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Proper strategy in the draft is extremely crucial to a team's long term success in the NFL. Throughout history it has been proven time and time again that the teams that consistently draft better will have a higher probability of success. The NFL is a league that has a lot of parity so the margin for error is tiny. To win week in and week out a team must have a variety of good players and depth at each position. In the modern day era of the salary cap the only way to ensure long term success is through the draft.

Playing professional football is a very physically challenging game, so much so that each year many players get injured for significant amounts of time. As a result of this a team has to plan for the possibility that a key piece of their team will not be there. Each team has to have as quality a backup as they can at every position. Bringing in young, hungry players through the draft is the best way to accomplish this. It also helps to have more guys in camp because they will push each other to greater heights. No one wants to get cut or ride the bench; they come to give 100%. This is why it's so important to have many draft picks and a good talent scout. Great backups or even top-notch starters can be found at every level of the draft. The NFL is loaded with very good players who were drafted after the 3rd round. Superstars like Tom Brady and Kurt Warner are two great examples of late round picks. Not only does the draft help you build depth but it gives you your teams' starters of tomorrow. It's rare for a player to stay on the same team his whole career and when he leaves he will need to be replaced. Having a player who knows the system and has been there for awhile is better than going through free agency or drafting and starting a rookie.

The salary cap is another reason that the draft has become so important. A NFL team can only spend so much money each year on its players; this was done to help even out the league. This prevents a big market team, like the Dallas Cowboys, from being able to buy all the good players from a small market team like the Green Bay Packers. The salary cap works as the great equalizer. This makes a team decide what positions and players they will spend the top money on and where they will compromise. Most spend a lot of money at key positions; quarterback, wide receiver running back, defensive end etc. Yet we must remember there are 22 starters and 53 players on an NFL team, they can't all be top paid proven veterans.

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