Well, the draft is over and everyone is sure their team, bolstered with youth and talent, is on it’s way to the Super Bowl. Well, except for Cleveland Browns’ fans. They know better.
Most fans believe their team did well in the draft if they recognize the names taken, names they heard in the run up to the draft. Players from Top 10 programs, Combine warriors. Mentions by Mel Kiper, Jr., Todd McShay and Mike Mayock. If you’ve heard their names it was a good pick. It’s something of a self-rationalizing system. For the most part, over the first 100 picks, it works. Sure, there are famous 1st round busts but the top talent in any field is fairly easy to identify. I remember reading an e-mail exchange between Malcolm Gladwell and Bill Simmons that Simmons posted on his site in which Gladwell posited an interesting point. While he had only a superficial knowledge of the sport of basketball, he could actually use that to his advantage and still be quite successful. He wouldn't be in a position to over-analyze, to over-think his draft strategy. All he knew was that schools like Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, etc. were really good college basketball schools so as an NBA GM, he would simply draft from those schools.
Think about that as you consider how many kids from Ohio State were drafted this year.
