After the Cowboys drafted Mazi Smith with the 26th pick, the overreactions flooded in. The fans who are disappointed or upset are usually focused on their own “pet cat” that was somehow going to be the key to us making a SB run. And their opinions are often over-hyped by sports talking heads or by a fan’s fascination with a player they loved from their favorite college or by college game film showing the player crushing it against inferior college talent that will not transfer to the next level.
For those saying the Mazi Smith pick was a reach should consider:
- Honestly, there are really only about 10-15 players each year that truly have traditional “first round talent”. Although Smith wasn’t in that group, IMO he’s still a good pick for this team’s needs.
- Drafting at 18-32 is basically a high end second round pick most years.
- Conversely, the number of players who are top end 2nd-3rd round talent is much bigger- especially this year.
- How long has this team needed help stopping the run?
Keeping it in perspective- the draft is hugely important to team development. But man the modern NFL draft is one of the most over-hyped events in sports. More than half of the players drafted each year will play in the NFL LESS than 5 years. Finding a 10 year starter in the draft is about 15-17% chance.
So the overreaction to the draft- either saying we “picked wrong” or got it exactly right is really silly. None of us know what these players are until at least 2-3 years. I’m excited about the Mazi Smith pick and interested to see who else we draft the next two days. But whoever it is, it’s waaaaay too early to judge what we’ve acquired.
Keep it all in perspective.
