I'm just tired of Bengals football, man

[TecmoBengals]

Do GMs sit around even thinking about building teams to compete by division or conference? I wonder how they frame their thinking when drafting. I could see a GM thinking:

"I want to draft a RB who can pound the ball" but do they think:

"I want to draft a RB who can pound the ball against my fellow AFC North teams"?

Is this all made-up fan thinking we're talking about or is it well documented NFL GMs have gone on the record starting they draft to compete in their division or conference?