The NFL Draft Process In-Depth
By Thomas Watts
The NFL Draft happens every April. Roughly 250 college athletes are selected by thirty-two NFL franchises to lead those teams to the Super Bowl. The Draft is a culmination of a year-long evaluation process, and it doesn’t even end after Mr. Irrelevant, the name given to the final pick in the draft, is selected. The NFL offers a supplemental draft later for special circumstances.
Alabama prospects began their journey toward the NFL draft at the NFL Draft Advisory Board. The Draft Advisory Board is a group of scouts who grade prospects and projects where they will go in that year’s draft. Nick Saban encourages any junior that receives a first-round grade to forego his senior season at the Capstone and enter the draft. Any junior can ask the Board for a grade. All seniors interested in continuing their careers in the NFL also receive grades.
Once a grade is received by juniors, they have to make an important decision: hire an agent or stay in school. Hiring an agent eliminates any remaining eligibility because the player is no longer considered an amateur athlete by the NCAA. There is some leeway between the time a grade is issued by the NFL Draft Advisory Board and the deadline for declaring early entry the NFL Draft.
While juniors are deciding whether they should stay in school or go pro, seniors are working out and preparing for all-star games such as the Senior Bowl. All-star games give seniors the chance to compete against some of the best players from around the country in front of NFL scouts. The seniors are not only competing on the field, but off it as well.
There is a major trend in the NFL not just to draft talented athletes, but athletes with strong moral character. Franchises are not interested in sinking millions of dollars into a prospect that will be in jail more often than on the football field. Interviews during the time leading up to an all-star game are just as crucial as strong performances on the field.
After the all-star games are finished, the seniors and early-entry juniors are both on essentially the same path. The prospects begin intensive workout sessions at specialized facilities throughout the United States in preparation for the NFL Scouting Combine. The NFL Combine is held in late February, and is one of the cornerstones of the evaluation process. At the Combine, the NFL gathers standardized measurables such as 40-yard dash time, vertical jump, height, weight and strength. The Combine has turned into a competition between players that is broadcast for fans to cheer on their favorite college prospects throughout the weekend.
Much like the Senior Bowl, there is also an interview component to the Combine. Teams schedule interviews with prospects they are interested in drafting. It is just like a job interview. Players answer questions about their personal history, particularly any criminal record, as well as anything else the franchise deems important. The interviews exist to allow franchises to plumb the depths of a player before selecting them.
Prospects return to their workouts after the Combine and continue preparing for the April Draft. There are only two events left: a Pro Day hosted by a college, and individual workouts for specific teams. Pro Day is like the Combine, but for athletes from that specific school. Trent Richardson, Courtney Upshaw, William Vlachos and other members of the 2011 Tide team will work out for NFL Scouts at the Alabama practice facility. Pro Day is meant to give athletes another chance to impress, as well as let them work in familiar surroundings.
Individual workouts are the final phase leading up to the Draft. NFL franchises fly prospects in for workouts with the team’s coaches. It is exactly like Pro Day in reverse. NFL teams can evaluate players in NFL team facilities and an NFL environment.
All of the work culminates in the April NFL Draft. Selected prospects report to their teams quickly in order to begin work on the team’s playbook. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement implemented a rookie wage scale, so long contract holdouts are a thing of the past for new players. Prospects that aren’t selected are put into the rookie free agent pool. Teams can sign these players as they’re needed. It does not guarantee anything for the prospect, but it does give them a chance to earn a spot on the team’s final roster heading into the
upcoming season.
There is one other draft. A supplemental draft was set up for players who had some extenuating circumstance that precluded them from finishing their senior year of eligibility. The most recent example is former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Pryor was set to serve a five-game suspension to start the 2011 season and instead opted to forego his eligibility and enter the 2011 supplemental draft. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders with a third round pick. The Raiders lose this pick in the 2012 draft.
The NFL Draft process is a lot more than just selections on a given day in April. Players and scouts spend months working on making the best fit among the 32 NFL franchises. Alabama players are currently preparing for the Combine and universally hope that they will hear their name called on draft day. Even if they are not picked, they will have ample opportunities to join a franchise through the free agent pool. But given how little Nick Saban’s system leaves to chance, the Tide’s entrants in the Draft are well prepared for their pro careers.