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Originally Posted by kccrow
I think you've done a great job as well, especially offensively.
Definitely, great points on how difficult it is, and flaming out or not becoming what you expect is a huge hurdle. An example for me is Teven Jenkins. I expected him to at least be a good RT if he didn't work out at LT. Instead, he ends up at RG where I already have two high-quality players. That's a tough one.
I think the other thing it shows is that you better be patient with picks developing. You're usually not getting a lot in year 1, or even in year two. Hell, some guys, such as Sieler and Okoronkwo, didn't even really contribute much until year 4. It's tough to balance the patience when you're making decisions on who to retain on the 53.
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The patience in developing is huge. I've always had a rule that I'm going to keep every draftee for at least a year, and hopefully longer, even if they look terrible in their first training camp and get demoted or cut. But in many cases a year or two isn't long enough.
I've got Jordan Poyer, who is a pro bowler now, and he was my 53rd guy more than once in his early years when he was not playing much. I barely kept him a couple of times, and it ended up paying off.
I also have some memory of drafting Lawrence Guy and cutting him after a couple of years of not much happening. He was getting cut and bouncing around between teams and it seemed like he was a goner in the NFL. It took him four teams to get a starting opportunity and now he's still starting 12 years later. I think I cut him back in 2014 or so.