Draft Day - The Most Fulfilling Day in NFL
Leigh Steinberg
The 2014 NFL Draft begins on Thursday night in New York. The question I was asked repeatedly on tour for my book “The Agent” was: After 40 years of representing 60 First Round draft picks, including the very first pick overall 8 different years, why would you feel the need to do it again? Because the process of listening to a young man’s hopes and dreams, guiding him through the draft process, and watching the joy and exultation in him and his friends and family is unbelievably rewarding and exciting. There is no other day in a young athlete’s life like Draft Day. NFL draftees have been working and dreaming about this possibility since they first played competitive football in Pop Warner. They have spent endless hours in training, practicing and playing to get to this point. And as the process is rewarded with a team selecting them, players experience ultimate validation and affirmation.
The lengthy “second season” of scouting has been completed. Players have gone through private training sessions for strength and speed in January and February.
Some have played in All-Star Games. Some were invited to the Super Bowl of Scouting – the Scouting Combine – in Indianapolis where they were given physicals, tested on physical skills, met with teams in short sessions, and given the opportunity to display positional skills. The same testing occurred back in their college campuses in Pro Scouting Days. Some players may have taken trips to many franchises in April. Their collegiate career and the second season of scouting are a comprehensive basis for judging.
Teams have their draft boards complete. They may have an overall rating of “best athlete available” rankings from 1-500. They also have each position rated the same way. Teams have gone through multiple simulations to determine who they would pick in their position based on which draftees may be available. They have a theory of valuing different rounds and positions for the purpose of trading. They have projected possible moves up and down in a round to get the most value.
Keep in mind these principles as you watch:
1) The Draft attempts to project a player over the next 10-12 years in a pro setting. It is not a merit badge handed out for conspicuous college performance.
2) The Draft does not follow press consensus ratings–individual teams are making choices based on their evaluation and needs. Draft boards vary. It is more important for a player to have ONE team highly motivated to pick him, rather than 32 teams who think he is a good player.
3) When teams use all 5 or 10 minutes when it is their turn, they are probably fielding and making calls on trade possibilities. They already know who they would pick in their position.
4) For the players and families, draft time is not normal time. It is water torture time. Every second seems like a minute, every minute an hour. Drip, drip, drip. For players in NY who are waiting under the hot lights, it can be agonizing and embarrassing.
5) There is a general amnesty granted for statements not truthful by teams relating to the draft. If an NFL owner stood before St. Peter and explained that his only sin was telling a tall-tale pre-draft, I can assure you he would still be allowed into heaven.
My client in this Draft, SMU Quarterback Garrett Gilbert, performed brilliantly at his throwing exhibition on Pro Scouting Day on campus. He has had numerous positive visits with teams. He is a potential franchise Quarterback. No writers or draft sites seem to agree, but I expect to be with him in Austin as he gets drafted in the Third Round and no later than the Fourth. And then the celebrating can begin.
Leigh Steinberg
The 2014 NFL Draft begins on Thursday night in New York. The question I was asked repeatedly on tour for my book “The Agent” was: After 40 years of representing 60 First Round draft picks, including the very first pick overall 8 different years, why would you feel the need to do it again? Because the process of listening to a young man’s hopes and dreams, guiding him through the draft process, and watching the joy and exultation in him and his friends and family is unbelievably rewarding and exciting. There is no other day in a young athlete’s life like Draft Day. NFL draftees have been working and dreaming about this possibility since they first played competitive football in Pop Warner. They have spent endless hours in training, practicing and playing to get to this point. And as the process is rewarded with a team selecting them, players experience ultimate validation and affirmation.
The lengthy “second season” of scouting has been completed. Players have gone through private training sessions for strength and speed in January and February.
Some have played in All-Star Games. Some were invited to the Super Bowl of Scouting – the Scouting Combine – in Indianapolis where they were given physicals, tested on physical skills, met with teams in short sessions, and given the opportunity to display positional skills. The same testing occurred back in their college campuses in Pro Scouting Days. Some players may have taken trips to many franchises in April. Their collegiate career and the second season of scouting are a comprehensive basis for judging.
Teams have their draft boards complete. They may have an overall rating of “best athlete available” rankings from 1-500. They also have each position rated the same way. Teams have gone through multiple simulations to determine who they would pick in their position based on which draftees may be available. They have a theory of valuing different rounds and positions for the purpose of trading. They have projected possible moves up and down in a round to get the most value.
Keep in mind these principles as you watch:
1) The Draft attempts to project a player over the next 10-12 years in a pro setting. It is not a merit badge handed out for conspicuous college performance.
2) The Draft does not follow press consensus ratings–individual teams are making choices based on their evaluation and needs. Draft boards vary. It is more important for a player to have ONE team highly motivated to pick him, rather than 32 teams who think he is a good player.
3) When teams use all 5 or 10 minutes when it is their turn, they are probably fielding and making calls on trade possibilities. They already know who they would pick in their position.
4) For the players and families, draft time is not normal time. It is water torture time. Every second seems like a minute, every minute an hour. Drip, drip, drip. For players in NY who are waiting under the hot lights, it can be agonizing and embarrassing.
5) There is a general amnesty granted for statements not truthful by teams relating to the draft. If an NFL owner stood before St. Peter and explained that his only sin was telling a tall-tale pre-draft, I can assure you he would still be allowed into heaven.
My client in this Draft, SMU Quarterback Garrett Gilbert, performed brilliantly at his throwing exhibition on Pro Scouting Day on campus. He has had numerous positive visits with teams. He is a potential franchise Quarterback. No writers or draft sites seem to agree, but I expect to be with him in Austin as he gets drafted in the Third Round and no later than the Fourth. And then the celebrating can begin.
