that runs right along the lines of how DL thinks:
NFL Draft - NFL draft preview and analysis from Pro Football Weekly
"With those questions in mind, I brought the entire Pro Football Weekly editorial department together several months ago to map out a process for studying the NFL draft over the past five seasons and set about the process of trying to determine the impact it has had on the successes and failures of the league's 32 teams. What follows are our findings.
The Chargers (11) drafted more of their ’07 starters between 2003-05 than any club in the league, and the Patriots, Cowboys and Cardinals (nine each) tied for second. Of the 10 clubs that drafted seven or more of their ’07 starters between 2003-05, the Colts, Jaguars and Seahawks (seven each) were also in the playoffs, and the Eagles (eight) and Bears (seven) are also in this group.
Again, the Chargers (six), Cowboys (five), Patriots (four) and Bears (four) drafted the most Pro Bowlers in this five-year span.
The final proof of the connection between developing homegrown talent and winning is provided by a look at which clubs have done the best with undrafted free-agent rookies. The Colts lead the way with 16, and the Cowboys (15) are second. Of the nine clubs with nine or more undrafted rookie free agents to make the roster in the year they were signed, the Jaguars (11), Giants (11) and Chargers (nine) join the Colts and Cowboys in the playoffs."
granted, we are talking about a 50 person roster vs a 23 person roster, it still seems to make tremendous sense to build a core that will be with the team for a long period to come.
I look at the example of Detroit and how long they have been producing top flight teams at this point, and hope that DL can get the Kings there in the next few seasons. It looks like we have the youth in place. The coaching staff needs to mentor and get the most out of them now.