I honestly think the days of the obscure superstar are largely over - with obvious exceptions like Antonio Brown floating around out there.
Back in the 70s, the smart teams - like the Steelers and Cowboys - knew where to find obscure talent (generally at the HBCUs).
That still existed somewhat in the 90s.
Today, every college and pro coach in the country knows the names of the top 1,000 high school sophomores in the country and has film of all of them on their Ipad.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to fall through the cracks. You almost have to work at it - which Antonio Brown kind of did. He basically ran away from home at 17, couldn’t qualify academically for college, and played QB of all things at a JuCo.
I honestly think the only thing that team’s can really control in the NFL right now is some level of continuity. That means smartly managing your cap so you can have controlled chaos on your roster and not massive turnover. That means finding a QB and keeping a coaching staff and front office in place for more than a year.
I don’t think Mike Tomlin is a master strategist by any means. But his players like him and generally know what he wants to do. Add in a good QB, and you can compete in the NFL.
Hell, the Bengals stumbled into some kind of respectability simply because they are too cheap to ever fire Marvin Lewis.
Yes, that’s true. I think the internet age has changed a lot of this, too.