Should the NFL change its draft seeding?
ESPN.com’s John Clayton brings up an interesting debate about whether or not the NFL should change the current way it does its draft seeding.
There is one idea that came from last year’s 8-8 Chargers season that does have merit. The Chargers defeated the Colts in overtime in the wild-card round and advanced to the divisional round. Yet, in the draft seedings, the Chargers select 16th, the Colts 27th.
Under a competition committee proposal, playoff teams would be reseeded based on how deep they go in the playoffs. Teams eliminated in the first round would be seeded from 21 to 24 based on their record. Also, non-playoff teams wouldn’t suffer at the expense of playoff teams in the draft, the tool that is vital for improving the talent base of a team.
This rule is broken. Having the Chargers draft before 9-7 non-playoff teams such as the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers isn’t right. Chargers fans enjoyed a playoff game, while the Jets’ poor finish left fans heartbroken. Those fans shouldn’t have to see the Chargers get a pick before them.
Couldn’t agree more. If the Chargers were good enough to get past the Colts in the first round of the playoffs, then technically they’re the better team and should have a lower draft seeding. It doesn’t make sense to reward the Chargers in the draft when they were already good enough to get the second round of the playoffs.
Clayton is on the money in this instance.
I disagree – I like the idea of records determining the order.
The more important change would be a rookie salary cap.
Being a Colts fan this idea occurred to me at the end of the season. I only assumed that the competition committee would find it to be too logical and turn it down.
I couldn’t agree more on this re-seeding of picks. It’s inherently logical, fair and no difficult to implement. Hopefully Godell will take heed. I also agree on the rookie cap. Doesn’t make much sense that a 10 yr vet pro-bowler is making less than a 20 yr old soon-to-be-bust….head scratcher. In addition a rookie cap would help make trades into the top 7-10 picks a more viable, attractive option for GMs around the league, and perhaps – dare I say it? – make draft weekend even better?
Think it is obvious that there needs to be a rookie cap. The NBA’s format is a good model to build off of. I think it is a great idea to change seeding. With underdogs like Pittsburg a few years ago and Arizona this year, everyone in the playoffs has a chance to be champs. If you have a chance, you should be last to pick in the draft. It would be a booby prize for having a good record, but not making the playoffs.