On Monday, new Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett told SI’s Albert Breer what we’ve been hearing—and observing—silently behind the scenes for two years now. There is no longer such a thing as a “rebuild” or even a “build.” There is no more “time” when it comes to creating a roster and a culture. Sean McVay did it in a year. Owners believe the next guy can, too. It’s far easier to rifle through coaches making $4 million or $5 million a year (NFL salaries are coming back down to earth, by the way, despite a collegiate coaching salary boom) on four-year contracts than it is to sink a ton of resources into a true build—the manifestation of a culture or a coach’s idea of a team that may never come to fruition.
We haven’t really discussed what that means for the draft, but we should. Sure, GMs are trading more of their picks for known entities. But they’re also drafting players they feel can guarantee them a higher rate of success. They’re trying to more intensely quantify maturity and intelligence; they’re preparing to be as impatient with these young players as their owners are with the people making the choices and calling the plays.
Some teams are also getting better at the pipelining process. The Bengals have been blurring the lines between scouting and coaching for decades, and in 2021 we saw the fruits of that approach. The 49ers and Colts have a similar vibe.
