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Tip for Shortening the Draft - Give Each Team 30 Minutes Total for All Picks
The NFL is seriously looking for ways to shorten the draft. The draft is high drama and has proven to be much more of a television draw than anyone could have imagined a quarter century ago. It is now so popular that the league seems to be considering moving portions of the draft into prime time, perhaps conducting the first round on Friday night. But the darn thing drags on too long. This year's first round took six plus hours alone and the drop off in television viewers and radio listeners is substantial as the selection process moves into the later rounds. So something has to give. No matter what the reason, the league is intent on reducing the time teams take to make their picks. Here is a simple solution.
Time the draft like a game of chess. Instead of providing a specific amount of time for a given move or selection, give each team a total amount of time to make all their picks, letting the teams decide how much time they want to expend on each selection regardless of the round, so long as they don't exceed their total allotment. If a team runs out of time, they forfeit the remainder of their picks. That sounds harsh, but it would probably never happen. Teams would just have a true incentive to make the choices in a timely manner. If a trade was in the works, they'd have enough time to work things out, in fact in many instances they'd be permitted to use more than they can now for an individual pick. If nothing was in the offing, they'd have a real incentive to send their card up to the Commissioner right away.
Currently, each team is given 15 minutes to make their first round choices, 10 minutes for second round picks, and five minutes for each pick thereafter.
If a team has the standard seven selections, one for each round, they have 50 minutes overall. Now most teams don't need all that time to make their picks. Sometimes teams let the clock run because they are working on potential trades or in hopes that a trade offer will arise. That's exciting, at least when the television and radio announcers are in a position to speculate about what is going on. But often, it seems, teams use their full allotment of time for each round just because they can. The Oakland Raiders let the clock run for several minutes in the first round even though they had no intention of drafting anyone but JeMarcus Russell. So what was the point of waiting. Well some teams are forthright enough to admit that when they are on the clock all the draft discussion shifts to them. It's a form of public relations, a way to get national air time.
So I propose that each team be given a grand total of 25 or 30 minutes to make all seven of their standard picks. Add an additional three minutes to a team's total for every compensatory selection they are awarded. If a team trades a selection at any time prior to being on the clock, take three minutes away from the team trading the pick and add three minutes to the team on the receiving end. It's a wash if the teams trade each other an equal number of picks. If a trade is made while a team is on the clock, the clock immediately is stopped for the one team and started for the other.
Limiting each team to 25 or 30 minutes total from the 50 or so that they are currently allotted theoretically could reduce draft time by 50%. The actual time savings would be somewhat less than that, however, because most teams don't completely use their full allotment now, although they do dawdle.
But time savings wouldn't be the only advantage of this suggestion, it would also add yet another element of strategy and fun to the mix. Teams would continue to spend time negotiating trades. In fact, they might be able to spend more time negotiating a trade in any given round under my proposed scenario than they do now, but they'd have to speed things up in later rounds or else face the prospect of forfeiting selections and having egg on their face. A speedier draft and yet more time to pursue legitimate trade offers, what could be better?
Oh, and one more thing. The possibility of skulduggery. Not that it couldn't happen now. Imagine Al Davis talking trade with let's say Matt Millen while the Lions are on the clock. Is the Raiders' end of the conversation a legitimate offer, or is it a ploy to trick Detroit into using up its time and having to rush or forfeit later picks. Teams would have to make some quick decisions, and in fact might find it more practical to work out their trades before they went on the clock.
Posted by Chris Malumphy on 05/17 at 08:59 PM
The NFL is seriously looking for ways to shorten the draft. The draft is high drama and has proven to be much more of a television draw than anyone could have imagined a quarter century ago. It is now so popular that the league seems to be considering moving portions of the draft into prime time, perhaps conducting the first round on Friday night. But the darn thing drags on too long. This year's first round took six plus hours alone and the drop off in television viewers and radio listeners is substantial as the selection process moves into the later rounds. So something has to give. No matter what the reason, the league is intent on reducing the time teams take to make their picks. Here is a simple solution.
Time the draft like a game of chess. Instead of providing a specific amount of time for a given move or selection, give each team a total amount of time to make all their picks, letting the teams decide how much time they want to expend on each selection regardless of the round, so long as they don't exceed their total allotment. If a team runs out of time, they forfeit the remainder of their picks. That sounds harsh, but it would probably never happen. Teams would just have a true incentive to make the choices in a timely manner. If a trade was in the works, they'd have enough time to work things out, in fact in many instances they'd be permitted to use more than they can now for an individual pick. If nothing was in the offing, they'd have a real incentive to send their card up to the Commissioner right away.
Currently, each team is given 15 minutes to make their first round choices, 10 minutes for second round picks, and five minutes for each pick thereafter.
If a team has the standard seven selections, one for each round, they have 50 minutes overall. Now most teams don't need all that time to make their picks. Sometimes teams let the clock run because they are working on potential trades or in hopes that a trade offer will arise. That's exciting, at least when the television and radio announcers are in a position to speculate about what is going on. But often, it seems, teams use their full allotment of time for each round just because they can. The Oakland Raiders let the clock run for several minutes in the first round even though they had no intention of drafting anyone but JeMarcus Russell. So what was the point of waiting. Well some teams are forthright enough to admit that when they are on the clock all the draft discussion shifts to them. It's a form of public relations, a way to get national air time.
So I propose that each team be given a grand total of 25 or 30 minutes to make all seven of their standard picks. Add an additional three minutes to a team's total for every compensatory selection they are awarded. If a team trades a selection at any time prior to being on the clock, take three minutes away from the team trading the pick and add three minutes to the team on the receiving end. It's a wash if the teams trade each other an equal number of picks. If a trade is made while a team is on the clock, the clock immediately is stopped for the one team and started for the other.
Limiting each team to 25 or 30 minutes total from the 50 or so that they are currently allotted theoretically could reduce draft time by 50%. The actual time savings would be somewhat less than that, however, because most teams don't completely use their full allotment now, although they do dawdle.
But time savings wouldn't be the only advantage of this suggestion, it would also add yet another element of strategy and fun to the mix. Teams would continue to spend time negotiating trades. In fact, they might be able to spend more time negotiating a trade in any given round under my proposed scenario than they do now, but they'd have to speed things up in later rounds or else face the prospect of forfeiting selections and having egg on their face. A speedier draft and yet more time to pursue legitimate trade offers, what could be better?
Oh, and one more thing. The possibility of skulduggery. Not that it couldn't happen now. Imagine Al Davis talking trade with let's say Matt Millen while the Lions are on the clock. Is the Raiders' end of the conversation a legitimate offer, or is it a ploy to trick Detroit into using up its time and having to rush or forfeit later picks. Teams would have to make some quick decisions, and in fact might find it more practical to work out their trades before they went on the clock.
Posted by Chris Malumphy on 05/17 at 08:59 PM
