The 2012 draft was a masterclass by the front office

[Luvnit2]

(08-19-2015, 02:35 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I think I'm being very reasonable here. I said it was a good draft. I just don't think it's quite as awesome as some. I count DreKirk as a solid choice, and I realize that injuries and (perhaps) competition at the position have kept him off the field. So I don't count him as a bad pick at all. I just don't count him as a big home run yet. 

Maybe you worded it wrong, but I don't see how you expect only 2 or 3 draft picks to make the 53 man roster. Teams rarely cut players taken in the first 5 rounds. You don't see 4th or 5th rounders on Practice Squads very often, either.  So in reality, usually around 5 rookies will make the 53 man every year. I expect 2-3 players from every draft to (eventually) become serious contributors. 

That's very realistic normally, but in 2012 we had 9 picks in the first 5 rounds. So my expectations were raised for that draft. With 4 extra quality picks, I expect a couple more contributors. We got them. So like I said, solid draft. Not a home run though. We should expect 5 contributors with that many extra picks in quality rounds.

I did word that incorrectly as I expect 2 to 3 per draft to become solid contributors or better over their career. The Bengals have been successful because they are getting 4 to 5 solid contributors (5 to 7 years contribution) per draft while many others are getting less than 3. One extra solid contributor or better per year over 7 years is 7 players. 2 is 14 players on a roster. That is how teams that build through the draft can keep salary down (cap) and still put a solid team on the field as they don't have to go buy their draft mistakes by over using free agency. Just my opinion.