The NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, more commonly known as the NFL draft, is a process since 1936 that enters coveted players into the league in a fair and organized manner. This is the NFL's most common source of player recruitment. In its seventy-plus years of existence, the NFL draft has evolved into a highly complex and multi-faceted process. Here is a brief overview of that system. Draft Order NFL teams draft in turn in an order determined by the league. The order is determined by ranking all non-playoff teams in reverse order of their win-loss record. The team with the worst record achieves the number one draft pick. The league then appends an order for playoff teams based on a combination of success in the playoffs and win-loss record. The Super Bowl champion drafts 32nd and the runner-up drafts 31st. Compensatory Draft Picks In addition to the 224 standard draft picks (7 rounds x 32 teams = 224 players) the league awards compensatory picks to teams for players lost in the prior season's free agency period. The league appends these picks to rounds three through seven depending on the value of the player in question. The league evaluates player value based on criteria set forth in the collective bargaining agreement. Player Eligibility Most players entering the draft do so after two or more years participating in an NCAA football program. However, player eligibility rules only demand that a player be two and one-half years removed from high school. The player does not have to be a high school graduate. All players must select an agent to represent them prior to entering the draft. Selection Format The modern NFL Draft takes place over seven rounds. Starting with the 2010 NFL Draft, round one took place on a Thursday evening, and the league allotted a ten minutes time limit to each pick. On Friday evening, the NFL conducted rounds two and three, and allotted seven minutes to each pick. On Saturday, the league conducted the remainder of the draft, rounds four through seven. For these rounds, the NFL allotted five minutes per pick. During the draft, each team has one or more representatives in attendance. One of these representatives is responsible for turning in the team's pick to the league. Missed Picks In the event of a missed pick, the draft continues, and the league allots the new time limit to the next team in the order. The league permits the team that missed its pick to make it up at any time. Draft Trades Teams may coordinate trades prior to the draft or at any time during the draft. It is most common for teams to complete trades during the allotted period for their draft pick. This gives them the maximum amount to assess the value of the pick, which is subject to change. In instances where this occurs, the league resets the draft clock. For instance, if team A trades the fifteenth pick to team B three minutes into the round, the fifteenth round would reset to the full ten minutes. This reset is in place so that teams are not penalized for the time it takes the league to approve the trade. Trades during the draft are subject to the same approval process as all trades are. However, the league is very proficient at processing them quickly. Undrafted Players At the completion of the seventh round, undrafted players become unrestricted free agents, and they may sign with any NFL team. This is a common occurrence, and teams used the process to fill out their training camps.
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The NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, more commonly known as the NFL draft, is a process since 1936 that enters coveted players into the league in a fair and organized manner. This is the NFL's most common source of player recruitment. In its seventy-plus years of existence, the NFL draft has evolved into a highly complex and multi-faceted process. Here is a brief overview of that system.
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