Nees should never play into the board set up.
I'm of the opinion that you set up your board by ranking the players and that you draft by best player available, with very very minor exceptions.
The need plays a role, after the board has been established.
Now if a position you need has a player ranked a couple below your spot...and he's available when your time is up...then you have to study the situation at that moment.
Do you draft the player you think will help a few slots ahead of what you felt his value was, or do you try and trade down, in hopes of picking up a pick or two and hope that the player is still available in a later slot?
The problem with drafting for need is that you get the prime example player such as Quincy Carter...you reach for a player...which given what the draft is, these are unproven poker chips and you hope that one of them will pay out.
If your the Cowboys and at your spot in the 1st round is the next Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson...do you draft him, knowing you already have 3 quality RB's? My answer, is that if they are the best player available...YES!!!
Analyze the players coming into the draft first, then analyze your needs...otherwise, if you look at needs first, it may influence how you judge the players coming out.
Let's not pull a Barry Switzer and draft back-ups...we must always be drafting players because we believe they can start. It will either push the players you have to get better, or they will get beat out by someone who IS better.
That being said, I place HIGH values on OL and DL first, LB's are next...then an impact S who can actually QB the defense. As for the CB, QB's WR's, RB's and TE's...They are mixed in the "Skill" positions and again, I go with BPA, regardless of what the needs on my team are.
Keep in mind that the skill positions, can't function without a strong OL, DL or LB's!!! Case in point...Romo got crushed by the Vikings, because of the OL breakdown...thus the RB's WR's or TE's were limited.
Same on the Defensive side...the Vikings managed to control our DL and LB's a bit better and thus provided holes to run through, and time for Favre to get what he needed.
The more time an offensive player has to make a play, the more vulnerable our DB's become.
It's all about the big guys up front...without them, there are no skill player highlights!!!
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