We all look forward to the NFL Draft every year.  This is one of the most exciting times in football season. Teams are making plans for the future, and up-and-coming players get a chance to show what they can do.  For many young players, this is the end of years of hard work. For fans, it’s a sneak peek at what the next season might bring.

But how does everything really work? It’s not as simple as using Richard Casino bonus codes to unlock a few extra spins — the draft process involves strategy, scouting, trades, and more.It can be hard to understand the NFL Draft at first, whether you’re a regular fan or new to the game.

So, we’re going to explain in simple terms how teams are ranked, how they make picks, what a draft board looks like, and why some players are picked early and others don’t until the very end.  The story is broken down in a way that is easy to understand, so you can follow along like a pro.

What is the NFL Draft?

Allow us to begin with the basics! The NFL Draft is a big event that happens once a year. It’s when all 32 teams in the league pick new players to join their teams. Most of these guys played football in college, and for many of them, this is their first job in the NFL.

A lot of people care about the draft because it helps teams get better by adding new players. It’s not enough to just pick the best player; you need to fill in the holes, make plans for the future, and put together a winning team. Teams have limited funds and can’t just sign any player they want in free agency. This means that the draft is one of the best, least expensive ways for them to find young, skilled players.

Every team has a set number of picks, and the order of the picks is based on how well the team did the previous season. The worst teams pick first, and the best teams pick last. That keeps the game competitive and gives every team a chance to get better. When a team makes a good draft pick, you’re seeing the start of a story that could shape the team for the next few seasons or even the next ten years.

The draft order

The order in which teams can select players is determined by the previous season. The worst team gets the first pick. The best team (i.e. the Super Bowl winner) has the last pick in the first round. This keeps the league balanced. This is also known as the ‘worst-to-first’ principle.

This rule is intended to prevent strong teams from becoming stronger and weaker teams from having no chance. Nevertheless, there are teams that deliberately play badly (known as ‘tanking’) in order to get better draft positions. The NFL tries to prevent this with rules, but it is difficult to prove.

Sometimes teams trade their picks. They give up an earlier pick in order to get several later picks, for example. This is called a ‘trade.’ A trade can also take place during the draft. Some teams also give up future draft picks to get a player they really want.

How many rounds are there?

There are seven rounds in the NFL Draft. That means each franchise has seven chances, one every round, to pick a new player. At least, it sounds pretty simple in theory. It gets a little more interesting when you do it, though. Some organizations get fewer than seven picks, while others end up with more. This happens because picks can be traded. To get ahead in the draft, one franchise might trade extra picks to another in later rounds.

There are also picks designed to make up for mistakes. A club that lost a good player to free agency receives one of these picks as a bonus. This helps keep the league fair. If one side loses a star player to a rival, they may get an extra pick in return. This usually occurs at the end of rounds three through seven.

Certain franchises have become very good at making the most of their selections over the years. Take the New England Patriots, for example. Under Bill Belichick’s leadership, the Patriots were known for trading better picks to get more selections later in the draft. This strategy gave them more chances to find skilled players that others might have missed.

But some prefer to go all in and aim for a home run. They’ll try to grab a great player early in the draft, hoping one star can turn everything around. Part of what makes the draft so exciting is that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Each club has its own plan, needs, and way of putting together a lineup.

The teams’ preparations

NFL teams spend months preparing for the draft. Scouts watch college players and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. There is the NFL Combine, where the best college players are tested. It’s all about speed, strength and technique.

Players undergo various tests:

• 40-yard dash: A sprint over 40 yards to test speed.
• Bench press: How many times can a player lift 102 kg?
• Vertical jump: How high can a player jump?
• Broad jump: Long jump from a standing position to measure explosiveness.
• 3-cone drill: A test for agility and change of direction.
• Wonderlic test: An intelligence test to assess a player’s thinking ability.

The teams talk to the players, watch old games and then decide who they want to draft. But there are always surprises. Some players have perfect scores in the combine but later play poorly in the NFL. Others have poor scores but impress on the field.

Draft day

The draft lasts three days. Only the first round takes place on the first day. The second and third rounds take place on the second day. The remaining four rounds follow on the last day.

Each team has a certain amount of time per pick:

• 1st round: 10 minutes
• 2nd round: 7 minutes
• 3rd-6th rounds: 5 minutes
• 7th round: 4 minutes

If a team does not make a decision in time, the next team is allowed to pick first. This rarely happens, but it has happened before. In 2003, the Minnesota Vikings missed their pick in the first round, and two teams picked before them.

Important terms, famous draft moments

There are a few key terms in the draft that everyone should know.

• Mock drafts: These are predictions by experts and fans about which players will be picked and when.
• Bust: A player who was drafted high but does not play well. This is particularly frustrating for teams.
• Steal: A player who was drafted late but turns out to be extremely good. Tom Brady is the best example.
• Trade-up and trade-down: A team can trade its pick with another team.
• Teams that want to move up often give up several picks.
• Mr. Irrelevant: This is the name given to the last pick in the draft. Sometimes these players go on to become stars.

Some unforgettable moments from the draft include:

• 199th pick: Tom Brady (2000) – No one thought he would become a superstar.
• Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf (1998) – The Colts took Manning, Leaf was a huge flop.
• Eli Manning 2004 – Was picked by the Chargers but only wanted to play for the Giants.
• Aaron Rodgers 2005 – Fell to the 24th pick despite being considered a top-5 pick.
• Laremy Tunsil 2016 – His draft stock fell after a scandalous social media post shortly before the draft.

A good draft can build a team for the long term. The Seattle Seahawks won the 2014 Super Bowl because they drafted many top players such as Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman in 2012 and 2013.

A bad draft can set teams back. The Cleveland Browns had years of poor drafts and remained weak until they acquired Baker Mayfield in 2018 and other stars in 2020.

The NFL Draft is exciting and unpredictable. Every year there are stars, flops and surprises. That’s exactly why it’s such a huge event for fans, players and managers alike.