With the NFL draft coming up, potential draft picks are
preparing for the moment in which their futures are decided. Some of the men rejoice in happiness for
being selected by a certain team, while others sulk in depression with the
realization that they were not good enough to make the cut. The NFL draft is a very particular, only
drafting 222 men in the seven rounds.
Many of these players will never play on the field and simply serve as
practice players. The position you are
projected to be in the draft definitely determines the amount of opportunity
one will have to prove themselves on the field.
Andrew Luck is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Luck is considered to be the obvious 1st
draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The
number one pick in the draft comes with a large paycheck and the opportunity to
start on a NFL team right out of college.
Luck has the opportunity to show coaches that he truly is a franchise
quarterback. The rest of the players
drafted in the later rounds might have one opportunity after a number of
starters are injured to prove themselves.
This harsh reality is an interesting phenomenon.
Do you think it is unfair that later round players do not
have the same opportunity to prove themselves on the field as early draft
picks? Do some players fall in the draft
just because of their lack of size/experience?
I think that in the NFL if you have the talent, you'll make it. A perfect example is Tom Brady. He wasn't highly touted, he wasn't drafted early, he wasn't supposed to be good...well we see how that ended. I think there is significantly more opportunity for NFL players to try and make it as opposed to NBA players. The rosters for NFL teams are so large that they aren't obligated to play players that were drafted early on as opposed to the NBA where if you aren't a first round draft pick, don't expect to make it for very long. I think that NBA draft position correlates significantly greater with success than NFL draft position. But for both leagues, if you're drafted after a certain point, your chances of making it start to significantly decrease. Moral of the story: get drafted early on to get the best chance to make it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Daniel. Players that are drafted in the NFL have the just as many opportunities to prove themselves as those taken in the earlier rounds. Tom Brady is a great example, but some players succeed without gaining the notoriety that Brady has. The free safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Clark, went undrafted to the Baltimore Ravens. After playing for multiple teams over the course of a few years, he landed a starting role within the Steelers defense and has since won a Super Bowl and been voted to a Pro Bowl. Look at our very own Michigan football team. Sophomore walk-on Joey Bursynzki started at left guard during the spring game. You could argue that the seniors and scholarship athletes at his position had a better opportunity to play as they were recruited and/or have more experience than Bursynzki. However, Bursynzki capitalized on his opportunities during practice and spring training and has earned himself a starting spot on a very good Michigan football team.
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