The Fallacy Of Losing Out

There are many people here at Gang Green Nation that want our beloved New York Jets to lose the remainder of their games, either to get a better draft pick, or so that Woody Johnson will fire the coaching staff and front office. I will not deal with the second issue today, but rather, focus on the first.

It is a fallacious argument to suggest that the Jets will be better in the long run if they sacrifice a few games now for a better draft pick.

If you look at the the teams selecting at the top of the draft, you'll see names that repeat year in and year out. Teams like Pittsburgh and Indianapolis have made two top ten picks, and New England has made only three. Consider how many wins they have between them in that same time frame. On the other hand, you have teams like the Detroit Lions and the Washington Redskins, who have combined for 15 top ten picks in that same period.

What's the difference between the winning franchises and the losing ones? Well, for starters, their ability to find franchise quarterbacks, especially considering how many first overall pick quarterbacks end up being busts, and secondly, their ability to find value in later rounds of the draft. It matters more what you do with your picks than where your picks are actually located. There's value throughout the entirety of the draft, but some people focus too much on a single game-changer in the first round. The chances of getting one of those guys is already slim, even slimmer for quarterbacks, and even if you do, it's rare that they truly change the direction of a perpetually losing team to that of a good one. Darrelle Revis, DeMarcus Ware, Calvin Johnson, they're all incredible players. But can they single-handedly make a terrible team a contender?

The answer is no. Teams are built on solid starters, a few playmakers here and there, and great depth. Great teams will take a playmaker if he's there and of good value, but by and large, they'll either stick with their picks, or accumulate more. They play to win the game because, truthfully, that's all that really matters.

This team shouldn't be looking to lose games for a better draft pick, because the chances of actually getting that game-changer are slim. And more likely than not, you'll set your franchise back from where it could have been.

Enjoy our last few games as much as you can. Cheer for your team to win them, so you can enjoy the sweet taste of victory. Don't hope that they'll lose the last few games, because in the end, it won't make much of a difference. Getting better at the drafting process throughout the entire draft is far more important than moving up two or three meaningless slots in the first round of the NFL Draft.