Who’s calling the shots … For those that haven’t seen it, ESPN has a feature running in which they document who makes the ultimate draft call for all 32 NFL teams. Interesting reading, although we note that there is one team that we have a pretty good idea how draft decisions are made and the reporter for that team isn’t all that close. Indeed, many of the reporters seem to take the position that teams around the league go into the draft, check off the players as they come off the board prior to their pick, and then ultimately make their pick from the players still available. Hence the need for a ‘decision-maker.’ However, most teams have a pretty good idea which players are going to be on the board when they make their pick well before the draft and put together a short list with the guys they want from that group. And while there are certainly exceptions, most teams in fact put together those short lists on a collegial basis.
