I’ve been seeing a lot of pro and anti tanking comments in this sub so I wanted to consolidate everything into one space so we can all hash it out. I see the argument on both sides and in the end it seems like it really comes down to the intangible stuff. My understanding is the following:
Pro-Tanking:
Gives a higher draft pick which results in a better prospect in the draft. No guarantee of any means of making the team better long term (teams miss on draft picks all the time), but theoretically gives the team a better chance in the future if a pick pans out. Essentially, more losses now for more wins later. People in this camp would rather have a dramatic move/sacrifice a season in order to shake things up and get out of the cycle of mediocrity.
Anti-Tanking:
Tanking kills team morale and a top pick does not automatically mean future success (again teams miss on picks constantly). The goal here would be to have more faith in our guys and develop them by building a winning culture with what we have. People on this side want to take the slower approach and build something even if it means staying middle of the pack for a long time.
I think people need to look more at past examples of top picks changing teams versus homegrown developed teams and their success rates rather than throwing out random draft pick success and bust stories (because there are a ton either way). I’m honestly not sure what the best route to go is for the team as a whole, but want people to throw their takes in and see what resonates most w the community.
I dont consider myself within either camp. Both sides have their arguments and I agree with both in some regard. But I dont think the complete pro-tank or anti-tank mentality are the way to go here. Once it was obvious our season was going nowhere, my mentality has been the same. Win or lose, there were just a few things I wanted to see and the team has done them.
Most importantly, I did not want to see the team quit on Dabes and these last few weeks have shown that they have not. That was the major downfall in 2017, and for a little it looked like this team might head down that road as well but Dabes has not lost control of the locker room, which is a really good sign going forward. We can get the #1 pick but if he comes into a mess of a locker room we’re starting from a very bad place. Our guys are still going out there and competing for Daboll and that means something.
I also wanted to see signs of growth and development from the young core pieces of our future on the roster (basically anyone who is going to be on the roster after this season). And again, we have seen that. Our defense has really clicked the last few weeks and its mostly on the backs of the young guys on our team who are going to be back next year. We already know what Dex can do. Kayvon has had his big coming out party this season. Okereke/McFadden are looking like one of the better ILB duos in the league (and Simmons is a FA but if we can bring him back at a modest price, that is a really good complementary trio at a position that was one of our top 2-3 biggest weaknesses last season). Banks has shown he has a lot of potential at CB, and even Flott has developed into a pretty good piece (gonna need to add some more to the secondary but it is not the glaring hole its been for years). Safety is a question mark with McKinney’s contract situation, but Pinnock has been good for us. We have young foundational pieces at all levels of our defense, we pretty much just need a consistent Edge2 (Azeez looks like he can be that guy when he plays but he cant stay on the field) and some more depth all around and we’re in really good shape imo. Offense is another story but even there we have seen guys step up. We know what AT is. Hyatt and Wandale are starting to hit their stride (gonna need to add to the WRs but at least those two look like they can be a solid 2/3). JMS is finally showing some signs. Obviously we need more on both sides, but at least we can say we have some pretty good young supporting pieces who we are getting a good evaluation of for our future plans.
The results were secondary to me. If we lose? I wont complain too much, season is lost and even though a higher pick is not the end-all-be-all, it definitely makes things a little easier. We Win? Cool, at least we know we have players part of our future who can contribute to winning at some level even when shit hits the fan. But as long as we maintain a competitive culture, continue developing our young guys, and are able to produce enough film to get a quality analysis on the guys on our team, I’m not losing sleep over a few draft spots, one way or another.