Something just occured to me

by go4broncos on Apr 25, 2011 1:57 PM MDT

Xanders said they ahve 190 players on their draft board. That's near twice as many as most other teams from what I've read. Obviously a team doesn't put the best 190 players on their board because come the 191st pick in the draft they'll have run out of options as the other teams will have picked up those guys. That's not to say that all teams think the best 190 players are the same. There are over 224 draft picks when you include the compensatory ones. 7 rounds. Many of the players on the Broncos' draft board may not even be drafted. My question is this:

What happens at the end of the 7th round to all the Unrestricted Rookie Free Agents?

Usually there's a mad scramble to sign guys to qualifying offers to find undrafted gems, ala Rod Smith, and or camp fodder. It doesn't look like we can just call them up and get a verbal that they'll be at our camp when the CBA gets worked out. Maybe I missed this topic in another post somewhere. I always looked forward to seeing which players also got called into camp that weren't drafted. Anybody know what the deal is for this?

GO BRONCOS!!!

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NFL teams will not be able to talk to FA

Rookies can not sign or have any contact with rookie free agents until the lock out us over. Just heard on the radio that teams are warned that any contact with rookie FA will be met with extreme consequences.

When Tim Tebow pissses into the wind, the wind changes direction.

by Albuquerque on Apr 25, 2011 2:08 PM MDT via mobile reply actions

Error ...teams can't have contact with rookie FAs

My bad

When Tim Tebow pissses into the wind, the wind changes direction.

by Albuquerque on Apr 25, 2011 2:09 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions

Most teams start with 250 on their draft boards...

Belicheck, McDaniels, Shanahan and a few others have collapsed boards of usually 75-125. They maneuver the board to get their guys. Xanders said they went from 250 down to 190 through the process, which is pretty normal. That means they eliminated prospects for reasons like character and not fitting their scheme. They will still be looking for non-drafted FA’s like everyone else that are on that list.

by ConradA on Apr 25, 2011 2:20 PM MDT reply actions

Teams can have contact with players until the draft ends.

That being said they cannot sign anyone, however starting around the 5th round teams will start heavily recruiting players they don’t think will get drafted in hopes of having a head start to sign them once the lockout ends. Once the draft ends they can no longer have contact with UFA’s.

by rc117 on Apr 25, 2011 3:09 PM MDT reply actions

+1

Good point on teams having conversations with late prospect prospects (that may end up going undrafted) during the draft. They’ll likely have to choose their words carefully, but they can probably at least voice interest and sort of plant the seed that they’re interested so that the prospect comes to that team before prematurely signing with another team prematurely – once the lockout is truly lifted and free agency begins.

Von. Doom. Pow!

by Rodney A on Apr 25, 2011 6:59 PM MDT up reply actions

That number will get a little smaller after this week most likely. I imagine 4-3 teams have more prospects on their board than 3-4 teams as well

due to the fact that there are more players that will fit in a 4-3 vs a 3-4. I think Xanders even said as much. Last year there were only 100 propects on our board.

Tim Tebow wears 3WM and drinks Tuscan whole milk.

by BroncoMath101 on Apr 25, 2011 3:18 PM MDT reply actions

That's as much 3-4 to what he learned in NE

NE has very small boards. Look it up.

by ConradA on Apr 25, 2011 3:49 PM MDT up reply actions

ok? So have you read somewhere else that other 3-4 teams have a large board like ours?

I agree that the small board was a result of his time in NE and learning from BB but I also don’t think there are as many players who can play a 3-4 as there are that can play a 4-3. I never said all teams have 100 prospects on their board but I do think most 3-4 teams will have a smaller board than 4-3 teams.

Tim Tebow wears 3WM and drinks Tuscan whole milk.

by BroncoMath101 on Apr 25, 2011 4:35 PM MDT up reply actions

I think you're both right

I think teams like New England do use smaller boards than most teams – regardless of defensive system (34 v 43), but I also think Math is right, in that Xanders (in his latest presser) didn’t at all try to throw the short board on idea onto McDaniels. Xanders did sound like he prefers a shorter board and did imply that part of the difference between this year and last year’s boards is that the 4-3 has more suitable players, whereas the 3-4 is more specialized and has less prospects that fit the scheme.

Again, I think you’re both right. Sounds to me that Xanders prefers a shorter board than most 4-3 teams, but that it will be a longer board than teams like the Patriots’.

Von. Doom. Pow!

by Rodney A on Apr 25, 2011 7:04 PM MDT up reply actions

That's why McD took Ayers, a 4-3 DE prospect

Why did he take a blocking TE in the second, that most folks had a late round prospect? Why did he reach for Zane Beadles? It’s because of his draft mantra, not his 3-4 board.

by ConradA on Apr 25, 2011 9:00 PM MDT up reply actions