In response to a Pro Football Weekly report that the NFL is contemplating a move of the draft from late April to late February, multiple league insiders tell Howard Balzer of the Sports Xchange that no such move is being contemplated.
Said Falcons president Rich McKay, co-chair of the Competition Committee: “We’ve never discussed it. We’ve discussed the offseason calendar a lot, but there has been no discussion of moving the draft up.
“We had that discussion eight years ago, but I don’t think we’ve had it since then. We’ve discussed the calendar, but that wasn’t any of the things we discussed.”
Added Rams G.M. Billy Devaney, who previously worked under McKay in Atlanta: “This is the first I’ve heard of anything like that.”
It doesn’t mean that there aren’t people in the league who’d like to move the draft. But if the co-chair of the Competition Committee hasn’t even heard about the possible move, it’s highly unlikely that such a radical change would be adopted in the near future.
lol why would they move the draft? dont you think teams need time to have the kids from smaller schools come in and work out for them also
They'd move the draft because currently promising rookies can end up 2nd and 3rd string behind pricey veteran free agents. Those free agents may not have been taken on if the teams already knew they had the rookie they wanted at that position.
Currently, the schedule plays into the hands of free agents, they can hike up deals based on the need of teams. Having the draft prior to FA might rise the price of high end rookies but it'd bring free agent contracts a bit closer to sanity too.
Another great find SR 7. Thanks. Personally, I'd definitely be happy about moving the draft up to February. I really think that the FA period should be after the Draft, and always have. It allows the worst record teams to select the best players available instead of drafting for need. Plus, as the article mentions, it would reward good scouting. I'm tired of having a headstrong coach force the selection of a poor player because he outranks the scout who had the good player rated higher.
They'd move the draft because currently promising rookies can end up 2nd and 3rd string behind pricey veteran free agents. Those free agents may not have been taken on if the teams already knew they had the rookie they wanted at that position.
Currently, the schedule plays into the hands of free agents, they can hike up deals based on the need of teams. Having the draft prior to FA might rise the price of high end rookies but it'd bring free agent contracts a bit closer to sanity too.