2019 NFL Draft ReVisited: 36 Lessons On Effective Teambuilding

I want to take a break from my coronavirus leadership posts (trust me, they are returning tomorrow) to hearken back to more positive times.  The 2020 NFL Draft will be held virtually from Thursday, April 23rd through Saturday, April 25th.  With the event only a month away, it caused me to reflect on last year’s event.

Held in Nashville, the 2019 NFL Draft will long be remembered as one of the most important in recent NFL memory.  From Arizona giving up on 2018 first round pick Josh Rosen to the Giants’ selection of Daniel Jones with the 6th pick to the Raiders three first-round selections (one a major reach), the first round featured a clinic on effective teambuilding principles.  Allow me add that ESPN’s team led by Trey Wingo, Louis Riddick, Booger McFarland, and Mel Kiper was simply outstanding!

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As a healthy diversion to the coronavirus, the following are 36 leadership principles and quotes from the 2019 NFL Draft:

1. Great Teambuilding Makes Leaders Look Smart – ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said, “This is about why you hired Kliff Kingsbury.  What does Kliff Kingsbury need to make you look smart for hiring him?  That’s why you draft Kyler Murray.”
2. Great Teambuilding Is Determined By A Proper Understanding Of What Is Required To Win – “There’s really two ways to improve your pass defense deficiency.  The 49ers only had two interceptions in 2018.  You can’t win that way…  How do you affect pass defense?  You rush the passer.” – Riddick on the selection of Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa
3. Dominant Players Are Versatile Players – “He was dominant because he came on the field and he showed me he can play in a number of positions.  Team versatility is what he brings.” – Booger McFarland on the Jets’ selection of Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams
4. Arrogance Is One Of The Greatest Enemies To Effective Teambuilding – “A lot of times when it comes to accumulating draft picks and building a football team, arrogance sometimes creeps into the psyche of guys who do it.” – Riddick
5. Getting Who You Want On Your Team Is Never A Reach – “I ask people where do you think players will go?  With (Clelin) Ferrell it was anywhere between 15 and 32.  In the old days we would call this a reach.” – Mel Kiper Jr. on the Oakland Raiders selecting Ferrell with the fourth pick
6. Leaders Set The Tone – “I don’t think there’s any question defensive coordinator Todd Bowles really does value his leadership ability… He needed that man to command the control center to set the tone.” – Riddick
7. Leadership Is A Developmental Skill – “ESPN rated Daniel Jones a 0-Star recruit coming out of high school.” – Trey Wingo on the New York Giants 6th pick in the draft
8. Leaders Are Judged By Their Actions – “(New York Giants general manager) Dave Gettlemen will be judged on this pick.” – Kiper
9. Never Let Others Determine Your Value – Josh Allen was the 2,121 top-ranked prospect in his high school recruiting class.  He was the 7th pick in this year’s draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
10. When Teambuilding, Always Value Production Over Potential – “They needed production out of the tight end position.  They only had 45 receptions out of that position last year.  That isn’t good enough.” – Riddick on the Detroit Lions selection of Iowa TE. T.J. Hockenson at the 8th position
11. Potential Must Eventually Be Turned Into Production – “He has potential.  He has a lot of work to do.” – Riddick on the Buffalo Bills selection of Houston Cougars defensive linemen Ed Oliver at the 9th selection.  McFarland added, “He has the highest ceiling of any defensive lineman in the draft but he also has the lowest floor.
12. No Cost Is Too Great To Get The Right Leader On Your Team – The Pittsburgh traded a three 2019 high round picks to move up 10 slots and draft Michigan Wolverines linebacker Devin Bush.
13. The Best Indicator Of Future Performance Is Past Performance – Cincinnati Bengals selection Jonah Willians started 44 games during three seasons at Alabama.
14. “The knock on him (Rashan Gary) at Michigan was the athletic ability and the stats never matched up.” – Wingo on the Green Packers 12th selection.  McFarland added, “It’s one thing to be an athlete.  It’s another thing to be a playmaker.”
15. Intelligence Matters.  Smart Organizations Only Select Smart People. – “Christian Wilkins is one of the smartest people in this draft.” – Riddick on the Miami Dolphins 13th selection
16. When Teambuilding, Protect Your Most Valuable Assets – “Matt Ryan was sacked 42 times last year.” – Riddick on the value of the Atlanta Falcons drafting Boston College guard Chris Lindstrom with the 14th pick
17. Great Players Must Earn Everything – “He can do it all… You can’t penalize him for having weapons at his disposal.  You can’t penalize him for having an offensive coordinator like Ryan Day who’s now the head coach.  You can’t penalize him for those things because he took advantage of everything that was given to him, everything he earned.” – Riddick on the Washington Redskins selection of Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Dwyane Haskins
18. Smart Players Surround Themselves With As Many Smart Mentors As Possible – “He (Haskins) is a guy going into a situation as far as the Quarterback Room is concerned that is perfect for him.  He has Case Keenum there.  Alex Smith will be around.  He has two people he can learn from, that can be patient with him.  They need to get him some weapons, make sure the running game is great.” – Riddick
19. When Teambuilding, You Must Properly Evaluate Potential Talent – “They made a slam dunk pick… The immobility argument is just ridiculous.  It’s just not true.” – Riddick
20. When Judging Talent, Grade How They Play Against Top Competition – “Against ranked opponents (Haskins played), 20 touchdown passes.  2 interceptions.  It’s the third most touchdown passes in the last 15 years against ranked opponents.” – Riddick on Haskins’ production
21.  With 34 first round selections, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach has more first round picks than any coach in college history.  The NFL Draft has become the Alabama Crimson Tide’s annual informercial.
22. Successful Players Make The Necessary Adjustments To Get Better – Carolina Panthers first round pick (16th overall) Brian Burns, defensive end from Florida State, consumed 5000 calories per day since the end of the season to gain weight.  At the combine, he did not lose any speed at all.
23. Nothing Is More Important In Teambuilding Than Building A Healthy Culture – Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, the Giants 17th pick in the first round resulted from the Odell Beckham Jr. trade.  ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said, “The ability to lock it down from tackle to tackle is what you’re getting.”
24. Referring to the Minnesota Vikings and quarterback Kirk Cousins, ESPN host Trey Wingo said “No team is ever one player away.”
25. Great Players Finish Well – With the selection of Iowa tight end Noah Fant by the Denver Broncos with the 20th selection, it marked the first time in NFL Draft history the same school produced two first-round tight ends.  Fant was targeted 21 times in the red zone resulting in 15 receptions and 12 touchdowns.
26. There Are Few Things As In-Demand As Great Potential – Green Bay moved up from the 28th spot to take Seattle’s 21st pick and selected safety Darnell Savage Jr. from Maryland.  Riddick said, “Teams like Savage because of his athletic upside.”
27. Even The Best Players Get Better With Coaching – Philadelphia moved from the 25th spot to take Baltimore’s 22nd pick.  They added a 4th and 6th round selection to do so.  The Eagles then selected Andre Dillard, tackle from Washington State.  The Eagles have a number of offensive lineman whose contracts are soon to expire.  Riddick added, “There were games he got whipped.  He has some technique deficiencies.  They are going to have coach him up.”  Kiper added, “The Eagles moved one spot ahead of the Houston Texans because they had the same concern about protecting Deshaun Watson.”
28. Undo Pressure On Your Team Is Unsustainable – In 2018, Deshawn Watson was sacked a NFL-high 62 times.  Riddick said, “The pressure rate on Deshawn Watson is something that can’t be sustained.  He will not last.”  The team then selected Tytus Howard, offensive tackle from Alabama State.
29. When Teambuilding, Look For Those Who Are Willing To Do The Dirty Work – Riddick said of the Oakland Raiders 24th selection, running back Josh Jacobs of Alabama, “What do I love most about him?  His willingness to block and the run game and pass game.  He’s fantastic.”  Jacobs would rush for 1,150 yards and 7 touchdowns during his rookie season.
30. Playmakers Are Difference-Makers – Todd McShay said of the 25th pick, “Baltimore needs playmakers.  Baltimore needs difference-makers.”  The team then drafted Maquise Brown who would go on to have 46 receptions, 584 yards, and 7 touchdowns during his rookie season.
31. Great Needs Necessitate You Take Great Risk – The Redskins traded up to the 26th pick originally held by the Indianapolis Colts.  They selected Montez Sweat, linebacker from Mississippi State.  Though Sweat had 22 sacks over his last two years in college, many teams took him off their draft boards because of a heart condition.
32. You Are Not A Great Player Unless You Are A Consistently Great Player – Kiper said of the Los Angeles Chargers 28th first-round pick Jerry Tillery of Notre Dame, “If he gets consistent, you’ve got something.”
33. No Price Is Too Great If You Win The Super Bowl – The Seahawks were selecting in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 29th portion.  The Chiefs gave up this pick along with a 2019 3rd and 2020 2nd to get defensive end Frank Clark and the Seahawks 2019 3rd.  How did it work out?  The Seahawks drafted TCU defensive end L.J. Coller.  The Chiefs paid a steep price but Clark played a key role on the Chiefs Super Bowl champion team.
34. The Seahawks traded the 30th pick (Green Bay’s original pick) to the New York Giants who selected cornerback Deandre Baker from the University of Georgia.  Riddick said, “What I like about him is he finishes competitively down the field.  Kiper said of their three first round picks, “The Giants got who they targeted.”
35. Great Teams Build Great Depth – The Falcons traded for the Los Angeles Rams’ 31st pick who selected Kaleb McGary, offensive tackle from Washington.  Riddick said, “Along with Lindstrom (the 14th pick), this is about keeping Matt Ryan upright… That’s enough.  We’re taking care of our quarterback.”
36. Leaders Make Choices And Then Their Choices Make Them – With the 32nd pick, the Patriots selected Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry rather than Irv Smith, Jr., Deebo Samuel, D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown, and Terry McLaurin.  Time will tell but this would appear to be a big miss.  Harry only had 12 receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

What is one thing you learned from last year’s NFL Draft which will help you be a better team builder?

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