This week's edition of the PFR mailbag looks into a potential NFL draft lottery while also answering questions on a hypothetical Dak Prescott trade, the futures of the Lions and Colts, and more.
Jake asks:
Do you think the NFL should consider implementing a lottery like the other major sports have? This Giants-Raiders matchup features a far greater reward for losing, and it's obviously not the first such game. Wouldn't it be better if the league had a key protection measure for instances like this?
I’m elated to get a question on this topic based on the endorsement it will allow me to make, but we’ll get to that in a moment. My short answer on the idea of a lottery being worth consideration is yes.
I don’t see overt tanking as a problem to the same extent as it is in, say, Major League Baseball. With no minimum budget for rosters in baseball, teams can (and do) decide to remain non-competitive for years on end by simply not spending anywhere near the level of contenders. In the NFL, this isn’t an issue thanks to the rule requiring teams to spend (more or less) to the cap on an annual basis.
There is no need for a lottery in football. There is no decided advantage to having the #1 pick especially this year. There is no clear cut #1 pick and it’s all still a crap shoot and no player is rally going to change a teams fate without 10 other players playing with him. The Raiders and Giants don’t need the same thing so 1 or 2 doesn’t really matter. People who are boo hooing this game as being important are completely wrong. I think the bigger story than the game is the Raiders completely spitting in Crosby’s face by letting him walk. It’s going to bite them in the end and they aren’t even going to be able to draft anybody to replace him. It was really dumb by a dumb franchise and they prove it year after year.
I am not so sure it isn’t a smart thing what they did. Have been lowering spending dumb moves.made team since the old man died. Mark just doesn’t have the guts or smarts to do what daddy did. I
think if they could get a 1st and 6th or a 2 4 and a 7th they would do it. Is this maybe Pete saying 2 or 3 good players are worth more than 1 great player. He and John had that mindset in Seattle. Maybe Pete is bringing that to Vegas. After Pete was fired John had a not as good draft he showed this last draft that it was him or mostly him.
Maybe this was the Raiders wanting out of the contract and this was a way to save face with fans. Even though most of those fans could care less. It is hard when it feels like an away game at home. If Pete can turn these extra picks into good players Vegas might be a 500 team next year and be a playoff team in a couple more years.
The delusions of Cowgirl fans.
DAK is a bottom 50% QB, and, with his ridiculous contract, would bring back maybe a 6th round pick.
And that would only happen if his contract was substantially bought down.
ROTFL…
Strange. He’s ranked 4th in fantasy scoring, ya know, NFL production.
Ranked in the bottom 50% of what year? He is top 5 in the nfl. I am tired of people thinking dak is some throwaway qb. Look at the stats
We are probably responding to a BOT. Dak is a huge talent.
A sport’s leagues job is to provide it’s customers with an entertaining (competitive) product.
Tanking achieves the opposite.
It is, therefore, any leagues’ job to remove as much of the incentive from tanking as possible (while maintaining the draft’s purpose of allowing worse teams to get better) and that, until someone comes up with a better idea, means a lottery.
And I say this as a fan of the team (the Pittsburgh Penguins) who have benefited from tanking more than any other franchise in sports. That we’ve done it really, really well doesn’t make it good overall.
As a Steelers fan, I should have asked the question, “How is Harbaugh not on the hot seat after his mismanagement of Derrick Henry this season?” He finally woke up and used Henry throughout the game last night when he should have been doing it all season. I count at least 3 losses where Harbaugh seemed to forget the opponent was unable to stop Henry, but he kept him on the bench anyway