NFL 2014 NFL Draft

[Woodson]

First of four short episodes about the behind the scenes of the Steelers war room in the lead up of the much vaunted 2014 draft..

http://www.steelers.com/video-and-a...n-Begins/a9149c0c-1473-41ec-82cc-838ddea184fa

 

[Keys]

They don't seem to have enough people putting enough time and effort in to who they draft. Holy shit there must be thousands of man hours put into those half dozen or so draft picks

 

[Woodson]

They don't seem to have enough people putting enough time and effort in to who they draft. Holy shit there must be thousands of man hours put into those half dozen or so draft picks

And to think of the scout field reports of other players who fly off the boards get discarded just understates how meticious this whole process becomes especially when trading up to get your targeted player. The calls to numerous front offices to be made and agreements to be had within minutes is just another topsy turvy element.

I found out that the Steelers targeted CB Justin Gilbert as their preferenced first round pick and yet the much anticipated selection of CB Dennard by the scribes wasn't even the second option.

 

[Iason]

Am i alone in thinking the Jags killed it?

Seriously if Blackmon pulls his head in and comes back

Blackmon, Robinson, Lee, Shorts

im scared.

You are not.

http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2014/5/11/5707162/nfl-draft-grades-2014-results-jaguars

 

[TradeDraft]

First of four short episodes about the behind the scenes of the Steelers war room in the lead up of the much vaunted 2014 draft..

http://www.steelers.com/video-and-a...n-Begins/a9149c0c-1473-41ec-82cc-838ddea184fa

Will Watch that - Sounds Awesome

 

[TradeDraft]

For those who enjoy NFL doco's and perhaps would like to know more of what the drafting process involves, there's an upcoming exclusive behind the scenes four part doco of the Pittsburgh Steelers blueprint planning leading into 2014 draft. Riveting stuff.

http://www.steelers.com/news/articl...b-Series/33c3af05-5f43-493e-8389-f4a3a533810f

Love those Shows

 

[rumply]

So you get drafted & think you made it...or have you?

http://overthecap.com/the-football-lifecycle-of-an-nfl-draft-pick/

The Football Lifecycle of an NFL Draft Pick
Contracts, Salary cap

by Jason Fitzgerald

With the NFL Rookie Symposium underway and one of the big topics of discussion being the lifetime of an NFL player I thought it would be a good task to actually dig up some data on the subject. I decided to look at the NFL drafts from 2000 thru 2008 to identify the success rate of players by round.

We’ll start with one of the areas that we as fans never seem to touch on and that’s the immediate picture. There are many players in the NFL who will never play a down in the NFL. The 1st round, simply due to the large guarantees, is the one round where no player has failed to log a season with a team. As the draft goes deeper the odds of a player making it drop dramatically, with it peaking in round 7 where 25.7% of the players never played in the NFL.



The numbers significantly rise if we take it out to just 1 NFL season and we should keep in mind that 1 NFL season doesn’t mean 16 games. In many cases it just means 1. In fact the average games played is right around 5 for a 6th or 7th rounder who made the team but failed to last thru the 2nd season.





From a financial standpoint it paints a pretty bleak picture. The average signing bonus for a 7th round draft pick is about $53,000 and for the 6th round about $102,000. For about 1/4 of the players drafted in the those rounds that is all that they will earn. About another 15% will earn an additional $120,000 for games played before being cut. For players who have spent years chasing the dream and think they have made it, a harsh reality is going to soon hit them. While the money is nice it’s not enough to support you for anything more than a year and if the player is not getting sound financial advice from day 1 won’t even support you for that long.

As we look at the 3 year figure the claims are close to true about the life of the NFL player. The following chart shows percentage of players who last more than 3 years in the NFL.



Once you make the turns to round 5 it becomes a 50/50 proposition for the player to still be in the league. 63% of those drafted in the 7th round will be gone by the time year 4 rolls around. The point at which 50% of the draft class is expected to be out of the NFL is as follows:



Someone had asked on Twitter the other day about what separates a good and great agent and I think this is a category that helps identify some of the ways that it can happen. A good agent gets the player his signing bonus money, does his best to up his draft status, and negotiates the best scenarios possible to collect higher wages, but a great one should be managing the expectations of the player. If you are drafted in the 6th or 7thround the dream is going to end quickly and so will the money.

There are many avenues open to players to improve themselves off the field now from interning during down times to pursuing online education. Once the dream ends so will the opportunity to earn the type of money we all think every football player makes. Playing football in college, especially in a big Division I program, is a full time job. It takes precedence over education and in many cases the athlete is likely less prepared to enter the work force than the average college graduate.

From day 1 the great agent should be steering his clients towards life after football. You are going to do everything in your power to make sure the NFL dream continues but they need to be made aware of what lies ahead. Learning what you might want to do after football, whether it’s working in business, communications, engineering, the arts, or something else and mapping out a plan as to how that can happen is doing the player a bigger service than telling him how great a player he is or how he is going to get him a team after his initial release.

In this case the numbers don’t lie. The odds of getting another NFL job for the low level draft pick are slim. Preparing them for the inevitable is a must if you really want to do a great job. That’s the reality of the NFL. The NFLPA does a good job in at least presenting the situations in a group environment but nothing can replace the one on one counseling and advice that they can get from those looking out for their best interests.

 

[Starburns_]

It's amazing looking at that how small the pay gap between a rookie-listed player in the AFL and a 7th round player in the NFL (roughly comparable talent levels) is. If they get cut before playing, it's actually less for the NFL player. That's even worse when it's considered how huge the pay gap becomes with the mid and high-tier players.

 

[royals1922]

I'd like to look at the numbers including undrafted free agents who are signed at the end of training camp. My guess would be they are on par with a round 6 or 7 pick or better.

The reason for this- they have to fight for their very existence from day 1 in camp.

 

[Woodson]

So you get drafted & think you made it...or have you?

Thanx for sharing such an interesting article rumply.

The four letter word that applies here is LUCK.. you need it regardless whether you are drafted or not… sure, first rounders virtually have an armchair ride to obtaining an initial contract but we all know how that can turn pear shaped before their next contract arrives. To me, LUCK has many components..

1. Does the rookie stay healthy to compete in training camp?
2. Does the rookie arrive as a depth player? (already a staggered roster for his position)
3. Has pre-season form been established to secure an opening day roster spot?
4. How much game time will the rookie get? If he isn't already starting... (assuming he is selected to dress on game day)
5. Will mistakes be tolerated ??
6. How is he fitting in the team system come mid-season?
7. Does the team give him enough opportunities?
8. Is progress being made?
9. Have any highlight reel plays been established?
10. Have injuries to the roster forced his inclusion too early?

The second year is more loaded..

 

[rumply]

Thanx for sharing such an interesting article rumply.

The four letter word that applies here is LUCK.. you need it regardless whether you are drafted or not… sure, first rounders virtually have an armchair ride to obtaining an initial contract but we all know how that can turn pear shaped before their next contract arrives. To me, LUCK has many components..

1. Does the rookie stay healthy to compete in training camp?
2. Does the rookie arrive as a depth player? (already a staggered roster for his position)
3. Has pre-season form been established to secure an opening day roster spot?
4. How much game time will the rookie get? If he isn't already starting... (assuming he is selected to dress on game day)
5. Will mistakes be tolerated ??
6. How is he fitting in the team system come mid-season?
7. Does the team give him enough opportunities?
8. Is progress being made?
9. Have any highlight reel plays been established?
10. Have injuries to the roster forced his inclusion too early?

The second year is more loaded..

Yeah, it is hard to argue that, apart from the select few each year, these guys earn their money & the big payday if it ever comes. Mirrors everyday life in some ways