Mailbag: GM reputation you would want?

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

My friends and I have this yearly debate: If you were an NFL general manager, would you rather be known for hitting on your top selections (first-, second- and third-round picks) or finding the hidden gems (sixth- and seventh-round picks as well as undrafted free agents). You have to choose just one. – Anthony Coleman/Camden, NJ

Nick: When it comes to criticism, I don't think I've ever heard much about teams that never develop undrafted players into stars. But if you miss on a couple of first-round picks, you don't hear the end of it. Case in point, the Cowboys had a decade of first-round picks that were all Pro Bowlers from Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Byron Jones, Zeke Elliott and Leighton Vander Esch. But through all of those picks, it seems like more people focus on the Morris Claiborne and Taco Charlton picks. To me, you don't want to miss the early picks.

While you could argue the point that 'great players are great players' regardless where you find them. Obviously, if you filled your team with Tony Romo, Miles Austin, Drew Pearson, Cliff Harris, Brandon Aubrey, Jay Ratliff-types, then you'd be good enough to compete. But those undrafted and late-round picks don't always pan out.

Just like the first-rounders don't as well. But to me, if I had to pick just one, I'd want to be the GM that nailed the Top 100 picks every year. If you don't do that, then your scouting department and personnel staff probably isn't doing it right. The process can't be one where you're not hitting on the first-rounders and even the second- and third-rounders. Scouting has begun such a year-round process and for some players, they're on the radar longer than that. If you've got this big of a scouting department and you spend over a year working on these prospects, there's no way you should consistently miss on the top picks. And we all know, generally, the top players are the ones considered the franchise players.

Sure there are always diamonds in the rough and the Cowboys have found more of them than most teams. But if you have to be good at one thing over the other, give me the GM that is always hitting on the top picks.

Patrik: Since I have to choose one, based upon your rules, I'd rather be known for hitting on my top-100 picks every year. Why? Because if I do that often enough, I'll always have several franchise players on the roster, know matter what, and I can build around that. So, say I'm not great at finding late-round gems? That's not the end of the world to me, seeing as I'd supplement that weakness by being very active in NFL free agency — adding proven, impact veterans in the first couple of waves to team with the premium talent I routinely hit on in the NFL Draft.

It's definitely an interesting question you pose here, but I feel like missing routinely on premium picks and/or not being active in the first wave or two of free agency is a recipe for being mediocre. The NFL needs role players on rosters, but nobody wins a Super Bowl without having some superstars on their team that are far and away better than everyone else.