NFL Draft 2013: Coaches and GMs Who Will Find Franchise Players

The NFL draft selection process is a collaboration of some of the most brilliant minds in sports. While head coaches and general managers often receive both praise and criticism for good drafting, there’s a lot more that goes into the process than meets the eye.

At its very core, the draft starts with a small group of NFL scouts from each team who do the legwork in evaluating college prospects. The process begins before the current draft even takes place, but so much of what scouts do is never visible to the fans who follow their team’s personnel decisions.

Coaches spend the majority of the year focused on winning games. Evaluations and personnel decisions are largely up to general managers, though there are some notable exceptions to the rule. Coaches like Bill Belichick go beyond the norm in the draft selection process, and it’s those coaches we will examine in this article.

With the draft fast approaching, analysts are perpetually evaluating every possible scenario we may see on draft day. There is inherent value in doing so, but anyone outside NFL circles is at a distinct disadvantage in projecting draft-day decisions.

What we know is this: every coach and general manager has his own opinions of college talent—just as we do. It’s difficult to predict what those decision-makers will do with their own evaluations, but there are some proven duos that have done well in making the most of their options in recent years.

Let’s take a look at some of those decision-making tandems and evaluate what they will do in the draft to find franchise talent.

Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz: Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew inherited a roster in 2008 devoid of almost any discernible talent. In his first season with the team, the Lions produced their infamous 0-16 season, outlining the immense amount of work he would have to produce in order to turn things around in Detroit.

Mayhew brought Jim Schwartz aboard in 2009, and things began to look up for the hapless Lions. Following a 2-14 2009 season, Detroit began slowly infusing the type of talent that would eventually yield the team’s first playoff berth in 12 years.

While some may contend that being a perennial holder of a top-five draft selection is an easy situation with which to add a lot of talent, it’s important to remember the poor draft picks that have ushered general managers and coaches into the unemployment line. Mayhew and Schwartz have done well with what they have had.

2009 yielded a franchise quarterback (Matthew Stafford) and two extremely talented playmakers in Brandon Pettigrew and Louis Delmas in the first two rounds. In 2010, the Lions added a dominant defensive tackle in Ndamukong Suh and followed suit with Nick Fairley in 2011.

Mayhew and Schwartz missed on a lot of picks in those drafts, but their first-round selections have proved to be exceptional decisions. With another top-five selection in this draft, expect the Lions to find yet another franchise player at a position of need.

At No. 5, the duo will have plenty of tremendous options that could potentially include Central Michigan offensive tackle Eric Fisher, Oregon linebacker Dion Jordan and Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner—all of whom would give Detroit a potential Pro-Bowler at a position lacking elite talent.

Mayhew and Schwartz are extremely gifted at utilizing value to add top talent. That will be pretty easy to do this year in an exceptionally deep draft class.

 

Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith: Atlanta Falcons

Bill Belichick’s coaching and personnel trees have yielded some tremendous football minds, the brightest of which may be Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

A former scout for Belichick in New England, Dimitroff worked his way through the ranks, ultimately landing a dream role in 2008 with the Falcons. Since that time, Atlanta has become a legitimate contender and true force in the NFC.

Mike Smith also joined the team in 2008 as successor to former head coach Bobby Petrino and interim coach Emmitt Thomas. Smith and Dimitroff haven’t taken a flashy approach to drafting, but what they have done has worked.

The duo drafted Matt Ryan with the third pick in the 2008 draft, but Ryan was easily its most prominent draft decision until trading up for Julio Jones in 2011. Along with Ryan and Jones, Smith and Dimitroff added Sean Weatherspoon, William Moore, Corey Peters, Curtis Lofton and Sam Baker in that span.

Despite an uncharacteristically active free-agent approach this offseason, Dimitroff and Smith have relied predominantly on the NFL draft to infuse quality talent on their roster, and the brilliant football mind and scouting background of the former is a big reason for their success.

Dimitroff has made some bold moves since taking the helm in Atlanta, and another such move won’t be out of the question this weekend. Even if the Falcons remain at No. 30, expect him to target a player who can make an immediate impact in the Falcons’ pursuit of a Lombardi Trophy this season.

 

Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh: Baltimore Ravens

If ever there was a time for Ozzie Newsome to hit a home run on draft day, this is it.

Baltimore was forced to gut its roster this offseason in an attempt to get under the salary cap, re-sign its franchise quarterback and make room for an infusion of young talent going forward. That purging of talent resulted in the trading of Anquan Boldin and the departures of Ed Reed, Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe (among others) in free agency.

Newsome doesn’t have to recreate his 2008 draft in selecting a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, but he does have to replace the face of the Ravens franchise following Ray Lewis’ retirement. Lewis was a once-in-a-generation player, but Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh have the ability to pick out a replacement who can adequately fill the void.

Baltimore’s decision-makers also have to fill the vacancy at safety left by Ed Reed and a couple more positions in their linebacker corps. While there will certainly be plenty of options with the last pick in the first round, picking at No. 32 will make finding a future star a tall order.

Still, Newsome found players like Reed, Michael Oher and Courtney Upshaw beyond the 22nd pick, and he has the potential to find another franchise player in this draft class. Paired with Harbaugh’s brilliant coaching mind, Newsome will make the most of his early-round selections on draft day.