The Baltimore Ravens are often lauded for their draft picks, even while tending to avoid trades up. And general manager Eric DeCosta insists that’s not by accident, revealing in a recent interview that he believes the “only rational approach” to the NFL draft is to accumulate as many picks as possible due to the unpredictable hit rate of player selections.
“Teams simply don’t do any better drafting than anyone else,” DeCosta said. “They all do about the same. … [Some believe the] draft is inherently sort of a luck-driven process. I don’t [fully] believe that. But there is an element of luck involved. So if you accept that premise, then you’re trading up for a player that you think is better than anybody else. Most of the time, [the other teams are] not gonna draft that player. That player is probably gonna fall to you. [And] there is no guarantee that player is gonna be better. … All things being equal, the fact that no one really knows … the only rational approach is to get more at-bats, is to pick more.”
DeCosta’s rationale also stems from the fact most NFL teams are increasingly targeting similar players, he explained, perhaps partially due to intensified media coverage of clubs’ most prioritized positions and prospect types.
“What we’ve seen over the last five years, everyone seems to be drafting … the same players,” he said. “That’s kind of what the draft has become. … [So] for me, the idea of having more picks means I have a chance of getting more [value].”
DeCosta’s latest heralded draft-day effort? Landing Georgia safety Malaki Starks in the first round of this year’s draft, despite sitting tight rather than trading up from Baltimore’s No. 27 overall selection.
