Tomlin, Belichick Value Familiarity in the Draft
Succeeding at any professional level has very little to do with a person's talent and has much more to do with a person's development and their rate of maturity. So while drafting NFL players that come from similar programs in terms of playing and coaching styles will not guarantee a player's success at the next level, it certainly can reduce the uncertainty associated with drafting players because you are acquiring a player that already has some familiarity with the requirements to be successful at the next level.
This is why I loved Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin's answer in the post-draft press conference this past weekend on how they continue to go back and draft from specific programs they are familiar with, both in terms of the coaches that run those programs (something I've noticed Patriots' coach Bill Belichick has done over the years ) and the type of players they can expect to get when they draft from those programs.
Q: What is it about certain places that you’ve been back to before that makes you comfortable drafting from again?
Mike Tomlin drafting from Wisconsin multiple times over the years
“Sometimes a place like Wisconsin is a stylistic match. Always had a lot of resect for Jim Leonard, their former coordinator, and they do a lot of similar things that we do, so it makes it an easy eval, there is less speculation in terms of what they might be able to do in our system of football”
Some joke that NFL can stand for "Not For Long" when it comes to the length of player's careers, but teams are on limited timelines when it comes to the job security of team executives and coaches, which directly influences the tolerance level certain organizations will have in waiting for talented players to develop into productive pros and how long to wait before a player understands how to be a successful athlete.
Prioritizing players in the selection process that are great team fits, for culture and playing style, increases the chances those players 1) mature at a faster rate than others, and 2) continue to develop and improve throughout their pro careers, and 3) play a valuable role on the team.
