I wanted to write a post about the upcoming NFL Draft, not to talk about the 2022 Draft specifically, but because the NFL Draft is one of my favourite things about the NFL and the reason why it stays exciting every year, no matter what team you support.
For those that don’t know, the NFL Draft is where every team in the NFL gets to take turns selecting young football talent coming out of college. It’s set up so that whoever finishes the season with the worst record in the NFL the previous season, gets the very first pick, and the team that wins the Superbowl gets the last pick. The team with the second worst gets the second, third the third and so on. There are 7 rounds of picks so there is plenty of opportunity to get new players to improve your team. Not to go into the nuances, but teams can use draft picks in the future to trade to get better picks or players, and in the rarest of occasions, coaches.
The reason I love this so much is because it gives the team with the worst record the opportunity to take the best player who could transform their franchise! They can trade that pick to get multiple picks in franchise-transforming moves which can take a team from 2 wins the previous season to 8 wins, then to 12 wins the following year! It means no matter how bad your team is, you get a reason to get excited for it and the optimism that comes with those draft
picks!
For me as a Giants fan, there have been multiple season with high picks, but due to the egregiousness of the way the franchise has been run, the team has stayed shite for what feels like forever! 6 years have passed since the Giants were in the playoffs, so the Draft doesn’t necessarily mean your team is going to improve. You still need to choose the right players that will fit in your system, whose talents will transfer from college to the Pros, and who won’t be overcome by the challenge of added pressures and responsibility that comes with playing in the National Football League. This just adds another layer of uncertainty and excitement of the draft picks your team might take!
We’d all rather support a team who was playing in January when the Playoffs start, but if your team is shit and finishes with a top 5 pick, at least you get the excitement of February to April with the build up to what could be a franchise changing NFL Draft! It’s just when September comes it may all go tits up!
Let’s go Giants!!!