For safety reasons there are only eight people allowed in Lions draft rooms. More density than that carries risk of injury or even death via Brand and Dan moshing.accidents.
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That stands out to me as well. In particular it reminds me of something Pat Kirwan pointed out years ago. He said the best and most consistent franchises in the NFL have the “smallest” staffs. And for the staff positions he read off each teams total. There were outliers in teams like the Bengals who are notoriously cheap, but you could see a pattern of teams like the Browns having the most “staff” and teams like the Packers, Steelers and Patriots being on the opposite end of the spectrum. He was counting the entire coaching staff and key personnel staff members outside of the scouts.
I am a strong believer in having a small group of decision makers in the room on draft day. If you need a discussion about a prospect as a refresher…you can call the guy you want to talk to…or go into a different room to talk to them. The more suits you put into a room the more weird things get, and the dumber the decisions get (IMO). There is a certain businessman that I won’t name because it creates a response. But I do like something he said about meetings. He said the larger the group, the shorter the meeting needs to be. He had his reasons, but I am sure many of us can understand what he was talking about. The draft is not a short meeting. Therefore there should be less people in the room.
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Maybe you missed the part where I said it was a win/win. I’m not saying the Vikings got the better of the Lions, I’m saying they came out happy with their trade and better off (in their eyes) then if they had stayed put. Sure they gave up value on the chart, but in no world is drafting Cine alone better than drafting Cine plus adding a 3rd rounder. This is the kind of move I was begging Quinn to do, instead he was just standing put and taking his guy anyways.
Yeah. Kind of felt the same way @radiofriendly. We’ve seen that vibe before I think. I don’t see anywhere near the comfort level and ease of collaboration between O’Connell and Kwesi as we’ve seen between Brad and DC. It feels special in the Lions’ war room right now. With Spielman stalking around silently and Dorsey chewing his gum, whispering things to Brad…it’s unique and it’s got substance, and I wouldn’t switch our deal with the Vikings set up in a million years.
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Savvy observations here @MotorCityMadhouse I agree. Kwesi may turn out to be a genius- or not. But there just seems to be an odd vibe there in that video IMO. Slightly awkward between coach and GM.
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The one thing that really stands out is that the Lions’ media department is all pro and the Vikings’ is practice squad at best.
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Dropping 20 picks in the 1st round was a HUGE risk if Cine really was their target. He could have easily gone before 32.
I have a hard time believing that Minnesota didn’t get taken advantage of in that trade. I have a hard time believing that Minnesota didn’t get better offers (that maybe Minny’s GM didn’t think were better but most everyone else did). Detroit would have given up more to move up to #12 but were surprised that Minny only wanted their 3rd round pick.
The difference between teams couldn’t be more obvious when looking at how those rooms were run.
It’s like a pair of Crypto guys were now running an established bank and the old bankers (who want to keep their jobs) just kept their mouth’s shut but you know afterwards were going to get together and talk about how stupid of a move that was).
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I agree, feels most of the odd vibe is created by Kwesi. I can’t quite put a finger on it, but to me something in his mannerisms feels off
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Spot on, nailed it
@BlueWolverine02 - You are right, that is a different conversation. I was not meaning to counter or disagree with your point (it seems like a good one to me), your thought just triggered a different idea. You are very right about the Hock/Okudah picks…
Another thing I thought of, that someone else mentioned…
He said “Don’t ask a trader not to trade” while he was talking about the trade down from 12. I think he really WANTED to do interesting things and make trades to maximize value (in his standard). He may not have been satisfied staying put and doing the ‘status quo.’
That reminded me of his background… I pulled this from the Vikings site:
Prior to joining the NFL, Adofo-Mensah worked as an associate portfolio manager at Taylor Woods Capital and was Vice President/Executive Director at Credit Suisse as a commodities trader before entering the NFL in 2013. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey, native received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University and went on to receive his master’s in economics from Stanford University.
I initially thought he meant he just ‘liked’ trades. Then I remembered some other comment from another thread, and that he was ACTUALLY a commodities trader. Like, that is his bread and butter/background. He may move around a lot in the draft each year, simply because that’s how he thinks. He even identifies himself as a Trader now, years after transitioning to the NFL.
Commodities trading is a very high-stress, volatile profession. Lots of ‘alpha’ type personalities, a lot of confidence and quick decision making, etc. Also, if you don’t ‘make moves’ you won’t succeed much. He was a VP/Executive Director, so he is very used to making moves and trades.
Like I said in an earlier post… I wouldn’t have posted this much info if I were the Vikings. Too much there for other teams to digest and analyze.
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Valid points @mojofilterx. It’s easy to strut around on draft day with that smartest guy in the room grin like you pulled off the biggest coup ever and everyone else is an idiot.
As with all things NFL Draft, only time will tell. Like that time Tavai and Teez finally got on the field for the Lions. All that Bob Quinn batboy Patriot Way bravado quickly melted away. We all saw clearly who was sitting at the wheel of the Allen Park Titanic.
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You’re dead on with these…
I tried so hard to convince myself that Tavai was this ‘unique’ guy who could play multiple roles, and only 1-2 guys in the draft can pull it off each year. And that Tabor’s instincts and smarts would make up for his slow feet. Sigh. They got me again.
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I would have been ok drafting both of them……In the fifth round where they should have gone. There’s times to gamble on players like that who can be the rare exception of excelling despite glacial 40 times. And it’s not the second round
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Sheila as well as Martha. The latter wasn’t in there last year (I don’t think). If true, I can’t fathom why she was in there this year.
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Don’t let the smile fool you!
I think he does not get buy-in from his staff – good for us.
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Good catch, I saw that too, and judging by his reaction, he did not get a straight answer. Don’t know for a fact, but I think that is not kosher with most GMs.
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Yeah it was weird, the phone calls I saw he was talking on the phone like he was talking to a friend almost, but I am thinking it may have been a one sided thing on his part. How he kept trying to be kind of playful, like “come on brother, the deal’s done who you gonna take??”
He appears to be extremely confident in himself but I don’t know that was entirely reciprocated by the rest of the room.
Again, I have no clue. Brad Holmes might’ve been on the other end saying “we’re taking Jamo and he’s gonna smoke you twice a year brother!!”
Anyway, definitely got that Wall Street vibe from him. We’ll see how it works out for them
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My answer would have been watch the tv the pick is coming right now.
Hindsite… would have been hilarious if the lions traded up and took cine.
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Hahaha that would’ve been… but that would have been so dumb… safety at 12?? Is he the second coming of Sean Taylor???
I would say no since there’s highlights of Jamo beating Cine 
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