Position of NeedThrowing on my desktop GM badge on for a quick second. Hopefully this makes sense.I understand what people talk about when referring to when a team has a hole that must be filled and would label that as a position of need. Maybe I’m just behind on the curve but I don’t take much stock in drafting for need. There’s very few times that a team can say that they’re fully set at a particular position on the field. So why not try to consistently update whatever position based on where a team is at in the draft. I believe in having a strategy when drafting, just not something that involves overreaching for a player unnecessarily. I think the best example of a plan set in motion is when Licht moved up in the draft to snag Marpet. He was aware that the chances of Marpet falling to them with their 3rd round pick were slim. Especially with teams like New England and Seattle showing interest, at least that’s how I saw it. Many would’ve said there was no need to draft two offensive linemen for consecutive picks but it can be seen that drafting the BPA at that pick was the right choice.I guess what I’m trying to get at is that, thanks to the hard salary cap, teams must can never be set at a single position group because everyone can’t be paid. Outside of QB and RB, depending on how he Martin contract situation goes, the Bucs could use help everywhere they can. While it would be nice to have several starting caliber DEs/DBs in this draft the chances of that happening are slim. Unless Licht has the Midas touch, the chances of him finding 5 starting caliber players per draft are practically impossible. If getting a DT like Rankins, LB like Myles Jack or OT like Stanley with the ninth pick means helping this team, I’m all for it. It should be up to the coaches to be able to get the most out of their players. By teaching scheme and technique and designing a defense that capitalizes on each players strength. If that can be done well, any team can have some liberties with who they draft. By putting need as a criterion for drafting but not the primary reason to draft a player, the chances of finding a contributor to the team increases. Depth and Coaching are the keys to a strong team. I can’t stand people who believes that a team needs a hall of famer at every position which is simply not a reasonable thing to expect. Especially long term. When that happens it’s usually only for a few seasons and then boom, the roster starts to deteriorate thanks to people wanting more money. So having a strategy and consistently drafting the BPA with need as an auxiliary category makes the most sense to me.
