Moving the draft to late Feb??? Free agency a few weeks later??

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Somehow, I really do not like what is proposed...what they will do is REALLY make some dead time in May/June...and down time which will be close to dead time for football. Maybe that would be good for the employees...but I really don't like that in the cycle..Right now, there's basically a lull with just the combine to free agency....having that wind down and then the ramp up towards the draft...and then mini-camp and such in a lull towards training camp. Making two months dead of football I do not think will help the sport..It compresses a LOT into February..and to teams that have played in the playoffs..not the best. And what about gree agenncy AFTER the draft?? Is that better??
Maybe it will save money but I really like the cycle the way it has been.

Re: Moving the draft to late Feb??? Free agenzy a few weeks later??

Pats726 said:

Features - NFL pro football articles and coverage from Pro Football Weekly

Somehow, I really do not like what is proposed...what they will do is REALLY make some dead time in May/June...and down time which will be close to dead time for football. Maybe that would be good for the employees...but I really don't like that in the cycle..Right now, there's basically a lull with just the combine to free agency....having that wind down and then the ramp up towards the draft...and then mini-camp and such in a lull towards training camp. Making two months dead of football I do not think will help the sport..It compresses a LOT into February..and to teams that have played in the playoffs..not the best. And what about gree agenncy AFTER the draft?? Is that better??
Maybe it will save money but I really like the cycle the way it has been.

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What this would do is take leverage away from free agents and allow teams to draft for need, and then fill in the gaps during the free agency period.

Re: Moving the draft to late Feb??? Free agenzy a few weeks later??

E Belichick Unum said:

What this would do is take leverage away from free agents and allow teams to draft for need, and then fill in the gaps during the free agency period.

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Probably just making something they can drop later as a bargaining chip in the upcoming negotiations.

Edit: No, after reading the entire article it makes a ton of sense what they are proposing. Yeah, for the fans it makes the dead time even deader, but it does give coaching staffs more time off to prevent burnout, and having the draft before free agency will save teams millions by letting them draft first, and fill in with FAs later.

Also, having Senior Bowl and East West game both in Tampa back to back weekends makes it a mini-combine and saves zillions on travel costs.

By expanding the number of players in the combine, more teams will focus on that and less on Pro days (won't be that much time anyway for pro days) and players will have to perform at combine or might get missed.

The only negative I see is a positive for teams like Pats, Ravens, Colts who have good personnel departments. Having the draft in early Feb means less time to evaluate players and therefore teams with good scouting and personnel departments should be better equiped to take advantage.

I like it.

Re: Moving the draft to late Feb??? Free agenzy a few weeks later??

spacecrime said:

Probably just making something they can drop later as a bargaining chip in the upcoming negotiations.

Edit: No, after reading the entire article it makes a ton of sense what they are proposing. Yeah, for the fans it makes the dead time even deader, but it does give coaching staffs more time off to prevent burnout, and having the draft before free agency will save teams millions by letting them draft first, and fill in with FAs later.

Also, having Senior Bowl and East West game both in Tampa back to back weekends makes it a mini-combine and saves zillions on travel costs.

By expanding the number of players in the combine, more teams will focus on that and less on Pro days (won't be that much time anyway for pro days) and players will have to perform at combine or might get missed.

The only negative I see is a positive for teams like Pats, Ravens, Colts who have good personnel departments. Having the draft in early Feb means less time to evaluate players and therefore teams with good scouting and personnel departments should be better equiped to take advantage.

I like it.

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Having the draft BEFORE free agency seems to be doing things a**Baxkward. Drafting for need is really NOT the best and reliable way to build a team..I am not sure why anyone thinks it is..but it's NOT at all. ,not sure it will really save teams money..again putting MORE the focus on unproven yalent and less on vets who HAVE played.
Having the sernior games in teh same city etc IS the one thing that really makes sense. THAt is good...
But having increasing focus on the combine is poor..These players PLAY football not a perform a bunch of challenges and every year there are those that build up to look great in the combine but suck at what it's all about...football. Some things can be learned..but it's a sideshow that really says little in teh final picture.
I do agree that teams like the Pats will do fine with this..but there are many downsides to it...especially with the very short period of time of evaluation and coaching changes it would allow. How does this help football in general?? I don't see it helping the sport all that much..save money?? Maybe and if that is the driving force..fine, but I do not see advantages to changing the cycle.

Teams that go deep into the playoffs will certainly be at a huge disadvantage in terms of not having time to prepare.

Superbowl teams would have 2 or three weeks.

As fr free agency coming after the draft, that is interesting and seems to possibly be a CBA bargaining chip to me. If not, I think FA's would lose their minds waiting. Will teams be able to recruit free agents and get commitments or face tampering charges just trying to gage interest and asking price??

In my opinion this is just posturing by the NFL, in anticipation of negotiations for the CBA - just like the move of the Pro Bowl from Hawaii to the host city of the Super Bowl.

How are they going to have the Combine, Pro Days, and interviews & workouts with prospective draftees between the Pro Bowl and the end of February just two weeks later? Granted all teams (except the Bengals) have college (and pro) scouting departments, but the head coach and his coaching staff need time to evaluate the state of the team first. Then they need to evaluate what players - both college and free agents - might work in the type of offense and defense they employ. How can a team get all that done in two weeks - especially teams with a new coaching staff?

If the NFL wants to hold the draft first that's fine, but February is way too soon, especially for teams that make the playoffs. Why such a rush to hold the draft five months before training camp? If they want to do something with the Senior Bowl and Shrine Game, that's fine - but is one city going to be eager to host both games?

As far as the economics (contract size) go, I don't see how holding free agency later is going to change anything. The top free agents are still going to get big bucks regardless, and every year some team will overpay for a Javon Walker or Jerry Porter - whether free agency is before or after the draft. In addition teams that don't get a player at a position of need will now have evn less bargaining power; the free agent may be able to hold teams hostage for even more money, with the draft having already taken place.

If the NFL wants to fix escalating player contracts then the place to start is rookie contracts. A good portion of that money needs to be shifted from rookies who have yet to play a down in the NFL to veterans who have proven to be capable and valuable players.

I believe this information being leaked out is all about the next CBA, and has nothing to do with free agency. It will be used as one more bargaining chip in negotiations where the NFL will say to the NFLPA 'okay, we'll give you free agency before the draft; now you need to give us something back in return.' Same deal with the Pro Bowl; the NFL will tell the NFLPA 'okay, we'll move the game back to Hawaii rather than in the city of the Super Bowl; now give us this in exchange.'

I'm all for moving the draft up. On a related note, I'd also like to replace the Pro Days with "Regional Combines" as explained below:

Draft Daddy: NFL Draft Blog

...we agree that all the Pro Day's can be taxing for scouts, having to go from one school to another. And, with the running backs and cornerbacks (as a group) running so poorly at the last Combine, we can foresee a scenario where fewer skill position players even bother to run at the Combine (meaning the N.F.L. wastes money bringing them in). They might just claim they "tweaked their hamstring" and wait for Pro Day, so they can be hand-timed on a blazing fast track at, or near, their own college.

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What we think could be a viable option to replace all these Pro Days, is a group (7 to 10) of quick "Regional Combines" held for all the prospects that didn't get invited to Indianapolis. So, for example, instead of N.F.L. scouts trekking from one Northeastern school to another in March, all the prospects from schools like Syracuse, Pitt, Connecticut, Hofstra, Delaware, Penn State, Boston College, ect. can workout in one place and be electronically timed.

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These Regional Combine's could be held at a college (i.e. Syracuse's Carrier Dome) or they can be held at the indoor practice facility/bubble owned by the New York Giants or the Philadelphia Eagles. Same thing could be repeated in all parts of the U.S., with Southern and Western teams being able to host these regional Combine's outside. Also, since these Combines would be wrapped up in one day, all it would cost is the price of a train ticket, which could be covered by agents or the league.

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I wish the draft was a little sooner, but February is too soon. Gives the playoff teams no time to prepare for the draft. Maybe a draft in late March/early April would be ok though. I hate the wait leading up to April 25th.

VJCPatriot said:

I wish the draft was a little sooner, but February is too soon. Gives the playoff teams no time to prepare for the draft. Maybe a draft in late March/early April would be ok though. I hate the wait leading up to April 25th.

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The only person it affects is the coach. The argument was it places responsibility on the GM and player personnel staff to assess the draft class.

Re: Moving the draft to late Feb??? Free agenzy a few weeks later??

E Belichick Unum said:

What this would do is take leverage away from free agents and allow teams to draft for need, and then fill in the gaps during the free agency period.

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I see it in the opposite vein. Right now many teams draft for need because they weren't able to address them in free agency. I think with an early draft, teams are more likely to take BPA in the draft under the assumption that they can get one of the free agents. Then bidding wars should ensue for free agents.

IF the draft is the last chance to address a need, you overdraft to ensure it's satisfied. If free agency is the last chance to address a need, you overspend to ensure it's satisfied.

I think it would be important for the players to have a short period between the draft and free agency to prevent teams from really evaluating what talent they were able to gain from the draft.

Re: Moving the draft to late Feb??? Free agenzy a few weeks later??

ayjackson said:

II think it would be important for the players to have a short period between the draft and free agency to prevent teams from really evaluating what talent they were able to gain from the draft.

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Huh?? So NO time to evaluate draftess BEFORE free agency?? THAT makes sense for who? THAT is pretty dumb in my opinion...who the heck benefits...the players?? It's bad enough that the NFL wants the draft first..because there could be all kinds of tampering issues...and such..and it's bad enough with EARLY free agency waiting a month or so longer will help no one and make that easier to do. But having very little period really is not the way to go.
And yes, it is a bargaining chip..but taking these things that have been done for years and artificially changing them to make them bargaining chips is pretty shallow. typival of a leader that doesn't know what the heck he is doing.

I don't think any of this really matters until they set some type of rookie salary cap. It is the epitomy of insanity to pay these "prospects", especially in round 1, the current money. How can you justify the first overall pick making more that a Brady or a Moss or someone who's been in the league and proven. Or worse, make a team like Detroit destroy their cap structure on a hope that the #1 player doesn't turn out like a Ryan Leaf or Todd Marinovich or Joey Harrington.

I say before they discuss these "feel good" measures, they make a serious attempt at correcting this flaw.

Re: Moving the draft to late Feb??? Free agenzy a few weeks later??

Pats726 said:

Huh?? So NO time to evaluate draftess BEFORE free agency?? THAT makes sense for who? THAT is pretty dumb in my opinion...who the heck benefits...the players??

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Yes the players. That was my point, if the draft was to preceed free agency, the union might want a short evaluation period.

i personally enjoy the anticiapation of the draft in april. The spring air, the beer, and sitting on the couch with some friends getting excited over players you never seen play a snap. Its all good.

i bet there would be less busts though if they had it in february, teams would rely more on game tape and have less time to breakdown all the bad stuff in good players.

Seems like a good idea to me. I do think two months down time for coachs and staff would be a good thing. Players would have to make sure they don't lose conditioning but I like it. The free agency signings should keep us going into April with some OTA times before they go for the two months. It is a long time for withdrawal but just might be worth it.

KY Pats Fan said:

I don't think any of this really matters until they set some type of rookie salary cap. It is the epitomy of insanity to pay these "prospects", especially in round 1, the current money. How can you justify the first overall pick making more that a Brady or a Moss or someone who's been in the league and proven. Or worse, make a team like Detroit destroy their cap structure on a hope that the #1 player doesn't turn out like a Ryan Leaf or Todd Marinovich or Joey Harrington.

I say before they discuss these "feel good" measures, they make a serious attempt at correcting this flaw.

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First off, there is a rookie salary cap. Unfortunately, the league scales it and places a lot of value on the top pick. Next, the only players who are outrageously paid, in the first round, are the top 7-8 players, but primarily the top 3. The problem is that giving the team with the top pick a rookie cap of 7-8 million, makes it very easy for the agent of the top pick to get his client most of that. What needs to happen is that the league needs to set a maximum cap hit for any one pick so that teams don't kill themselves like the Lions have.