First Pick in the Draft

Why is it retarded to push this punishment on your competition? I would love to punish Grid if given the chance.

 

either you short-change a lesser player and get him signed, which will be infringent upon an agent also taking less money for a #1 pick and taking that fallout, or you drop down intentionally and take the brunt of intentionally passing over players you felt were better to save money. And dropping down without getting any value for those picks.

Those are the two options and neither of them are competitive. They're fiscal, and while that has a place in the modern sports marketplace they do seem to setup failure. And they already have that down.

That's why the Smith thing is relevant. Making a draft pick with the primary concern being money is defeatist, IMO. It's legal - if you can come up with a contract - just as is passing on the pick. I believe they have a high risk of being more disastrous than traditional options, in something that's already high risk.

then you'd trade down. The financial situation is a separate one.

 

It's not. I just think the Lions are retarded and will fuck it up.

 

definitely. There's a ton riding on this already. the idea of the QB being the best player in the draft is somewhat rare really, but they get picked so often - where there's already a failure rate and such a strong chance that player isn't going to fit.

They do need to change the payscale. You know, if the Lions want to fuck themselves up for the betterment of the league, why not?

 

If the Lions called Marty and offered the #1 pick for Peppers straight up and Peppers was somehow agreeable and the deal happened what would you do with the pick?

Stafford might be an option but a very risky and expensive one. Our OL and Linebackers are pretty solid and most of the top ten are in one of those two positions....

 

try to trade down. I wouldn't take a quarterback unless forced at gunpoint. If forced to say that there was a player I'd take out of that group in the top 10, it'd be Jenkins over Orakpo. How about anyone else?

I gotta say, challenging fucking question, Thelt. Good work. It does prove a point, to a point. No, there's no one in the top 3-4 that I'd pay #1 money.

Then again, the Lions have a need at literally any position, versus our very acute sense of need.

 

IMO, the performance of the #1 pick over many drafts tells me that you actually get MORE value for the money by picking in the middle of the first. You can't deny that teams are wary of that first pick these days, specifically for financial reasons. That alone already breaks the traditional mold of "value" for that position. Value only comes into play when someone is willing to pay for it, which they aren't in the Lions case, which makes it economically valueless. So why not break further with tradition and redefine the usage of the first round pick.

To me, having the first pick in the first round simply gives you more freedom and flexibility than the other teams on who/where you pick. It does not necessitate that you follow the traditional structure in order nor in pay. They should pick a first round player they like for the price both sides agree to and not worry about slot projections and their traditionally perceived values. Some player will take that deal and I think there is not a damn thing the agents nor the NFLPA can do about it.

 

Take someone who you would be able to trade, Manning/Rivers style for a DE

 

IMHO, Peppers at $17 million suiting up and playing hard for a contract is a better deal than any first round defensive end in this draft.

 

That's written based on thelt's hypothetical, not necessarily whether or not I agree with it happening just what I would do with the pick