NFL Draft Daze

The NFL has a quest to dominate the sports landscape 365 days a year. Even mid-way through the off-season football is on the front page and at the top of the rundown. The biggest event between the Super Bowl and Week 1 is the NFL draft. Typically it's treated like a national holiday, but this year the fanfare has seemed eerily subdued. So what's the deal?


The lockout definitely doesn't help. The petty bickering between the players and owners has completely sapped the joy out of America's favorite game. This story isn't about who's right, because everyone's wrong. When football gets put on pause we all lose. The uncertainty about the upcoming NFL season has caused mass confusion. What will happen with salary cap issues? How about rookie salaries? And most importantly, when is the season actually going to start? These questions although important, are depressing. I'd much rather get excited about the future of the sport. That's why the draft is so intriguing.

Unfortunately, this draft specifically doesn't have the hype of other drafts because the class is far from Hall of Fame caliber. I'm not saying that there most definitely won't be any future Hall of Famers, but from the look of it, this could be one of the weakest classes in years. Normally, we know the 1st overall pick days before because there's a special talent that just can't be passed up on. That's not the case this year, with plenty of uncertainty at the top. Although there's a solid chance the Carolina Panthers will take Auburn QB Cam Newton #1, I can't remember a top pick with so many question marks. There are great athletes available, but no one seems like a complete bankable sure thing. I don't see any Larry Fitzgerald's or Peyton Manning's or even Ndamukong Suh's. Sure, it's entirely possible that a few of these guys could surpass expectations and become the next big thing. For now, it doesn't look like the case, though. Maybe that's why we're lacking fireworks for this draft.