Do You Feel A Draft?

For many of you the thought of the NFL draft has been out of sight, out of mind. The draft is being held later this year than in past years in order to capture the sports audience. The storylines have also been interesting. There have been so many mock drafts that it really is anybody’s guess as to who will go in the first round and whose draft status has gone out of sight.

The reason the NFL has waited until May is to be the only game in town, so to speak. Well, that might have been the case had the NBA playoffs been unexciting. But with so many first round playoff series going to seven games, there may be more folks tuning in to the second round. The matchups are very intriguing at least on the Western Conference side of it.

But it has been quite a while since the Super Bowl and NFL fans need some sort of infusion to look into the future of their teams and the possibility of getting that game changing player, or blocker that can protect their signal caller.

I think the draft is interesting in several different ways. If the general manager has the control they may be looking in one direction, which may not make the head coach happy. The Seattle Seahawks have a pretty good GM, but Coach Pete Carroll does have the final say and so far it has worked out good enough to win a Super Bowl last February in a rout.

For Seattle these two guys have done a great job. That is a credit to GM John Schneider and Carroll who have been able to make this marriage work. At some point in time Schneider may move on to a job that gives him total control but for now he can live in the limelight of Seattle’s first NFL championship.

I always think the draft is interesting. There are first round busts and undrafted Hall of Famers, which shows that with all of the combines and pro days and interviews it still is an inexact science.

Remember when Russell Wilson was too short? Now Johnny Manziel is about the same size as Wilson, but is he mature enough to be the starting QB in his first year or will he be carrying a clipboard around on the sideline during games for the team that chooses him?

Teams will make picks that will strengthen their depth at any number of positions. A player’s age in this league and the salary cap can make it interesting as to who will be making the big bucks and who will get traded away because the team can’t afford to pay everyone the same.

Most every position on the field has back-ups entering the game as needed with the exception of the QB. The QB usually plays every single offensive down unless an injury takes them out of the game for a play or two. Unfortunately, the back-up signal caller will seldom get any reps during the practice week. So it is up to the back up to pay attention in order to know what plays will be called. But the timing may not be the same, which really makes it tough to be Number 2.

Every player that signs a contract needs to be willing to put in the work and be ready to fill in no matter how much practice time they get. But the player that gets the job done usually has a long career and at some point in time, a pretty good payday. But football is a brutal game and for some the best day they ever have is at the NFL draft. The glory is there but maybe not what experts thought the player had to back it up.

That is why some teams are successful with most every draft while other teams don’t fill in those needed areas that can make them successful. And that is why some teams look forward to the draft while others just feel one.