The NFL Draft

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The NFL draft has come and gone and how great it is that we don’t have to read the hundreds of Mock Draft predictions available before the teams made their picks, and the grades given to each team’s choices after the sessions in Pittsburgh. I’ve always thought it was a total waste of time because hardly anyone is accurate with their crystal ball and even more absurd are the assessments. The fact is, the so-called experts have no idea how the clubs scout and rate the players. I bet many think teams watch highlights of the prospects and watch a few of their games on tape. That’s what we do. In reality, General Managers are aware of the candidates to play pro ball years before the actual draft. They themselves scout players by attending games in person starting the first week of the college season. We all know they’re on hand for the combine in Indianapolis measuring the size and speed, among other things, that go into the computer. They interview the athletes as well and follow up what they have collected on hundreds of prospects. They attend pro days on college campuses, and do thorough homework, and when I say homework, I’m talking about reaching out to trainers and anyone who might add to a player’s profile. The teams actually rate all of the eligible collegians in order and post that lengthy list, so when you hear a team picked the best available player, they are following that list.

Of course need is always paramount in drafting, but you’d be surprised how choosing the best player available is usually the best practice regardless of position and need.

The first two picks were easy for anyone to predict. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana’s national championship quarterback was always going #1 to the Raiders, then edge rusher David Bailey of Texas Tech to the Jets were kind of foregone conclusions. But then all the experts choices mostly fell apart. I’ll tell you why. The experts seek out advice from those close to various teams. More often than not they have an agenda, such as intending to deceive writers and talk show folks for their team’s own purposes. There are rumored trades that are never made, and trades that come out of nowhere.

Also keep in mind that you only see predictions of the first round, that’s as far as the outsiders reach.

Another fact is, that a team’s performance in the draft is not solely based on the first player they choose. Despite the hoopla given to the guy who comes onto the stage (in this year’s case, Pittsburgh) then gets a big hug from Commissioner Roger Goodell and poses with his new team’s jersey adorned with #1, it is an entire team’s draft that tells the story. By the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, most fans move on, but that’s where the future of a club’s prospects lie. Let’s not forget Tom Brady was taken on the 6th round, and there are so many stories like his. I guess it’s fun for fans to check out the draft in advance, but realize that while it may be a pastime to those who follow the game, the teams live with their plans and make judgments every single day.

One story that caught my attention was the first pick that was roundly criticized by the experts, the Rams trading up to 13 to select quarterback Ty Simpson of Alabama. No one liked that choice. How could the Rams move up that high to draft a player who wouldn’t even play next season, a quarterback who had his shortcomings, certainly not worthy of a first-round prospect? My immediate reaction was that the Rams obviously did their homework wanted to grab the man who would be the successor to veteran Matthew Stafford who is still capable of taking his team to a Super Bowl, but is without doubt in the twilight of his brilliant career.

The critics claimed Simpson didn’t have that strong an arm, and even worse, was only 6’1”, a dangerous height for an NFL quarterback, who has to see over the huge linemen in front of him. Of course, I wonder how the critics felt about Multi-Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, or the Bills’ Josh Allen, one of the league’s very best, who also happen to be 6’1”.  So. Is Lamar Jackson, by the way. Team do make bad picks, but the Rams are not the Jets for example, they seem to be sharp with their draft choices. I figured the Rams knew what they wanted to do and knew about Ty Simpson in doing their homework.

Then I saw the reaction of Rams head coach Sean McVea, who seemed anything but pleased with Simpson’s selection, saying the Rams were Stafford’s team, and was satisfied with the rest of LA’s quarterback room, as it’s now called. I had never seen anything like it. No matter how happy a head coach may be by a draft pick, he never tips his hand to the media. But McVea seemed to be doing just that. We all know Matthew Stafford’s time is in the home stretch, and the Rams are looking to win now, think of the future later. Certainly McVea would have to think that way.

To set things straight, the draft is under the umbrella of the General Manager. It is his job to formulate the roster. The head coach’s job is to win games with that roster. He decides who plays on game day.

Some may feel why isn’t the coach more involved? Bill Parcells the former Super Bowl champion coach of the Giants, said publicly when he was with the Jets, “if I’m going to cook the dinner, I’d like to be able to shop for the groceries”. While there are a few head coaches who have the last say on a team’s draft pick, the General Manager has that responsibility. They do work and-in-hand, but the GM has the final say.

Here’s why. Every head coach is only focused on who will play to win the next game. He has the narrow view of the team, as he well should. But the General Manager looks at the entire roster, sees the future and is constantly following the roster movements of every other team every day. If he sees someone who is dropped by someone but would enhance his own team, he picks up that player. Head coaches do not have the time to study the league that way.  That’s why the duties are separate. One of the best GM-head coach relationships ever were Bobby Beathard and Joe Gibbs with the Washington Redskins. Despite different responsibilities, the two worked together superbly. Washington won three Super Bowls.

Back to the Rams this year. A few days after McVea’s unenthusiastic reaction to the Simpson pick, he came back sitting before the media with GM Les Snead, awkwardly walking back his initial view of the #1 choice.

When I saw that, I figured McVea disagreed with Snead’s apparently adamant decision to draft a QB not for ready to play, obviously wanted a player to help in a Super Bowl push this year.

Obviously, the Rams wanted to “clear the air” and show the two were on the same page. What I saw, was that they were not.

Now let’s watch these rookies develop. Many will be in the starting lineup opening day. Many will be released before the season gets underway.

Finally, the winners and losers of this year’s draft won’t even be determined in 2026.

It’s a long-term thing. It always is.

Mendoza #1

Simpson pick a surprise

Awkward Rams explanation