The Washington Post published a story yesterday on the usefulness of NFL mock drafts, it linked the DC Pro Sports Report NFL Mock Draft Database and mentioned that the Skins have had a total of 29 different picks “mocked” to the team across the internet.
DCPSR published a post that including this choice quote from the Post. What Washington Redskins GM Bruce Allen believes mock drafts are a useful tool come draft time.
Redskins general manager Bruce Allen says yes. After he and team officials finalize their draft plans, they turn to the mock drafts to help them further prepare for what could possibly take place.
“We’ll get into how we would react if certain things happened,” Allen said this weekend. “A lot of times, we will pull a few mocks off the Internet and say, ‘If these three things happen, what would we do? If we have this phone call come in, what would we do?’ We play the fantasy draft, so to speak, the three days before the draft.”
In other words, team officials will look at one mock, and see what players have been taken before the Redskins, then discuss which move they would make if their original choices of player X, Y or Z are gone. Then they’ll look at another, and another, and derive contingency plans from those as well.
Interesting. I am sure the Washington Redskins are not the only franchise that utilizes the mock drafts as well. I bet they all do, to some extent. It is a perfect was to see different scenarios unfold and how to plan in advance if targeted players are chosen before the team’s pick.
You just never know who is perusing your mock draft, and I’m guessing lots of NFL teams do. Which proves they think that online draftniks are much more than “bloggers loving in their mom’s basement.”