#draft-strategy

#draft-strategy

One Battle After Another dominated the awards race and even threw in some box-office points as well. Seven of the top-ten movies were Best Picture nominees at the Oscars, for what it's worth.

Each NFL team has a rookie pool based on their picks, and Over The Cap has calculated that number based on comp pick projections that will be finalized over the next week. But because of how the offseason cap is calculated, not every draft pick is going to add to the compliance calculation.

Veterans bring clarity to a defense by being able to be the calming force in a sometimes hectic game. A veteran doesn't have to necessarily be the most vocal, but must let their game speak for itself. That sets the tone for younger players trying to adjust to the NFL. A good free agent pickup can reduce mental mistakes, stabilize alignments, and allow younger players to develop, which is the key to a successful defense.

The most likely aspect that'll come over for Parker from a schematic standpoint is the two-high safety look. It's a versatile approach that doesn't tip the secondary's plan pre-snap and forces the QB to make post-snap reads as defenders can rotate into all sorts of different coverage looks after the snap in both man and zone. From a coverage standpoint, their most utilized coverage was Cover 3 over the two years Parker coached the Eagles (32.1% on average).

The Nationals are set to hire Justin Horowitz as an assistant general manager, as first reported by Joe Doyle of Over-Slot Baseball. Previously the Pirates' director of amateur scouting, Horowitz will now work under Washington's new president of baseball operations, Paul Toboni. Toboni, like Horowitz, has a background in amateur scouting. In fact, Horowitz worked under Toboni in the Red Sox's amateur scouting department for several years. That's surely no coincidence.

It's never a good sign when a coach is asked if he's going to stick with his starting quarterback, but that question surfaced at various points across the NFL the past two days. Some coaches, like the New Orleans Saints' Kellen Moore, declared their starter would keep that role. That came after Spencer Rattler threw three interceptions and lost a fumble as the Saints lost 26-14 to the Chicago Bears, falling to 1-6. On Monday, Moore said it's "a week-to-week thing."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is undeniably awesome. So is Victor Wembanyama. Yet, in a traditional snake draft, getting both is essentially impossible given both are found firmly in the first round. There is a draft format, however, that absolutely allows you to pair SGA and Wemby. Or Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo... you get the idea. Salary cap drafts afford you the ability to assemble compelling collections of superstars.

The most difficult players to project before an NBA season are the rookies, because so much is based upon how prepared they are for the speed, power and explosiveness of the NBA game. There is no other league in the world that can truly compare with what the young players will face when they make it to the league with Jerry West's silhouette on the logo.