Player Development and Scouting: The NFL Draft and Talent Evaluation Process

American football is a theme in which every US citizen is an expert from childhood. And college football is a whole business with real championships and selection processes. That is why college football is the second nation’s favorite sport that gathers crowds more than baseball.

Have you always imagined yourself as a professional American Football player? Then today is your lucky day because you will be revealed with real secrets on how the next National Football League (NFL) superstars get chosen.

In our article, we will guide you through every step of the unique NFL hiring process named Draft, and as a result, you will finish your reading with a clear understanding of the necessary steps toward your dream.

NFL Draft: What Is That?

The Draft is an annual event that gives opportunities for American football rookies to prove themselves and to get a desired place in the NFL team. However, not only are football beginners competing with one another, but the clubs too. Top-notch teams are interested in receiving the best beginning players so that they can turn them into the next NFL superstars. So if you’re tired of buying American football tickets and want to become the next Aaron Donald, we bet the next section will interest you. 

How do Players Get Chosen During the Draft?

So what are the main stages during the NFL draft selection process? By and large, the selection can be divided into three categories: drafting college students, trading players on players from other teams, and free-agent signing. Each of these selections might bring new talents to the top teams. So let’s take a closer look at each of them.

1. Draft for college students. The draft process for college students is a complex process that requires several conditions from you. First of all, you have to be out of your college for 3 years minimum and use the chance to enter the college until the beginning of the next college football season.
2. Draft for free agents. The draft is also available for players who don’t have an active contract with any team. However, there can also be cases when the player stays in one team and the other team may provide an offer, and if the current player’s team will decide to decline it, as an alternative the draft choice may be provided.
3. Trading draft. Trading is another way of exchanging players during the Draft process. Trading means that any team can trade any current player for a player from the other team. Nevertheless, it’s worth another important rule of the draft, that the currently drafted players will not be able to participate in any trading deal. Moreover, the drafted player can only sign a contract with the team who chose him.

What Are the Basic Rules During the Draft Selection? 

The procedure of selecting new players is very huge and rigorous. Every spring in April there are special three days (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) when the Draft takes place. There are seven rounds during which a choice of the players for the teams should be made.

On Thursday, only one round takes place that lasts for 10 minutes. This is the time during which the teams can make their choice. On Friday, the next two rounds happen. And the rest of the rounds take place on Saturday.

From the second until the sixth rounds of selection, every team has five minutes to do their pick. And the last round allows choosing within four minutes. However, not all the teams come up with the choice after the final round. They can take more time to pick a player, however, it doesn’t guarantee the players they considered are still available.

When the team decides on the player, they write the name of the player, school, and position on the card. Then they give the card to a so-called runner who is an NFL staff representative who then passes the card to the NFL Player Personnel.

Where Does the NFL Draft Take Place?

The venue of the Draft is currently changeable, however, there were times when the event took place only in NYC. Moreover, the Big Apple hosted Draft for almost half of the century, from 1965 to 2014.

But everything changed as soon as the event started to gain extreme popularity, so the organization decided to bring back old memories. As a result, the city for the host is selected during the voting of 32 organizers. In this way, Detroit has become the next city for Draft holding.

Conclusion

No doubt every college student is dreaming about being chosen to the NFL professional team. And while this requires perseverance and outstanding results, the key is to pass the Draft: a selection process. It lasts for three days and has a timeframe within which the teams review the candidates and make the choice. Not every player will get a phone call that day but the Draft is an annual process so if you don’t get picked this year, next year can be your lucky chance!