In my previous post I talked about why teams wouldn't take Patrick Peterson #1 overall, even though I think he is deserving of the spot. Now I will address how that can and will change in the future.
We all know that one of the hot button issues is a rookie wage scale or rooking slotting process much like the NBA has. This will keep unproven players from collecting tens of millions of dollars before they even play a down or compete in a practice in the NFL. I can go through and name a bunch of big busts, but everyone should already be familiar with them. The other problem the financial windfall that top 10 picks receive is that teams will stack the top of their draft board based on it (possibly subconsciously). Many teams year in and year out claim that they draft the "best available player" and not draft for need, which they may very well do it in the bottom half of the first round and beyond, but typically in the top half of the first round they are gunning for the "home run" pick. I am not going to get into examples of this or this post will end up to long. In the past 10 drafts a QB has been taken #1 overall 80% of the time, and of the 8 QB's selected 5 of them were not the savior of the franchise that drafted them (I am counting Eli Manning as a success even though he was traded on draft day). So we know that QB's are typically taken #1, the only exception to the "home run" type pick is that teams draft LT's very high because they are protecting the face and savior of the franchise. Now why are they doing that when it seems that #1 QB's have a high wash out rate? Teams know that as soon as they draft a player in the Top 5, that player is going to become the highest paid player in the league at his position before he does anything to deserve it.
How can teams change that mentality at drafting? I believe that the rookie wage scale will help change that mentality. Will it eliminate it? No, because there is such a premium put on drafting a QB that teams will still invariably reach for them. But with a rookie wage scale that locks players into slightly shorter deals and a lot less money, teams will be much more likely to draft the best player available because the committed dollars will not be as high. The other benefit to a rookie wage scale is that their will be a lot more movement at the top of the draft, currently a top 5 pick is as much a burden as it is a reward because if a team picks wrong, it can set their franchise back 5-6 years because of the financial and salary cap impact that pick has. But without the outrageous guaranteed money, teams will be much more willing to jump into the top 5 and pick a Patrick Peterson because that team desperately needs a DB and he is the best player in the draft, that team may see him as the missing piece to making a Super Bowl run. And a team with the #1 overall pick like Carolina that has many needs will jump at the opportunity to stockpile more picks because they need multiple players to turn their franchise around. The benefit to the veterans in the league is that their would be less money wasted on players that wash out of the league during or after their rookie contract so more money for them. The benefit for rookies (besides the top 5) is that the contracts would be shorter so players could cash in on that 2nd big contract worth big money if they outplayed their rookie deal. The rookie wage scale would be better for teams, players, and fans, and it would make the draft value chart made popular by the Cowboys in the early 90's relevant again.
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