Basic Blueprint to Drafting

 There are many different things to consider when scouting NFL draft prospects. Not only do skill, athleticism, age, and playstyle affect how NFL teams view prospects, but there is way more that goes into it. Just to start, positions are graded differently based on the position's importance. Some people who don't watch a lot of football may assume running backs are a premier position because of how often they touch the ball, but it really could not be further from the truth. It is so easy to find good running backs later in the draft, and you only have to pay them a fraction of what the top guys are getting paid. The reason they don't get paid a lot is because of how many hits they take, it wouldn't be logical for teams to pay a lot of money for these guys just for a couple of years of production. This brings up another good point, it is important to look at the usage rate of these players coming out of college. You do not want to select a running back who started for 4 years and then declared for the draft. 

Similar to that, some positions just offer more value than others. Some people who may not watch a lot of football may think that all offensive lineman positions have the same value, but that is not true. In almost every draft you will see that the first lineman selected is an offensive tackle. This is the most important position on the line because of who they will be blocking. Offensive tackles are in charge of blocking the blind spots of the quarterback, but that is not all of it. Defensive ends line up across from offensive tackles, and they are the biggest threat to sack the quarterback. This is why it is so important to have a solidified offensive line before filling out skill positions and quarterback. 

Using this, it is easy to see why some positions just get picked higher than others. As an NFL team, it is important to target premier positions early in the draft where you can get them. There are a few exceptions where players can make a huge impact on a team as an RB (Jahmyr Gibbs/ Saquon Barkley), but it is uncommon for teams to be in that position. There is only 1 team this year that crosses my mind to make those selections, and I hope the Bears go in another direction. 

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