Here’s an idea for making “meaningless” preseason depth charts truly meaningless

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It’s the preseason, which means it’s #UnofficialDepthChartSZN. Which means it’s time for coaches to spend time talking about how the media and fans are wasting time analyzing the contents of the unofficial depth charts.

“I wouldn’t have made a depth chart right now; there’s no reason to, it’s silly,” Washington coach Jay Gruden recently said. “That’s for the media and for me to come up and answer these questions, but really that’s all it is. It’s words on a piece of paper, names on a piece of paper and an order that means nothing at this point.”

But it’s still not meaningless. It’s a snapshot, even if premature, regarding the construction of the roster. So, yes, it has some meaning. Perhaps not much. But some.

Here’s an idea for making depth charts truly meaningless, if that’s the message the coach wants to send: Draw the names for each position out of a hat.

That would literally be meaningless. While the league, which mandates the release of the depth charts, may not like the approach, what’s the difference between insisting that the depth chart is meaningless and making it meaningless?

So quit saying the depth charts are meaningless, coaches, and put your money where your meaningless is.