ny33

Tavon Austin or Ansah

Their d-line is their biggest flaw. I know the Pats' CBs are thought of as busts, but I see the lack of quality coverage as resulting, largely, from mediocre d-linemen and pass rushers. Kelly and a solid rusher in the draft would vastly improve their defense, though o-line isn't out of the question in the first for New England.

I'm pretty sure that was sarcasm.

I tend to agree with Stanley Druckenmiller and a few other investment professionals who now manage only their own money, rather than clients'/the public's, and hence are slightly more likely to give their honest opinions to journalists. Druckenmiller, as of last month http://seekingalpha.com/article/1262501-are-equity-markets-setting-up-for-a-meaningful-correction?source=google_news) was relatively bullish, but still wasn't that optimistic. The unfortunate reality is that it is far easier to make money if you have money, though that, of course, requires investing most of your assets with professionals, as most athletes seem loath to do. Most new funds from highly successful P.E./V.C. firms require 250k-1m, minimum, for a reasonable expectation of a 7-9% return, which is far out of reach for most people, and which most investors wouldn't recommend doing unless one's net worth is significantly greater than that amount; that puts such investments out of reach for most three-year NFL players. I don't trust funds like Red Rocks Capital, which has simply, and lazily, indexed public P.E. firms and is attempting to pass it off as a legitimate way to invest directly in private equity. The benefits of investing in shares of these funds isn't even close to what one risks/stands to gain by investing directly in a new fund. While Powershares has been a successful fund, Red Rocks has crashed and burned before. Either way, there are countless decent investments for NFL players to make, yet most tend to trust their own abilities over professionals with strong track records.

https://www.nflplayers.com/About-us/FAQs/Financial-Advisor-FAQs/ The answer is yes; the NFL has set requirements for registered financial advisors. The program is mandatory for agents, but optional for financial advisors. You can't, of course, force players to use a specific asset manager/financial advisor, but this program is likely helpful. As many people have noted in this thread, the desire to "blow money" and a sense of hubris when it comes to investment are usually what drives these guys to bankruptcy. Poor financial advice/theft can hurt you, sure, but it's far easier to burn through money by spending it irresponsibly or by deciding that your car dealerships/casino/real estate in Jacksonville. It takes some restraint to accept the fact that Blackstone/PIMCO/your private banker can do a better job than you with your money.

I disagree. Though it's a stretch to accurately compare one draft to another except in hindsight, let's compare this year to 2007, when there were no quality QBs. There were only two drafted in the first that year: Jamarcus Russell and Brady Quinn (1st and 22nd overall). Let's say we trade 8 for 23 and 25 in 2007. The eighth pick could mean Jamaal Anderson (drafted eighth) or Patrick Willis (drafted 11th). The twenty-third and twenty-fifth picks in 2007 yielded Dwayne Bowe and Jon Beason, two very good players. Brandon Meriweather and Anthony Spencer were drafted at twenty-four and twenty-sixth overall, and it's fair to say Willis would be a better pick than the combo of the two. I think, either way, we are getting good value trading down with the Vikings. I don't, however, see a compelling reason that they would want to trade up to eight, unless they really love Patterson or a pass-rusher. No one is trading two firsts for a CB, be it Dee Milliner or Xavier Rhodes.

It's not that hard to find p.e./v.c. funds in the top 25 percentile (7-9% IRR) that require 250k+ in capital. As for mutual funds, PIMCO Total Return/Dynamic Income have been pretty consistently successful. Any legitimate private banking service- Citi, JP Morgan, etc. would point these players that way in a second. Of course, that would require them to invest 50-75% of their assets into 5-year plus investments that they don't control, which might be too much for their egos...

To go off-topic again, while Davis is a PF and Howard is a center, having both on the floor would create spacing issues (i.e. Howard and Gasol in L.A.). That doesn't mean L.A. would have passed on him if the second-best player on the board (not in practice) was Kidd-Gilchrist. However, if the Patriots were drafting first in 2012, they would trade down instead of picking up Luck/RG3, despite both players being premier talents. I agree with much of what you said, but I don't think you exactly grasped my point of comparison between the drafting "science" in the two leagues. Also, I said that NBA teams *never* trade the first overall pick. The value of, say, the 15, 16, and 17 picks in the NBA Draft is far inferior to the value of the #1 overall pick, whereas, unless a top QB is available, teams wouldn't trade #1 for #15, #16, and #17.

Dareus is a fine player, but I'd rather have the QB (Kaepernick) than the pass-rusher (Orakpo).

Madoff's returns were unrealistic. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/your-money/06wealth.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 I know a few people who have family members that lost money to Madoff. I'm pretty sure you had to have some level of awareness that the returns were not legitimate; I would guess that most investors silently thought that his returns were thanks to insider trading, not a Ponzi scheme. I agree completely with sodbuster. The lack of respect by many successful athletes for academic or intellectual pursuits is unfortunate. If you don't take your education- financial, university coursework, or independent reading- seriously, you are to blame for losses incurred to sleazy financial advisors or questionable business deals.

For the players who lost everything through investments, I blame hubris. Instead of trusting your money with responsible people/firms, they believe they, or their friends, can manage wealth best. I have no sympathy for people foolish enough to trust swindlers with their money. There are plenty of reputable, high-yield places to invest your money if you have a lot of capital.

"Positions of need" are very, very different in the NBA, NHL, and NFL. Players play offense and defense in basketball and hockey; in football, they not only play one side, but have specific roles (i.e., designated offensive linemen can't catch the ball). In the NBA, even if you have, say, Dwight Howard, you would still draft Anthony Davis with the #1 pick. In the NFL, if you have Aaron Rodgers, you don't draft Luck/RG3; you trade down. You don't trade down from #1 in the NBA draft.

Yeah, I disagree with people who say that paying a QB like Manning or Rodgers 20% of your cap isn't worth it.

Actually, many of these guys go broke because they make poor investments. I'm not saying they deserve sympathy, but their bankruptcies are often due to failed businesses/investments/swindles.

Why are you assuming that he- or any other mock drafter- is compiling these drafts for the sake of "being right"? If you don't want to read his reports, don't read them.

Yep. I will correct that statement by saying that the top RBs, year-to-year, rarely feature on Super Bowl teams. Adrian Peterson, Spiller, Foster (who's wildly overrated), Forte, Richardson, etc. aren't winning Super Bowls. Gore was a third-rounder. You don't need a first-round, or elite, RB to win a Super Bowl. QBs and pass-rushers are far more integral.

Thanks for doing the research. I stand corrected. That being said, it would be a stretch to say that most of those players were integral to their Super Bowl appearance/win.

T.J. Yates? hahahaha

Rice and Gore were second and third rounders, respectively. Teams that draft RBs in the top ten are idiotic. First round RBs haven't made a Super Bowl in a long, long time. I laughed when Cleveland traded up for Trent Richardson. Tampa wanted to trade up to Minnesota's spot, but Cleveland "won out"; the Bucs ended up taking Doug Martin at 31, and Martin had a better season, as did Alfred Morris.

As they are at the pinnacle of their careers, many professional athletes believe, falsely, that their investment skills are equal. That's why you see so many of them starting their own, usually failed, ventures such as restaurants and car dealerships. They've also generally squandered their education and take advice from sleazy individuals who only aim for management fees and not actual profits for their athlete clients. If you're worth $10 million after taxes, you should be putting that money into a mix of safe, high-capital mutual funds (PIMCO Total Return, for example) and private-equity/v.c. funds. It's amazing how foolish these guys are with their money.

McClain isn't Marshawn Lynch, who (dangerously) drove drunk and was convicted of illegally possessing a concealed weapon. He's worse; McClain put a loaded gun to someone's head, then fired in another direction. McClain was also targeted in a drive-by shooting. He should be in jail, not on an NFL team, and I certainly don't want him on the Bills.

Minnesota isn't trading two firsts for a CB.

Is that a Wedding Crashers reference?

Ask anyone. Look at the first round RBs taken this decade. Now tell me how many have been to a Super Bowl. It's the most overrated position in the game; as good as CJ is, he won't win us a Super Bowl without a QB.

Right. I'm also saying that even Warmack isn't necessarily a home-run; "safe" prospects are often busts, or don't become stars. Richardson had an average year last year, and RB is the most overrated position in the league (a first-round starting RB hasn't been to the Super Bowl in years).