Tonight is the big night; the NFL draft is on!
I’m interested to see what “my” Dallas Cowboys do to improve their chances of returning to the Super Bowl; where they belong. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) – This week’s National Football League Draft is not only going prime-time this year but will resemble a TV mini-series with seven rounds of choices for the top college players spread over three days.
What used to be a Saturday and Sunday day-time exercise for only the most rabid fans will start on Thursday night and has been restructured to milk the broadening interest in how the 32 NFL teams bolster their rosters.
The first round will be staged at New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall from 7:30 p.m. ET with teams arranged in the reverse order of their 2009 finish.
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is widely tipped to be the first name called and as top pick may have the dubious honor of going to the St Louis Rams, who had a woeful 1-15 record.
Defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma are also among the most highly regarded players in a draft class heavy on offensive and defensive linemen.
After the Rams, the next selections come from the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs.
Draft wheeling and dealing can throw up surprise choices, however, with trades of slot positions eliciting both groans and cheers from fans decked out in their team colors, who fill seats not taken by the throng of national media.
“I’m very nervous,” Bradford told reporters on Wednesday, insisting that he did not know whether he would be taken by the Rams. “It’s going to be one of those moments that changes my life forever.
“Not knowing where I’m going to be is extremely nerve-racking.
“Gerald (McCoy, his Oklahoma team mate) was talking today about how he’s going to probably cry when (his name is called),” he added.
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen with me, but I know I’m going to be extremely excited and I’m probably not going to be able to stop smiling for about a week.”
Top draft choices command long-terms deals worth more than $40 million guaranteed but the price-tag plummets as the first round proceeds.
In a change from previous years when the first three rounds were held on Saturday and the rest finished on Sunday, rounds two and three will be held Friday evening. Rounds four through seven will be completed on Saturday.
Former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci thinks the new format will affect the draft.
“It’s going to be different,” Mariucci, now a broadcaster for NFL Network, told Reuters on the eve of the draft.
“Now you’ve got Thursday night to think about the second round. You’ve got Friday night to think about where you are going in the fourth round.
“I’m anticipating more trades, more maneuvers.”
(Editing by Ian Ransom)
