The 2024 NFL Draft is officially over and the NFL offseason now really begins. Outside of a few spring camp headlines between now and the preseason in August, fans now enter the long desert of an offseason (sometimes called baseball season) looking for any kind of headline and content to consume about their favorite team.
With the players now all selected, and many other players beginning to sign mini-camp and NDFA deals, let’s take a look at the actual NFL Draft and what went well and what seemed to struggle. This analysis will be based off of the broadcast on ESPN/ABC.
Good: Nick Saban May Actually Be a Great Commentator
The NFL Draft was the first time that we really saw how Nick Saban is behind the desk for College Gameday. The former Alabama coach known for never being satisfied unless he was holding the National Championship trophy, was actually entertaining and at times sort of funny.
His highlight of the night was when he openly admitted that Alabama was doing everything they could to get Toledo WR Quinyon Mitchell to enter the transfer portal and come to Alabama. Not only was the story funny, but it gave an inside look into the world of coaching that as fans we rarely get to see.
There were a lot of doubts whether Saban would be able to in a way take Lee Corso’s ‘coaching’ spot on the desk (no Corso hasn’t retired, but his on-screen time has dropped drastically), but turns out he may do just fine. No he won’t be the new headgear guy, but a smart analyst that has a sense of humor? It might just work.
Bad: Only 13 Players Show Up For Draft
There was a time a few years ago where just about every first round draft pick would show up for the NFL Draft and walk out to the stage when there name was called. Following Covid, that number has started to drop. Last year, the number was 17, and this year it was only 13.
With NIL players already being in the spotlight, there is less desire for players to show up and hangout in the green room. Additionally, no player wants to go through what Will Levis did last year where he went from a Top 10 prospect to being a Day Two pick. By the end of the night, the storyline was on Levis opposed to who was being drafted at the time.
Next year, the NFL Draft will be in Minneapolis, a city that isn’t exactly easy to travel to. If the NFL Draft doesn’t figure out some kind of incentive or NIL (shocking… an NIL for someone’s actual name and image) then they could be in serious danger of having less than 10 players attend next year.
The only silver lining was that most of the top picks were at the draft.
Good: Guest Pickers Much Better Than Years Past
In the past, the guest pickers, or people announcing the draft picks of players in the second, third, and fourth round have primarily been old players that the common fan doesn’t know, influencers and streamers that are really cool for their niche, but widely unknown, or team executives or representatives that again nobody really knows.
This year, the NFL Draft seemed to understand that and instead went with a lot international flare with “International Fan of the Year” for various teams, members of the NFL female flag football league, cancer survivors, military personnel, and the special olympics. There were still some very specific team/niche announcers, but for the most part, the common fan was able to at least appreciate the pick announcers for their service, talents, or what they have overcome.
Bad: The NFL Draft Is WAY TOO LONG
Over a decade ago the NFL Draft changed its format from a two day event to a three day event to raise TV ratings and give more time for content. In today’s era of social media and instant need for gratification, it is time to looking back at making the event a two day event, or at least speed up the process of the draft.
This isn’t the 1990’s where there is a coach, GM, and a few other people in a rom trying to adjust and prepare for who they will pick. Today there are dozens of people analyzing and looking at every scenario based on who gets drafted. Teams don’t need ten minutes during the first round and five minutes for the second and third rounds. Every team knew exactly who they were going to draft ten seconds after the selection before them made their announcement.
Instead, give the 1st round five minutes between picks and the 2nd and 3rd rounds three minutes between picks. This would cut off hours off of each night. The first round took nearly four hours to get through and Day 2 was even worse at nearly five hours! Let’s get that down to 2:30 and 3:00 and you’ve got two primetime must-watch events for any NFL fan.
Overall Grade of the 2024 NFL Draft: B-
Get More NFL and College Football Content