We Love the NFL Draft
Do we need to fix the NFL Draft? It’s a bold question. Around here at DraftDive, the NFL Draft is sacred. An annual event that is held in such high regard as amateurs make their way to the pros. Some of my colleagues still watch the whole thing, something I used to do myself. However, spending a weekend watching a non-sports event instead of hanging out with my toddler son is not an easy sell to the wife. So those days are behind me. I check the results when I have time. Did I miss out on the excitement when my favored team, the Chicago Bears, traded up to take Justin Fields? Yes, slightly, but the end result was the same, and I’m very happy with that end result.
Still, I want the NFL Draft to be better. In fact, I want all amateur drafts to be better. I have come up with the perfect solution for all sports to help the “student-athletes” do what is best for them and also add excitement to the draft itself.
The Problem
The one thing that truly sucks about the draft (okay, not the one thing, as players should have the right to sign with whoever the hell they want for however much someone is willing to pay, but in this instance, we’re keeping the draft, so let’s get over that thought for a second) is the disappointment players experience when their expectations are dashed. For guys that exhausted their college eligibility, it is what it is. This is who the NFL says you are, and it’s time to make the most of your limited opportunity. But for those guys that left school, thinking they’d be picked in the first two days. When they go undrafted it’s a killer. They’re stuck in limbo, that is awful.
If you’re an asshole, you might think that they should have known better. However, there is so much noise in the NFL Draft process that it’s pretty hard to discern what’s real and what isn’t. I mean, if Mitch Trubisky can be the second overall pick, who is to say you can’t dream a big dream? And a lot of these players come from poor backgrounds, they have to feel the pressure to find a reason to leave school early. So they can provide for their family. It’s a really tough situation, and the NCAA has varying rules on how they handle it, depending on the sport.
The Current Rules
1. In the NFL, once you declare for the draft, you’re gone. Of course, you have to wait three years after your high school graduation to do that.
2. In the NBA, you can declare for the draft and go through the draft combine. Though you can still pull your name back a few weeks before the draft takes place. However, if you hire an agent, you’re gone. You have to spend one year after high school before you can go through this process.
3. For the MLB, you can come out as a high schooler. Or go to a community college if you only want to wait a year or two. Additionally, you can go to a major college and wait at least three years before coming into the draft. You can even have an “advisor” (agent) to help you make your decision.
I’ve dumbed down the rules, but no matter how you spin it, these rules are painfully stupid. Luckily, I have come up with the perfect solution to solve every sport’s issue and even add some fun to the draft.
Players Call Their Shot
I introduce to you an idea where players call their shot. In this, players could have advisors, because why shouldn’t they? But the players work with them to figure out where could they be selected and be happy with the outcome. So instead of just declaring for the draft, you declare where you would need to be drafted in order to leave school. For an example, we can say Spencer Rattler declares for this draft and says he will leave if he is a top-5 pick. If he is selected in the top-5, he goes onto that NFL team. But if the sixth pick comes up, and he hasn’t been selected, he is no longer eligible to be selected. He goes back to school at that point.
With this, guys could declare that they are first rounders, maybe it’s first three rounds. Maybe it’s just to be drafted. Hell, if they are just done with school, they could say they’re leaving school even if they aren’t drafted. The important thing is it’s up to the player to decide. And this way, guys who think they are going to be a day 2 pick and end up undrafted aren’t just stuck. They’re not desperately trying to make a team, when an extra year of development and a starter’s playing time in college could have gotten them drafted.
This is what is in the best interest of the players, and it adds excitement to the draft. If you’re a big college fan, you may root against your favorite player’s draft stock, but that’s part of the fun. Teams would no longer have the luxury of “letting a player fall to them” because they might have to trade up before the player becomes ineligible.
The Result
Does this slightly hurt NCAA programs? Yeah, but in football, the player in question might miss spring practice. Big deal. And say Alabama wants to get rid of that player’s scholarship and give it to someone else. I’m pretty sure other NCAA programs will be lining up to use one of their open scholarships to have them transfer to their school.
As for eligibility? Let anyone be eligible. You don’t have to go to college for three years, one year, or at all. Hell, you don’t have to go to high school. If Arch Manning said I will go to the NFL if I’m a top-10 pick as an eighth grader and some team wanted to take him that high, go ahead. If there is some 2nd grader trucking everyone in his league and wants to make the jump to the league, then that’s awesome that a team spent a seventh rounder on him and gave him six-figures worth of guaranteed money.
Obviously these examples are incredibly unlikely to happen, but you can’t convince me that Adrian Peterson couldn’t have gone straight from high school to the pros. In the instance of running backs, they really should be able to get to the NFL as early as possible since most of them are seen as worthless by age 30.
Again, extend this to all leagues as it is the best possible thing for the players involved.
Well, except for getting rid of the draft altogether.
