In his recent article about the best drafters in the NFL, John Clayton swallows the Patriots cool-aid. He lists Bill Polian and the Colts staff as being the second best talent evaluators in the NFL draft. He inexplicably put the Patriots staff as the best. There is simply no justification for the Pats even being in the top five. They are a great organization and a great team. They did not get that way by drafting well. In their last draft, only their first two picks made the team. They have repeatedly made it to the top by signing key free agents. Just two years ago, they whiffed on their first round pick by drafting Marooney over Joe Addai. There is no one in football that would make that mistake today. Clayton admits the Pats have the fewest of their own draft picks on their roster than any of the other listed teams (The Colts on the other hand had just 3 players on their roster last year who had played with other teams). Basically, the usually excellent Clayton is saying, “There’s no evidence that they draft all that well…but they went 18-1 so they must be the best”. Their DRAFT record simply doesn’t match up with the other teams on this list. They may have a great front office, but that isn’t what this piece is ranking. You can argue that they have a better strategy for team building or cap managment if you like. You can say they have the best organization in football if that’s the way you swing.
You cannot say they are the best drafting team. It isn’t true. Not by a long shot.
Also: Jacob sends us this link to describe how we all feel in late February.
Polian says all the big names will be fine for opening day…
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