Scouts and coaches from across the country flocked to the University of Georgia’s pro day, largely in part to watch the potential number one pick, WR A.J. Green, work out. When it came time for Green to run routes, however, all NFL personnel had to leave the field and watch Green’s workout on closed circuit T.V.
Why? Because of the lockout, free agent NFL players aren’t allowed to workout at college pro days. That left Georgia without a pro day eligible QB to throw to Green, forcing them to use a player that scouts weren’t allowed to watch in person.
Bizarre pro days are not the only effect the lockout is having on the draft process. Here are three ways the CBA dispute is changing the way NFL teams are approaching the draft.
Players will be kept away until a new agreement is reached
Until the lockout ends, players can not sign with their new team or participate in team organized workouts. They will not even be able to talk to coaches to start learning the playbook and terminology. Teams also will be limited in their ability to monitor whether or not the recently drafted players are staying in shape and out of trouble.
Because of this, the background checks teams do for players will be even more important. A premium will be put on players that were leaders on their college teams, put football as their number one priority, and will put in the work needed even when it isn’t going to be required of them. To put it simply, teams will look for guys who will spend the lockout like Kyle Vanden Bosch, leading team workouts, and not getting banned from shopping malls.
Coaches and scouts will also focus on finding intelligent players. As the lock out continues, young players will be losing valuable time in the class room that would have been spent helping those players learn the playbook. Even with a normal offseason, struggles with terminology and complex assignments are often what keep rookies on the sideline. A shortened offseason will only make it even more diff
icult for players to learn their responsibilities, so the quicker a player can grasp the intricacies of a NFL playbook the better.
Undrafted Players can’t Sign with an NFL Team
Perhaps the most drastic impact the CBA dispute is having on the NFL draft will occur after the draft is over. Unless a new agreement is reached before the draft begins, teams will not be able to sign undrafted free agents to contracts.
This is an aspect of the lockout that many fans are overlooking: if the last guy drafted is known as “Mr. Irrelevant”, just how irrelevant are the undrafted players? This line of thought couldn’t be farther from the truth. Just last year one undrafted free agent, RB Legarrette Blount, fought his was into the starting line up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If undrafted players are unable to sign with NFL teams, there will inevitably be NFL level talent that is forced to play at the CFL or UFL level.
There are two general ways teams can try to address this issue. Teams that need help the quickest, and nee
d their rookies to contribute immediately, will avoid “project” players that will need time to develop. They will instead focus on guys with possibly less upside, but can play sooner.
On the other hand, teams that already have most of their pressing needs filled may look to draft guys like Blount. Coming out of college, Blount had character issues as well as concerns that he wouldn’t be able to contribute immediately because of his year long suspension. Those concerns led to him being undrafted, while several RBs with much lower ceilings did get drafted. A team that has the freedom to develop talent may jump on a guy like Blount in this draft, where they would typically wait and try and sign him after the draft.
A rookie pay scale would shake up the top of the draft
Last year’s #1 overall pick, QB Sam Bradford, agreed to a contract worth up to 86 million dollars, much more than most proven NFL players will ever have a chance to earn in their whole career. The fact that drafting a QB in the top ten involves such a tremendous investment often leaves teams hesitant to draft a QB that high.
That all could change in this draft. It is widely thought that whenever the new CBA is agreed to, a rookie pay scale will be included in it. The pay scale would dramatically reduce rookie salaries, and could turn taking a QB at the #8 or #10 from a risky investment into a value pick.
Making QBs more affordable would also likely increase the likelihood that teams would trade up into the top ten in an attempt to draft a QB. Without a pay scale, a team like Carolina is more than likely not going to take a QB #1 overall. With one, the chances they could take Cam Newton would go way up. Because of that, teams like Arizona or Cincinnati might have to move up to get the QB that they have at the top of their draft boards.
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