pan out but on paper it definitely looks better because we have a coach with a vision. Last year Mayo didn't even have a fully baked coaching staff but voluntary mini-camps so it is hard to have a plan when you don't know what type of players you're looking for. Mayo was so far out of his depth and just about everything he did here has no real formula for success.

 

[Water Boy]

I think last year Wolf tried to fill positions of need with a lack of direction from coaching.

Probably saw Polk as more of a fit than LMC and hedged with a trade back to get Baker which was viewed as a good pick at the time.

In hindsight none of the late first round/second round tackles produced much other than Rosegarten so Wallace was really no different in that regard.

 

[patman52]

It’s not yet.
A lot of people liked last years draft the day after.
Ultimately drafts are considered good if he picks match the consensus, which isn’t necessarily a very good yardstick.

I dont think too many people liked the draft last year outside of the qb. I was excited about the day 3 picks and I thought Polk would be good, but Mitchell was wanted more.

 

[signbabybrady]

The phrase can't be worse comes to mind.

Maye aside obviously. And to be fair if Maye turns into what we hope then last year's draft was actually good.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

There's also a question of how much of last year's draft was leftover from Belichick's direction of the scouting department. How much of it was still set based on his influence?

Mayo likely never had as much influence in scouting as Belichick did. This would have left Wolf to basically do what he wanted last year.

 

[Rob0729]

We have no idea if this year will end up being better than last. We also do not know if some of last year's draft picks might redeem themselves now that they have good coaching and real system.

But last year Wolf was hamstrung by Belichick's antiquated scouting system. He did not believe in analytics like many of the more successful scouting teams like the Eagles. He also had a bare boned staff. Wolf has over the last year started to modernize the scouting system and bring in advanced statistics and analytics. Although by reports, they are still not done revamping the scouting department, they are much closer to where Wolf wants to be and where they need to be.

And obviously Vrabel makes a difference. I don't know if Mayo really knew what he wanted last year. He had a new staff and none of them really worked together anymore and I am not sure what the offense would be like had really formed. Now Vrabel has a lot of his own people and direction and McDaniels knows what his offense is and what he needs for skill sets.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Some drafts just seem to flow better than others, especially when you start off well. Taking the LT with the 1st pick let them sit back and take who fell to them rather than waste draft capital moving up. I really liked how they moved down twice to 95 for extra picks and still got their target Wilson. Also how they moved up to get Farmer just before a run on DT's.

I liked the Woodson pick even tho it wasn't that popular - it was at the appropriate time according to Jeremiah and it fit a need at FS. Swinson seems like a great pick at that slot, which they manufactured from the earlier trade down. The 6'7 320lb LT Bryant from Missouri in the 7th has flown under the radar but could be a great pick - he was good enough to keep Membou at RT.

 

[The Gr8est]

Mayo vs Vrabel. Simple as that.

Wolf has a good reputation as an evaluator of talent. The Patriots have been among the best in the NFL in rounds 4-6 where scouting comes into play the most.
Last year Wolf had to hold Mayo's hand, had to get him coaches thru his contacts, had to babysit him and teach him. This also led to Mayo having no clear direction to what type of players he wants.
Wolf also didn't have the clear title last year, he had never been in charge and then was not put clearly in charge, so nobody was really responsible for the whole process from free agency to the draft. Wolf had no experienced co-workers with any power to put them in any direction. I also think BB leaving the way he did left them with incomplete evaluations of their own players, so they falsely expected improvements.
They also seemed to ignore draft analytics and picked positions that are less likely to succeed at certain points out of need. They seemed to get desperate as they got at the end of the position runs and reached. They went for position over player but chose the wrong positions to fill at the point in the draft they were at.,
One of the worst teams in the NFL signed very few UDFA and now admit they were not properly prepared.
The whole process was amateur hour

Kraft has never really meddled so that's just not even worth discussing

This year was almost perfection. The draft was an analytical dream draft. They got ahead of the position runs, they picked guys lower than they were rated to go, they picked up a future pick. They aggressively and immediately signed UDFA's.

I don't know if the more analytical approach was part of Wolf's new rating system or more from Vrabel's team bringing it from the Browns but probably both.

Last year they passed on Ladd to draft Polk, analytically just based on separation stats that was dumb. If they were passing on Ladd they should have taken a OL not get desperate for a WR with data that says he will fail.

This year they got a Ladd McConkey equivalent in round 3. Kyle Williams is the anti-Polk. No way the same guys that picked Polk would pick Williams. They are opposites from a scouting perspective.
If you can figure out who was most responsible for the Williams pick, you'll get an idea who made this draft a much more successful one.
In the end it's Vrabel's guys with the clear idea of how to do things, the understanding of the draft ebbs and flows, combined with good scouting led by Wolf.

Ignorance is bliss.

Good thing we were ignorant about how bad things were going to be until we were well into the season.

If we knew from the “Thunder” press conference, the stadium would have been empty all year.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

We have no idea if this year will end up being better than last. We also do not know if some of last year's draft picks might redeem themselves now that they have good coaching and real system.

I don't know about that. This years draft seems light years ahead of last. But you are right in that grading drafts right after is a very inexact science.

As far as some of last year's draft picks suddenly redeeming themselves, I would not count on it. I assume that a lot of them will be cut to make room for Vrabel's guys.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I am not so sure that Kraft was not in on the draft picks last year. It is pretty clear from his statements beforehand, that he was going to pick Drake Maye. So that worked which is to be expected with pick number 3, but how about the other rounds? Remember that it was Kraft who said that the drafts were going to be more collaborative, which I take to mean that he would be involved. Note that this is pure speculation on my part, it is just that I can still feel the burn from the old Bob Kraft / Bobby Grier days.

 

[tasmlab]

We have no idea if this year will end up being better than last. We also do not know if some of last year's draft picks might redeem themselves now that they have good coaching and real system.

I was going to type this, but Rob beat me to it. How do we know this one is better until they play?

 

[Ring 6]

I dont think too many people liked the draft last year outside of the qb. I was excited about the day 3 picks and I thought Polk would be good, but Mitchell was wanted more.

This board was largely happy.

 

[KCSVEN]

I was going to type this, but Rob beat me to it. How do we know this one is better until they play?

They drafted better, we know that based on what positions they picked, and what players they picked and compared to average ranking and historical success rate for similar picks.

Of course, in the end all the players may fail, but percentages say more will succeed from this draft over last year.

Polk had bust written all over him the minute he was drafted, Williams has stud written all over him. You didn't need to see Polk play to bash that pick last year, you don't need to see Williams play to high five over that pick.