I figured it out. It took me a while, but I figured it out. I was so confused by this draft. I thought: Detroit is a bad team with little elite talent, and they need to rebuild. So why did Detroit draft this way? I think even the front office would agree that they didn't go for elite talent this time around. So, why is that?
What I started to realize is: this is the type of draft you have when you've got a (pre-existing) talented core group that is underachieving when it matters most. They might not have the support pieces or glue guys, and they just need help and hard work and grit to reach their potential. But that didn't make sense to me, because, like I said, Detroit is not that kind of team. They don't have that core group. Most of us don't think they have the talent level right now. They need to take time and draft some star players to lead them.
And then it clicked. Detroit thinks they do have the core group already. This isn't a draft to build for a core group yet to come; this is a draft designed to push the existing group into playoff contention. They're essentially saying that they think the current roster/system could be successful right now with the right depth players. Detroit is shortening the window and trying to win now, even in how they're starting to draft. They're not going BPA. This draft was pure need. Rasmussen isn't an elite talent who we've misjudged; he's a strategic complementary piece who will elevate existing guys like Larkin and Mantha, even if it ultimately wasn't a smart value pick.
So, essentially, we have different opinions of this draft because we have different goals. Detroit wants to churn out pro-level depth guys in the short term. They don't want to find a new core. They want to win with the one they think they already have.
