Adam Schefter
NFL and NFLPA are on verge of pushing back draft to May and moving up start of league year to before combine, per sources.

So stupid IMO.

Why is this stupid?

T-Sizzle wrote:Why is this stupid?

Because I don't want to wait another month for it. lol.

So basically, free agency would kick off right after the Superbowl. I'm not sure I like this. The month and a half gap between FA and the draft will now be 3 months.

The league year being moved up was the union's desire, but that said, one of my least favorite things about Goodell are his constant urges to fix what isn't broken in the world's best sport.

I think this is great - extra 3 weeks of draft season, 3 fewer weeks of post-draft-wtf-do-we-talk-about-til-TC season.

Plus, I will no longer have to juggle my birthday with the draft.

Yea, I like it for the exact same reason as Snohomie, minus the birthday part.

Apparently its because of a schedule conflict:

The NFL is concerned with a conflict with Radio City Music Hall next year, with the building booked for annual Easter shows and Easter falling on the draft weekend next season.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/jason ... been-taken

Oh boy. 3 more weeks of draft talk.

Thrills.

I think the toughest pre-draft month is the last one. Teams have done their thing in FA, the combine is over, most pro-days are over, and teams suddenly stop talking to reporters almost completely until the final days before the draft. Granted, it's all lies at the very end anyway, but that cone of silence over that last month really sucks if you have to cover the draft every day on a blog. Now it's going to be almost three times as long. Can't say I'm looking forward to next year's draft season, as a writer or a reader.

I do anticipate that next year's combine will be perhaps the most intense ever, as it will be the first combine to take place after free agency (that I know of). That will be neat to watch. After that though, zzz....

I can see where the NFLPA would endorse this move. Teams know their needs even before their seasons end. By opening the UFA signing period before the combine -- teams are going to be more actively pursuing UFA solutions to their needs. Driving salary prices higher. Because they will not have put eyes on draft prospects quite yet. The combine gives teams the ability to have a good grasp on what the draft class holds relative to their needs. If the class is solid, then they aren't as likely to be active in UFA.

By starting the UFA period first, they don't have that ability to mull draft alternatives as much. The UFA pool will deplete before they get prospects in a room for interviews or see them 'on the hoof' in the drills. A team that avoids the UFA prospects could be left holding the bag if the draft pool doesn't fulfill their need.

I can see a much greater importance put on the Senior Bowl, as that will be the only venue coaches and scouts have to really eyeball prospects prior to the UFA period.

Now what am I going to do in April?

sutz wrote:Oh boy. 3 more weeks of draft talk.

Thrills.

I was gonna say, Snohomie, more draft season isn't exactly a plus for everyone.

I like it. A few more weeks for idiot players to do something stupid and show who they really are. Agents have these guys so coached, but give to a stupid man, time=rope. Give him enough...

The bad part I see would be for the rookies. Less time in the program, less time to get situated/acclimated, and less time to learn their new playbooks.

MontanaHawk05 wrote:

sutz wrote:Oh boy. 3 more weeks of draft talk.

Thrills.

I was gonna say, Snohomie, more draft season isn't exactly a plus for everyone.

Never said it was.

But, for the non-draftniks, is the dead season (May and June) really better than draft season? IMO right now is the worst time in the NFL because nothing really is going on. The less we have of that, the better.

Groan.

Three more weeks of people on Twitter banging on about which quarterback they love/hate the most.

3 more weeks of Honey Badger talk! woot. -

I really like English and Kearly's take on this as draft bloggers, seems kind of pointless to "fix" something that isn't broken.

I really don't like that they're moving it to Mother's Day weekend. Wife is going to win that one.

Attyla the Hawk wrote:I really don't like that they're moving it to Mother's Day weekend. Wife is going to win that one.

It is Mother's Day, not Wife Day. Man up.

Scottemojo wrote:

Attyla the Hawk wrote:I really don't like that they're moving it to Mother's Day weekend. Wife is going to win that one.

It is Mother's Day, not Wife Day. Man up.

Aren't they all Wife Day?

Snohomie wrote:But, for the non-draftniks, is the dead season (May and June) really better than draft season? IMO right now is the worst time in the NFL because nothing really is going on. The less we have of that, the better.

It's not that I like it, but at least I don't have to brainstorm draft content everyday during the post-draft offseason. That last month before the draft is always my least liked part of the year, personally. Everything that's worth talking about has been covered by then and there are extremely few fresh leads for stories or ideas. Plus writing fatigue really starts to set in by then.

I'd make the analogy of a practice or workout where you run out of gas 60% in but are forced to continue. You do it, but it's not very enjoyable. And the more you enjoy writing, the more people enjoy reading it, so I consider that to be pretty important.

Obviously they didn't consider bloggers when making this change. Just saying that from a blogger's perspective I'm not a fan.

Is the real reason for this the desire or an 18 and 2 season or a 16 and 2 with expanded playoffs season? Goodell knows they have an issue with charging full price for 4 preseason games (of which you probably only need 3 at the maximum).

Either way I hate it the draft season is about twice as long as it needs to be already. Making it this long just about guarantees paralysis analysis for the teams.

No the real reason for this, is that Radio City Music Hall has a schedule conflict and I believe it runs for the next 4 years. So the NFL is mulling options. I have no insight into what the league requires as far as facilities goes. I don't know if they are considering moving the draft venue or not. Would be cool to have the draft hosted in the city that wins the SB.

I don't believe this has anything to do with the thought of altering the season/postseason schedules.

kearly wrote:I think the toughest pre-draft month is the last one. Teams have done their thing in FA, the combine is over, most pro-days are over, and teams suddenly stop talking to reporters almost completely until the final days before the draft. Granted, it's all lies at the very end anyway, but that cone of silence over that last month really sucks if you have to cover the draft every day on a blog. Now it's going to be almost three times as long. Can't say I'm looking forward to next year's draft season, as a writer or a reader.

I do anticipate that next year's combine will be perhaps the most intense ever, as it will be the first combine to take place after free agency (that I know of). That will be neat to watch. After that though, zzz....

Draft boards are pretty much set up after the combine. This just gives you more time to find out where guys are predicted to fall. Should make your job easier really. More credible information will be leaked and all you have to do is fallow a police blotter of upcoming draft picks and see who continues to fall. Frankly, the more time these kids are out of school and have more time to get in trouble is better for teams.

I'm a huge draftnik, its a year round thing for me. That said, I hate pushing the draft to May. Heading into the last month of the draft the topics on prospects gets repetitive, even on the NFL network the talk of the prospects is highly repetitive. I enjoy posting mock drafts, which I start posting during the college football season, but there comes a point were mocks become a little stale. Also, IMO a lot of the top prospects get over-evaluated and lot of small school players get over-hyped in the last month heading into the draft.

I just hope the NFL Network channel does a better job of talking about mid-round prospects and doing mocks that go further than just the teams picking in the top-10 or just doing 1st round mock drafts. I would like to see the NFL Network channel have more former scouts to cover the mid-round prospects and really put more resources into player evaluation if the NFL is going to push back the draft.

If anything the draft should be before free agency, so teams could fill the voids on their roster that they did not address in the draft.

Scottemojo wrote:

Attyla the Hawk wrote:I really don't like that they're moving it to Mother's Day weekend. Wife is going to win that one.

It is Mother's Day, not Wife Day. Man up.

Exactly. Note the part where its called Mothers Day, not Mothers Weekend. The draft finishes up on Saturday, shouldn't be a conflict with Mothers Day plans (Sunday).