A beginner’s guide to the NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is the crown jewel of the NFL offseason. College players from all over the nation spend the months before the draft preparing themselves to be examined by scouts from all 32 NFL teams. From workouts to personal interviews, draft preparations can be intense, especially for college stars, whose personalities are often under a microscope already. In late April, all these preparations come down to the draft.

Behind the scenes of the NFL Draft

College players are able to “declare” for the draft after they have been out of “high school for at least three years and have used up their college eligibility.” In short, this typically means that they need to have played for their college or university until junior or senior year.

After declaring for the draft, prospects gather highlights and statistics into portfolios for scouts. Higher level prospects meet with scouts and earn an invitation to the NFL Combine in February. The Combine gives NFL scouts and head coaches the opportunity to meet, workout, and drill any and all of the prospects they would like. Drills include the 40 Yard Dash (a speed drill), a bench press drill for testing strength (Reps of 225 lbs) and various drills to assess specific position skills.

For the prospects, this is the time to impress teams and for some prospects it could make or break their chances at an NFL career.

2016 NFL Draft Prospect Mississippi State Defensive Tackle Chris Jones attempting the 40 yd. Dash

The draft itself in April, spread over three evenings, featuring seven rounds of 32 draft picks each (i.e. one pick for each of the 32 teams per round). The original draft order for each year is determined by the final standings of the 32 teams at the end of the previous season. The twenty teams that missed the playoff pick first in order of worst regular season record (the worst team picks first).

Next, the remaining twelve teams pick in order of the playoff round they were eliminated. The four Wild Card Week losers pick first (in order of regular season record), then the four Divisional Round (Quarter Final) losers, the two Conference (Semi-Final) Round losers, and Super Bowl round losers pick in the same manner. Lastly the Super Bowl winners pick. Each team is given ten minutes to make and announce a selection.

After the Super Bowl, the draft order is set and teams are free to swap picks in exchange for other picks or players, or picks in years to come. This being said, the draft order is usually never the same as the original draft order for that year. Teams may also receive extra picks from the NFL in the third or seventh round if they have lost a number of players to free agency. The whole process takes a lot of effort and can be very costly for teams and prospects.

The Draft is no stranger to wild trades. In 1999 the New Orleans Saints traded away all their picks including one for the following year, to “trade up” to an earlier pick and select running back Ricky Williams who only stayed with the team for three seasons. Trades have no deadline so a pick can be traded away up until it’s announced to the public. This means a team could trade away a pick on Live TV so long as they have time on the draft clock. Sometimes this can be used as a tactic for swooping in and stealing a good pick without prior suspicion from other teams.

Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl Champion Quarterback Russell Wilson receiving news of his draft selection back in 2012

In the weeks after the draft, teams sign each of their players to contracts. Some will fill in gaps in the team’s depth, while others may start immediately, depending on the team’s needs.

The NFL Draft isnt your run-of-the-mill schoolyard pickup. It takes months of preparations, decisions, communication, late nights and tons of money to get right.