I remember driving home from school to enjoy what seemed like a very short Christmas break.  Upon arriving home, I was able to catch a quick clip on the news saying that Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has submitted NFL papers to the NFL Draft Advisory Board.  Immediately, I had that nervous feeling in my stomach thinking that we had lost our quarterback for next season. Luckily, later on, we found out that he sent the papers in to see what experts think of him, and that he expected to be back next season.

Now that the Bowl Season is over, college football players are weighing their options on whether to go to the NFL or to stay for their final year in college.  The experts that follow the draft are working harder than ever to think of the many alternatives of where they could be drafted to, and watching every move the young players make to find out if they are even entering the NFL Draft.

The Mock Drafts can be fun to dream about but seeing a new one every week can get boring, most of the time the mock drafts are wrong anyway.  Do these mock drafts, private team workouts, and combine scores really project how the player is going to perform in the NFL?

Some of the best players in the NFL were drafted in the late rounds or even never drafter at all.  Tom Brady, former Michigan quarterback, drafted late in the 5^th round is arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all time.  Another great undrafted pickup by the Texans was Arian Foster, who had a stellar performance in the playoffs this past weekend.  Also, there were no mock drafts picking James Harrison or Victor Cruz in the first round, yet they contribute each week to their team’s success.

In the end, the NFL Mock Draft does not mean much until these players step onto the field, where they can contribute far more than just 40-yard dash times and IQ tests to the team. The players have bright futures but the media may be putting too much pressure on them where they might only have a few sparks left before they burnout.

By: Chris Swift

(Photo by Ryan Lejbak under a Creative Commons license)

1 Comment

• online magazine for women says:

  January 12, 2012 at 2:41 am

  Great blog thanks for sharing it.

  Reply