Joe Thomas had the right idea yesterday.
Instead of heading out to the dog-and-pony show that is the National Football League Draft party in Manhattan, the burling University of Wisconsin offensive lineman decided to spend draft day in a boat on Lake Michigan, soaking worms with his father and some close friends.
His venue of choice may have irritated NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, but it had no bearing on his draft slot; Thomas was picked third overall by the Cleveland Browns.
In all of sports, there is nothing more overrated, overanalyzed, over-hyped and over-blown than the NFL draft. Sure, it’s an exciting day for young men blessed with enough talent to make millions playing a child’s game, but in the grand scheme of things, the draft is nothing more than a glorified commercial for the league and ESPN.
Mel Kiper, Jr., for all of his airtime, really doesn’t know anything. The so-called ESPN Draft Expert has some incredible hair, but if you ask any number of professional coaches just how much he knows that the common fan doesn’t, and you’ll get a hearty laugh.
Yet, we are subjected to hours upon hours of this blowhard trying to break down the pros and cons of some second-string defensive tackle from Northern Ohio Community College-East Cleveland who might have a shot of getting taken in the seventh round because Kiper thinks he has “a lot of upside”.
What’s worse than the commentators and coverage is the fans, themselves. Walk into a bar in the days preceding the draft, and you’re sure to hear the question bandied a million times in the first 10 minutes: “How do you think [insert name of team here] will do in the draft?”
Take the Packers’ first-round pick? Defensive tackle Justin Harrell of Tennessee started 25 games in his career with the University of Tennessee. Kiper told viewers he can jump high and run fast; and had he not been injured, Harrell would have been a top-ten pick. That’s just dandy, perhaps it’s time to start booking tickets to Phoenix.
How does anybody know how good Harrell is going to be? First of all, who’s to say the team keeps their pick in the first place? There could be a trade. Remember, these are college athletes that are being discussed. Not one of them has ever lined up against an NFL player in a professional game.
In previous interviews, Thomas said that he didn’t want to be one of “those guys”; the ones sitting in the green room as their draft day stock plummets from sure-bet top-five picks, to a second-day selection.
Case in point; former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, who sat undrafted for so long that Goodell moved him and his family away from the green room cameras and into a private suite, away from the media. Many expected Quinn to be one of the first players drafted, yet for some reason he slipped all the way down to No. 22.
Ironically enough, Thomas and Quinn will be playing for the same team. Thomas, who spent his day fishing in secluded privacy will make his money by blocking for Quinn, who spent his day sweating out the four-hour, 17-minute wait on national television.
Thomas didn’t really care where he went or when. Sure, there was the prestige of being No. 3, but in the end, it’s just a job. The only thing that matters to Thomas in the draft is that he will find out where he would be employed for the next few years.
Its fun to be a fan and it’s exciting to see what efforts your favorite team has taken to improve itself. But bear in mind, these are very young men with a lot of work to do. The closest thing to a rookie winning the Super Bowl MVP award has been Kurt Warner in 1999, and he was signed from NFL Europe.
Talk about the draft, enjoy the draft, but keep it in perspective. Few teams have turned themselves into a Super Bowl Champion overnight because of a draft-day decision. Save the analysis until after these players have played at least a season in the league.
In the meantime, maybe follow the model of Thomas; instead of watching today’s late round “action,” head down to the lake and cast a couple of lines.
