Totally…it’s because you can draft and realize the satisfier of that need immediately if you grab the right guy…not much cooking to do after the draft with slightly older guys vs 18 yr olds…
BPA vs. need gets subjective pretty early in the NFL, too. In our case with Newton where he was easily the BPA, NFL rookies can contribute something immediately and mature quickly, and teams are so rarely locked in to guaranteed contracts with crippling hits. So you're only ever really a year away from being able to discard a big salary in favor of the cost-controlled kid that just fell into your lap.
That's pretty foreign to us as hockey fans, where need rarely matters because of how long it takes to develop a rookie in the vast majority of cases.
In other words, anyone opposed to the Newton pick was just being silly.
That was a no-brainer. Every pundit out there's immediate review of the pick as it was happening was, "The Commanders just got a steal."
I totally forgot we drafted Ben Sinnott in the 2nd round. 2 catches for 6 yards on the season.
His versatility is the big draw, and his NFL learning curve is steeper than most because he's considered an elite blocker (from both TE and backfield positions) and a solid pass-catcher. I forget whether it was Peters or Quinn who had that quote about him in camp, saying they see him being part of potentially 3 position groups -- TE, O-line, and running backs.
They want him to (eventually) be a key piece that contributes in a lot of ways. This isn't a TE you're going to fairly judge on receiving stats alone. This is the type of guy that helps protect a mobile QB by smartly pivoting moment-to-moment between making the best block and knowing when to bail out and get open for the outlet.
That type of comprehensive smarts and versatile role takes a little more time to develop. Be patient with this guy, because he could be extremely valuable if he fully pans out.