Draft can be unimportant

Even though the calendar recently turned to May, one of the most important NFL events is next week. The 2014 NFL draft begins May 8 in New York City, and as always, there is speculation about which players will be drafted in the first round, second round and so forth.

But how important is the draft anyway? General managers and coaches can watch an abundance of film, visit with players, analyze their combine numbers and still end up with someone who doesn’t pan out in the NFL for whatever reason.

So how important is the draft? I’d say somewhat important. It’s more exciting to watch as a fan than anything else.

General managers and coaches still need to analyze players and study their college film to make educated decisions when it comes to draft day. I’m not saying they need to take shots in the dark of whom they should pick, but they still never know how players’ skills will translate to the NFL until they play their first few games or even first season.

Take the Seattle Seahawks. They totally proved this past season that what round a player is drafted doesn’t always determine how successful they will be at the professional level.

With the exception of safety Earl Thomas, who was drafted in the first round of the 2010 draft by the Seahawks, the Seattle secondary consists of players who nobody really wanted in the draft, except for the Seahawks.

Cornerback Richard Sherman was drafted in the fifth round in 2011 and the other cornerback Byron Maxwell was selected in the sixth round the same year. Safety Kam Chancellor was another late round pick by the Seahawks. He was picked in the fifth round in 2010. In addition, Seattle took linebacker and Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith in the seventh round in 2011.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round in 2000.

There are so many pieces that can make or break a player once he is drafted into the NFL.

First-round picks dominate at the college level, but may struggle in the pros because they don’t fit well in that particular offensive or defensive system.

Or, maybe the player’s general manager or coach overlooked a certain area where that player was lacking, whether it is physically or mentally. Teams can never really know what a player’s mindset is too.

Late-round picks also have the advantage of playing with a chip on their shoulder. Teams constantly passed on them during the draft, so that motivates them to train and play harder to prove to the other teams that they made a mistake by not selecting them.

When the draft comes next week, don’t be discouraged if you think your team made a bad pick. Players have been really successful and unsuccessful from rounds one through seven. Time will tell whether that player will succeed or not.

The jump from the college level to the pro level is huge. Whether players are drafted in the first round or the last round, none of them have proved anything in the NFL yet.