I thought about this the second that I saw the highlight film of B Smith's career. I was blown away by how much of a playmaker this dude is, he's just such an astounding athlete. He sounds modest, humble, and intelligent, no gangster stuff with Smith. I guess scouts didn't look at him as a QB, and people weren't thinking about using him as a WR or something? Help me out here... I'm psyched that we have him, it's just I can't believe this kind of talent can be had in the 4th round.
You do find good players in the forth round. Even though you might not think good players fall past the first round, they do.
lol theyre all players, they all have a burning desire to succeed and accomplish. theres too many college players to only find contributors in the first 2 or 3 rounds. plus only reason he did slip was scouts instantly wrote him off at QB in the pro's so listed him as a RB/WR which happens to alot of athletic people and it always knocks them back rounds after they should be draft.
Yeah, it had a lot to do with his early statement that he preferred to be a QB. He didn't say he wouldn't play something else, but did say he preferred to be a QB. That seemed to turn off a lot of people who worried he couldn't make a good transition. The truth is, we got lucky. That's what usually happens in the later rounds. You see some spark, and you hope that your staff can turn that into a fire. If it works, you're a genius (Tom Brady) if not, no big deal, he was a late round pick anyway.
The draft is still an extremely inexact science. Someday maybe it will become a more exact science, but that will mean the value of a draft pick will skyrocket.
Sometimes legends are found in the 6th round *gasp* - the horror! I will stand by my earlier statements that the draft is more or less a crapshoot. Give me more picks with "lesser value" over less picks with better value anyday, because the more times you fire that rifle blindfolded, the better chance you have of hitting that broad side of the barn. :up:
IMO, it's mostly because he was very raw talent. No one knew if he would adapt to the wide reciever position well, so it was a very high risk, high reward pick. So far it looks like it was a great pick, and we should be getting the "high reward." If we passed up on him; he probably would have gone in the next 5 or 10 picks. Great pick by Mangini/Tannenbaum
Players like Brad Smith fall in the draft because they don't have a position. They are often called 'tweeners because they are sort of between two spots. A great example of this is recent times were all the college Defensive Ends who were labeled "too small" to play in the NFL but without the talent to switch to 4-3 Linebacker. These players had a knack for getting to the Quarterback but due to certain coaching limitations, only a few teams were able to properly utilize them and put them in a scheme that appropriately fit their skills. Hence the popularity of the 3-4 in the modern day NFL. A few years ago, you could get your starting Outside Linebackers and Defensive Ends in the later rounds because no one wanted them. Now that everyone sees that they can be successful, talented players who would have gone much later in the draft before, now go in the 1st and 2nd round. If history is any indication of what is still to come (which it always is) I believe in 3-4 years Coaches will see the success of Randle El, Hines Ward, Brad Smith, Michael Robinson and Drew Bennett and find a spot for them simply because they are players and will do whatever it takes to win. I think eventually more trick plays will be drawn up and players who can do multiple things will become more popular and thus increase their draft stock.
I think something I just recently realized that some people always don't is that the draft is relatively small. There are thousands of players who play college ball who don't get drafted. Basically if you get drafted that means thats you are good. Granted 1st is better then 4th. But 4th rd in the draft means you've got something.
Not to mention Jets and almost Jets, Scott Frost and JC Watts, who was the last Sooner to be drafted before Derrick Strait. Watts became a congressman after failing to make the grade as a QB in the CFL (he refused to sign with the Jets because he wanted to be a QB).
Players like him fall to the 4th becasue teams reach for players like Anthony Schlegel and Eric Smith in the 3rd.
To be honest I'd like to see Smith get some reps at QB next offseason, depending on how he does at WR this year. At training camp this year he had to learn a new position so playing a little quarterback was out of the question, but I think that if he doesn't take to WR he has the talent to be molded into a dominating player under the right tutelage. Of course I'm hoping that he becomes a weapon as a wideout.
It was the position change that dropped him. Teams do not like to spend value on a player that they are going to have to convert to another position to get a return out of. QB to RB is hugely risky because you just do not know if the guy can take the hits week in and week out. QB to WR is also hard to figure because for all of his attributes the guy still needs to learn how to get separation and play the positioning game with very good NFL defensive backs. I think the Jets got a bargain but only time will tell if it pays off.
"How do players like Brad Smith fall to The 4th Round?" The same way players like Tom Brady fall to the 6th Round.
I was a bit surprised Brady got drafted at all. Not hugely surprised but he did not have many of the qualities you expect in an NFL QB when he left Michigan. I still think Charlie Weis turned a mediocre prospect into one of the best QB's of all time. That and Belichik's defense absolutely controlling the 4th quarter for about 4 years in a row. The ridiculous win against Miami that got the Jets in the playoffs in 2002 is a perfect example of all of the above.
I loved the guy in college but never expected us to draft him. When I got up that Sunday morning and saw that we drafted him I started dancing around the living room. I loved the guy since his freshman year and I honestly believe if he went to a bigger school he would have been a Heisman candidate 2 years in a row.
what is all this talk like brad smith has already won rookie of the year or had a great year...the guy scored a touchdown in PRE-SEASON. let me repeat that...PRE SEASON yea he has great speed and could turn out to be a great late round grab, but lets not jump to conclusions
