re: Generally speaking, you rather move up or down in the draft?

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the consensus seems to be that there are no true stars this year,

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I disagree. I think there are more "stars" this year. There isn't that one guy like a Clowney or Luck or Mario Williams/Reggie Bush, but the top half of the 1st round will be loaded.

Star, Jordan, Mingo, Floyd, Jones, Ashana, Werner, Joeckel and Fisher > the rest of the draft field.


I said it before and I'm sticking to it.

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I'm not saying you can't get good players in the later part of the draft, but I'm talking about great players.


Here are the draft spots for the NFL defensive players of the year for the last five years.
JJ Watts (11), Terrell Suggs (10), Troy Polamalu (16), Charles Woodson (4), James Harrison (UFA).

They were all choosen in the top half of the draft besides Harrison who wasn't choosen at all.




Here are the draft spots for the defensive NFC Pro Bowlers last year.

DE: 27, 126, 15, 2
DT: 4, 224, 9
OLB: 11, 26, 68, 17
ILB: 11, 9, UFA
CB: 4, 9, 35, UFA
FS: 14, 126, 133
SS: 64

9 of 22 were in the top half of the draft. That's a percentage of some sort.

Here are the draft spots for the defensive AFC Pro Bowlers last year.

DE: 11, 7, 126, 134, 135
DT: 12, 21, 6, 120, 108
OLB: 10, 2, 20, UFA
ILB: 26, 15
CB: 14, 7, 24
FS: 24, 37, UFA
SS: 16, 65

10 of 24 were in the top half of the draft. Yet another percentage.


I'm just saying there are a few guys who become pro bowlers in the 50s and 60s. A few in the hundreds and even a few that are undrafted. But a majority are in the top fistfull of picks.

And the great longtime players you build your defense around like Champ Bailey, Charles Woodson, Bruce Smith, Demarcus Ware, Deion Sanders, Brian Urlacher, Julius Pepper and todays guys like JJ Watts, Aldon Smith/Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, JPP, Haloti Ngata, Derrick Johnson and Derrelle Revis were all picked at 16 or below.

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