The Right Player for The Right Team

What the teams in the NFL are looking to do with their draft picks is match the right player for their team. Sometimes it is the best player available and find a the right place on the team for that player. Other times the team is looking for a player to fill a need, and they try to find the right player to fill that need. When prognosticators fill out a mock draft, they are doing a little of both. Best player at that stage of the draft, and team needs with the players available.

Looking through the mock drafts I have researched so far, there is one player who is seen to be the player that matches up with a team in a specific slot. Ndamukong Suh? Gerald McCoy? Sam Bradford? They are the consensus Top 3 Picks, and easily the top 3 on my DSA Player Rankings. But the player who is forecasted to go in one specific slot on the highest percentage of mock drafts? Joe Haden to Cleveland with the 7th overall pick. 71% of the mock drafts have Haden at that specific slot. Who is second? Bruce Campbell, with 59% of the drafts having him going to Oakland with the 8th overall selection. The two players tied at 3rd? C.J. Spiller at #14 to Seattle and Kyle Wilson at #20 to Houston, both at 53% of the drafts having them going at those specific position.

Cleveland needs help in many positions, but Haden is the premier cornerback in the draft. Even with his slow 40 time at the Combine, teams have seen enough game film of him playing at an elite level at Florida, and even though they need to shore up the defensive line Cleveland is looking like they will select Haden to solidify the pass defense.

Oakland has a priority to rebuild it's offensive line, and it appears that the Workout Wonder that Bruce Campbell became at the draft may be too tempting for Al Davis to pass up. Spiller looks to be the versatile, multi-threat back that Pete Carrol had at USC with Reggie Bush, and Seattle has issues in the offensive backfield. Houston was hit hard in free agency with the loss of Dunta Robinson, and Kyle Wilson is the 2nd rated corner and looks to fill the void.

Some teams draft for need, some take the best player available. That's what makes this draft so interesting. It is deep and filled with quality players. Teams can choose one or the other and the picks are most likely to work out in the end.