About the NFL Draft

The National Football League draft is an annual event held in New York City every April that allows professional football teams to select newly eligible players in a designated order. The drafted players hopefully will perform well enough to make the team and fill positions that the clubs need help at. The NFL draft has become so popular that it has spawned a cottage industry in which people speculate which teams will choose which players in mock drafts.

Significance

The order of the draft is based on each team's record the previous season. The team that finished with the worst record picks first, the second worst record chooses second and so on. The team that won the Super Bowl chooses last in the NFL draft and the team that lost the title contest chooses 31st, or next to last. Ties in the order are based on whether teams made the playoffs or not, the club's strength of schedule, and the order they lost in the playoffs if they advanced that far. The draft is set up this way so that clubs in need can draft the best players possible to help them improve.

Time Frame

The NFL draft takes place over a 2-day time frame with the first two rounds held on the first day and rounds three through seven on the second day. In the first round teams have 10-ten minute window in which to make their choices. This window dwindles to 7 minutes for the second round and to 5 minutes for all subsequent rounds. If a team fails to make a decision in the allotted time, they still get to make the pick, but the team after them can "steal" the player with their pick if they so choose. The term "on the clock" is used to describe a team whose turn it is to make a choice.

Potential

Two months prior to the draft, the NFL holds the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana where players by invitation only can come and work out to showcase their talents for scouts. They participate in a variety of physical drills, such as the 40 yard dash and bench press and also undergo drug screening and take tests to evaluate their mental prowess. A player's potential is evaluated during this time and their value can skyrocket with a solid performance or his draft stock can drop with a poor showing at the combine.

History

A total of 11 number one picks in the NFL draft have gone on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including such standouts as Terry Bradshaw and John Elway. For every top draft pick that starred in the NFL there is one that failed to live up to expectations. These players are labeled "busts" and haunt the teams that chose them for years to come. The NFL draft is an inexact science, as many great players have been drafted in the later rounds almost as afterthoughts. Quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, for instance, was a sixth round pick in 2000, the 199th player selected overall.

Expert Insight

The NFL draft dates back to 1936 when the first one was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first player chosen was Jay Berwanger, a running back who starred at the University of Chicago and won the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy as college football's best player. But Berwanger never played a down of professional football. He was chosen by the Eagles but then had his rights traded to the Chicago Bears when he told the Eagles he had no desire to play for them. The Bears failed to convince him to play and Berwanger went on to become a sportswriter and a manufacturer of car parts.