The annual NFL Draft. It’s the great unknown in sports.
A good GM can build up a franchise and subsequently keep his team on top by finding key players yearly in the draft, like Green Bay has done over the past decade.
Meanwhile, a bad draft or two can sink a team’s fortunes for a number of years. (Remember 2009 and 2010 drafts, Jets fans? Exactly. Let’s blame everything on them.)
For every can’t-miss prospect, like the five-time MVP Peyton Manning, there’s another selected right behind him (remember Ryan Leaf?) that flames out in less than three years. For every sixth-round success like Tom Brady, who’s been tearing up the league for a decade and a half, there’s thousands of others who are cut before ever seeing the field.
It’s a crapshoot. But it’s an exciting one to witness. (That is, as long as you don’t mind listening to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. for 10 minutes between picks.)
