It's that time of year again. March Madness is in full force, women have resumed wearing skirts and the boys of summer are on the verge of making meaningful swings once more. Yet the National Football League, as usual, manages to grab at least a share of the spotlight.
The NFL draft has become a phenomenon over the years. When it began in 1936, the selection of eligible college football players by professional franchises received limited fanfare. There were no articles written about how many bench presses a prospect could do. There were no egomaniacs, adorned in cheesy suits and overdone hairdos, shouting out reasons why or why not a collegiate quarterback's style of play would translate to the next level. At its origin, the professional football draft got about as much publicity as the WNBA Draft receives today.
Times have changed, my friend. We're now less than a month away from the most anticipated offseason tradition in sports - Ben Roethlisberger's annual late night bar exploits are a close second. But bite your tongue before you call the NFL draft overhyped or overrated. Sure, the pomp and circumstance of the event can be a bit much for even the most zealous fan. But it's undeniable that the most crucial pieces of the championship puzzle are found on draft day.
Take a look at the premier franchises of the past decade - New England, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh - as an example of what efficient and intelligent drafting can do for you. It's made Eagles head coach and roster-builder Andy Reid a ton of money. Big Red has used the annual crop of college talent to consistently replenish his squad since he was hired in 1999. It's the reason his Eagles have avoided the dreaded "rebuilding" phase that has beset so many former perennial playoff teams (San Francisco, Miami, Tampa Bay, Oakland, etc.). Philadelphia added foundation players like Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, Sheldon Brown, Trent Cole and Shawn Andrews - the man formerly known as an All-Pro guard - on draft day. Of the 22 players to suit up for the Colts in the Super Bowl this year, 16 of them were snatched out of college by Indy. Free agency can provide the final missing factors to a championship team, but the draft is where franchise fortunes are founded.
On the flip side, bad drafting can doom a team and its coaching staff. Ill-advised selections can quickly send a team on a downward spiral and ultimately cost an entire front office its jobs. Devastating draft busts are like dark clouds over an organization, and they tend to linger far too long. You don't have to look very far back in the rear-view mirror to be reminded of how horribly wrong things can become when a franchise "savior" fails to deliver.
The Raiders, an organizaton that once glimmered with prestige, have become an annual punch line (no pun intended, coach Tom Cable). Long forgotten are Oakland's glory days, when the team collected three Super Bowl championships between 1977 and 1983. Heck, it's hard to recall the team even being respectable since it's embarrassing 48-21 Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers in 2003. How have things turned so ugly so fast? Well for starters, the same man who put the roster together in '77 is still at the helm over thirty years later. The legendary Al Davis is one of two NFL owners who ultimately has the final say on draft day - Dallas' Jerry Jones is the other - but this is no longer the sharp-witted mastermind that assembled teams with John Madden during the disco era. His eye for fashion remains the same, but his eye for talent and character has unquestionably eroded.
Here's a quick look at Oakland's recent first round flops:
2009: Darrius Heyward-Bey, wide receiver, Maryland - seventh overall selection
As usual, Davis fell in love with speed (Heyward-Bey ran a 4.3 40) and reached for a guy most teams had dropping out of the top 20 picks. During his rookie campaign, the receiver failed to shed the "questionable hands" tag that scared off many teams leading up to the draft. Heyward-Bey caught just nine passes in 11 games, while getting paid handsomely for it. Davis opted to pass on Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who appeared to have the makings of a star after ending his lengthy holdout in San Francisco.
2008: Darren McFadden, running back, Arkansas - fourth overall selection
While McFadden will be just 23 years old on opening day next season, he hasn't come close to warranting his high selection. Run-DMC was electric in college and was at the forefront of the "Wild Cat" craze, but has tallied just 856 yards and five touchdowns in two seasons as a Raider. Injuries have cost him seven total games thus far and he will have to compete with Michael Bush for Oakland's starting running back gig in training camp. McFadden could still turn out to be a solid investment, but the fact that both Chris Johnson and Ray Rice were taken much later in the '08 draft makes his slow start tough to handle for Raider nation.
2007: JaMarcus Russell, quarterback, Louisiana State - first overall selection
This one is just brutal. In Russell, Davis thought he was getting a big, strong leader with a championship pedigree and football's most powerful throwing arm. Instead, he gave $29 million guaranteed to a Jared Lorenzon wannabe. Russell looks more like a backup offensive tackle than a franchise quarterback these days and when September rolls around he is likely to find himself at No. 2 on the depth chart behind... drum roll please... Bruce Gradkowski. In 31 appearances, the Pillsbury Throwboy has completed just 52 percent of his passes for 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. When it comes to draft busts, Russell is an all-timer. Players the Raiders could have taken instead of Russell include Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis and Darrelle Revis. Ouch. That is a sweet fur coat though.
2006: Michael Huff, safety, Texas
- seventh overall selection
Does this feel like the movie Groundhog Day or what? Just a cycle of letdowns repeating itself. Much like a Greek tragedy - you know how it ends but you can't turn your eyes away. Huff was primarily a starter during his first two seasons but has since been benched and relegated to rotational duty. Not exactly what you're looking for from a top-10 selection. Oakland nabbed Huff early because they believed he would give the defense a boost as a relentless playmaker. Huff's four career interceptions show otherwise. It's not like Pro-Bowlers Jay Cutler, Haloti Ngata or DeAngelo Williams (all passed over for Huff) could've helped the Raiders win more games or anything.
If the names Napoleon Harris, Tyler Brayton and Derrick Gibson aren't familiar to you, that's because they shouldn't be. They're just a few more of Oakland's first round selections from the past decade that fell by the wayside. There is a reason why teams are consistently awful - poor decisions on draft day. Between 2002 and 2005, the Detroit Lions chose first-rounders Joey Harrington, Charles Rodgers, Mike Williams, Kevin Jones and Roy Williams as the pillars of the franchise. By 2008 the only thing left was rubble and the Lions became the first team in NFL history to finish a season 0-16. Coincidence? Not a chance. Clearly, the NFL draft is a make-or-break event. Grab a quarterback in the top 10 and you could end up with a franchise-changer like Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman. But you always risk stepping on a landmine and taking the next Akili Smith or Ryan Leaf.
As for the upcoming draft, things are beginning to take shape with multiple teams providing a glimpse of their draft plans through moves in free agency. The NFL combine has come and gone - 40 times checked twice for good measure - and prospects will continue to flaunt their stuff at personal workouts as April 22 nears. This isn't baseball, in which even the best draft prospects take years before they contribute in the big leagues. The NFL is a win-now business and every pick carries weight. For a head coach or general manager, it can mean the difference between a multimillion dollar extension and a pink slip. For a franchise, the draft can either help a team turn the corner or make the bottom fall out for years to come.
Still think you have the cojones to be a decision-maker in the National Football League?
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