What is this "Draft"

Danye

Hi folks,

I'm really intrigued by this "Draft" thing currently going on in the NFL.

What is it? Where different franchises pick their best players? Is it just a matter of them picking somebody from another franchise / college or is their transfer fees etc?

How, in the simplest terms, does the whole thing work?

eagle eye

The draft is where all the best players coming out of college are picked by NFL teams.

There is an order and the team who had the worst win/loss record the year before gets to pick first in each round. The team who wins the Superbowl has the the 32nd and last pick in each round.

Picks can be traded between teams and can include trading players and/or multiple picks.

There is other stuff but I think that is enough to get you started.

Danye

eagle eye wrote: »

The draft is where all the best players coming out of college are picked by NFL teams.

There is an order and the team who had the worst win/loss record the year before gets to pick first in each round. The team who wins the Superbowl has the the 32nd and last pick in each round.

Picks can be traded between teams and can include trading players and/or multiple picks.

There is other stuff but I think that is enough to get you started.

Thanks for that.

So the worst team from the previous season gets to pick the best lads from college? Interesting way of doing things.

Realt Dearg Sec

Danye wrote: »

Thanks for that.

So the worst team from the previous season gets to pick the best lads from college? Interesting way of doing things.

Its designed to keep all teams as equal and competitive as they can. Works pretty well I think.

adrian522

Except the same teams seem to pick at the top of the draft every year and the teams that pick 28 to 32 seem to be pretty similar year after year too

Fr Tod Umptious

One question about the draft.

His does it work contractually ?

If a player is selected are they obliged to sign with that team ?

You often hear of potential overall first picks no wanting to go to certain teams, I believe Elway and Manning were examples

eagle eye

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

One question about the draft.

His does it work contractually ?

If a player is selected are they obliged to sign with that team ?

You often hear of potential overall first picks no wanting to go to certain teams, I believe Elway and Manning were examples

Eli Manning didn't want to go to San Diego and the Giants moved heaven and earth to make that happen for him.

It's a very rare occurrence but if you refuse to go to the team that draft you and there is no trade done then the only option left to you is to re-enter the draft the following year. You are not an undrafted free agent if you have been selected and refuse to sign for that team.

Danye

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Its designed to keep all teams as equal and competitive as they can. Works pretty well I think.

Yeah I can see logic behind it.

Let's say a player gets picked, but doesn't want to go to a particular franchise, can he decide to pass on that offer and wait until the one he wants to come along?

Is every college player available for selection or is it the only top 5 or so from each team?

Thanks for the replies so far.

baby and crumble

No, you play where you get picked. I believe there can be some wrangling when it comes to signing your rookie contract but I may be wrong. In the past this was used as leverage for players to go to the team they wanted. They seem to have cut that down after some ugly standoffs in the 70's.

A player Declares themselves for the draft when they choose- some go after 2 years in college, some wait until after graduation. I believe there are some eligibility requirements that have to be met but I'm open to correction on that.

HigginsJ

baby and crumble wrote: »

No, you play where you get picked. I believe there can be some wrangling when it comes to signing your rookie contract but I may be wrong. In the past this was used as leverage for players to go to the team they wanted. They seem to have cut that down after some ugly standoffs in the 70's.

A player Declares themselves for the draft when they choose- some go after 2 years in college, some wait until after graduation. I believe there are some eligibility requirements that have to be met but I'm open to correction on that.

The players have to have been out of high school for at least 3 years before they become draft eligible.

Leslie91

If I'm not mistaken this year was the first year a player who didn't play college football in the US or Canada got drafted (or at least had no North American football experience). So in the future in theory provided you are out of high school/secondary school 3 yrs you could potentially get drafted into the NFL.

FYI the guy picked was Moritz Böhringer a WR from Germany, he was picked by the Vikings.

thomond2006

What would have stopped Moritz Böhringer entering the NFL as a free agent?

HigginsJ

thomond2006 wrote: »

What would have stopped Moritz Böhringer entering the NFL as a free agent?

I know the answer to this but I can't find it. I know the Giants signed a french WR Anthony Dable who came over to the states with Bohringer.

Found this on The MMQB in a piece about the guys

"Boehringer happened to be exactly four years past his high school graduation date, so he was eligible to enter the NFL draft this year. (Dablé is 27 and had to go the free-agent route.)"

JaMarcusHustle

It's a confusing system, but basically you have to be out of high school at least 3 years before you can think about entering the draft. But it's better to think of it as a 4 year rule with a special exemption for those who have only done 3 years.

If you've done 4 years in college, after that, you are automatically eligible for the draft provided you have no college eligibility remaining. An example of this would be your standard 4 year senior after graduating senior year.

Anyone who wants to enter the draft who has college eligibility remaining, i.e. a 3 year Junior, or a 4 year senior who has graduated but took a medical redshirt one year so still has another year of football eligibility remaining (Case Keenum being a recent example) - can apply to waive their remaining eligibility. It's rarely refused.

In all the above scenarios, you HAVE to enter the upcoming draft (or at least declare for it). You cannot play in the NFL the following year unless you've entered the draft you are eligible for.

If you don't declare for that specific draft, you sit out the year and become a free agent the next year. It rarely happens because no one wants to sit out a year. I can't think of any examples actually of anyone who's done this.

For anyone who has never played college football, the only draft you can enter is the one that takes place 4 years after you graduated high school (and because you have not played in college, there's no one you can apply to for a 3 year waiver). For Boehringer, that was this draft. He finished his version of high school 4 years ago, which is why he was eligible for this year's draft.

For the likes of Jarryd Hayne and Terron Beckham (OBJ's cousin who is trying out with the Jets) - neither of which played college football - they are too old to enter a draft, i.e. they are longer than 4 years removed from high school. That's why they can enter free agency straight away, because they will never be eligible for another draft. Unless they want to enroll in college in the US for a year and play there first