The NFL is considering shortening the draft

[Water Boy]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6819174?MSNHPHMA&GT1=10035

The owners are meeting in Nashville to discuss shortening the amount of time alotted for each pick. I'd be surprised if many are in favor.

 

[Aqua4Ever04]

Yeah I can't see this bill doing very well because it's being voted on by the owners. The only people it's really bad for is the fans, the league gets more money (by way of longer televised programing), the owners/gms/coaches get more time to make decisions, and the fans get bored with watching hours of rehashing.

I would love to see it knocked to 10 minutes or so, but it's just not going to happen IMO.

 

[patsox23]

Teams don't start to make or get calls until some time passes. I've always held that the first round should be 10 minutes b/w picks. Seems to me, from this largely ignorant view, that's plenty of time. Would save a TON of time. Once round 2 comes, make it 5. Teams will adjust.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

as long as doing it wouldn't be for aestetic reasons it sounds like a good idea. if the teams actually want it shortened go for it.

they shouldn't make the change in an effort to appease viewers though. you draft freaks probably love the long draft. i wouldn't watch the draft if it was only 5 minutes between picks. don't ruin it for everyone else trying to get me. i just don't care.

then again, they've ruined everything else in sports by trying to draw in casual viewers. let's do the same to the draft!

 

[DarrylS]

as long as doing it wouldn't be for aestetic reasons it sounds like a good idea. if the teams actually want it shortened go for it.

they shouldn't make the change in an effort to appease viewers though. you draft freaks probably love the long draft. i wouldn't watch the draft if it was only 5 minutes between picks. don't ruin it for everyone else trying to get me. i just don't care.

then again, they've ruined everything else in sports by trying to draw in casual viewers. let's do the same to the draft!

This whole thing is not broke do not try to fix it, first they wanted the first 16 pix on fri nite and now this. Surprised as most of what they have done has worked out well.

 

[Water Boy]

I actually like the 15 minutes in the first round. It gives teams enough time to field calls about possible trades. Cutting back that time makes trading less of a possibility. If anything I would cut back the time on the later rounds. It seems teams already know who they are going to pick (as you see the pick come in before the deadline) so just make everyone pick faster.

I think this is a little bit of a knee jerk reaction because this past draft was the longest in history. The first round alone took over 6 hours. I'm assuming this was the result of a weak draft class. I'm guessing a lot of teams were not thrilled with the talent and were trying move down or out of the draft.

I'd rather not see them shorten the draft at the expense of the team's ability to negotiate trades. It will be interesting to see what the owners think.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

I find the draft unwatchable because of the timing. Plus, it seems like it actually takes more than 15 minutes some times, because the team only has to turn its pick before the end of the 15 minutes, and then there's often a delay before the next team gets notified of the pick and put on the clock.

But at the end of the day, the draft should be about the draft, not about watchability.

I think the same people are going to watch the draft whether it's 10 minutes or 30 minutes. And the reality is that either way, I'll just flip back and forth every hour to see the last four picks scroll by.

The NBA draft, by comparison, is extremely watchable. But it's a completely different sport. There, you're talking about essentially 80 guys fighting for 60 spots (and maybe 15 fighting for the top 10), and you know pretty much all of them if you like college basketball.

 

[zippo59]

I've been saying they should do this for a while. Make the time allotted in the first round 10 or 12 minutes instead if 15. It is so exhausting have to wait six hours just to see your team make their first pick.

 

[outhere]

Yeah I can't see this bill doing very well because it's being voted on by the owners. The only people it's really bad for is the fans, the league gets more money (by way of longer televised programing), the owners/gms/coaches get more time to make decisions, and the fans get bored with watching hours of rehashing.

ESPN says that Goodell has the final say on the draft length because the draft falls under his supervision. It also says he might not make the decision if he is alone in a vacuum. It's interesting and there's a possibility he might do it even if there is a little pressure from some of the owners.

 

[Major **********]

I'd like to see the first round cut down to 10 min each. The fact that the 1st team gets a 15 min clock is a joke. They have been on the clock for close to 4 months for christ sakes. They have had more than ample time to decide who to pick or to trade it away.

 

[Rob0729]

It is easier to pick at the top and there seems to be less trades than later rounds, but it takes more time. In the first round (even at pick 32), there aren't many players on each team's draft boards that they would use with their pick. In the fourth or fifth round, they might have 20-30 players they might deem worth of that pick. Yet, they get 15 minutes in the first round and 5 minutes on the second day. And trades fly more fast and furious in round four or five than one on a typical year.

In the 60s, 70s, and 80s they had ridiculous numbers of rounds, not just the seven and if I remember correctly they were able to complete the entire draft in a single day.

 

[Rob0729]

I actually like the 15 minutes in the first round. It gives teams enough time to field calls about possible trades. Cutting back that time makes trading less of a possibility. If anything I would cut back the time on the later rounds. It seems teams already know who they are going to pick (as you see the pick come in before the deadline) so just make everyone pick faster.

The thing is that teams have five minutes on the second day to make their picks and there are more trades on the second day. They can't shorten second day picks anymore than they already are. Besides, most people really only watch the first round. The second day, they don't even talk about all the picks made.

 

[WhiZa]

I actually like the 15 minutes in the first round. It gives teams enough time to field calls about possible trades. Cutting back that time makes trading less of a possibility. If anything I would cut back the time on the later rounds. It seems teams already know who they are going to pick (as you see the pick come in before the deadline) so just make everyone pick faster.