New book about the NFL Draft (1 Viewer)

[Jene Bramel]

Caught my eye at B&N last evening.

I'm a little over 70 pages into it. A little dry with background of the major principals followed (similar to John Feinstein), but has some insight into player evaluation at the scout and personnel director levels (McKay) and a look into how agents (Dye, Scharf) pursue players. Looks like the middle section will have some nice information about the combine and pro days.

The Draft

Draft: A Year inside the NFL's Search for Talent

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"The Draft follows a handful of NFL hopefuls through the ups and downs of the 2004 college football season and the predraft process, culminating with the 2005 draft. Among the prospects are Virginia defensive end Chris Canty, who overcomes a devastating early-season knee injury to reestablish himself as a top draft hopeful, only to suffer a detached retina in a night-club skirmish; and Fred Gibson, a talented but rail-thin Georgia wide receiver who struggles to put on the weight needed to go over the middle in the NFL." It's a complex environment, with college coaches attempting to protect their "student-athletes" from exploitation (while fully aware that they can only remain competitive if they attract NFL-caliber players to their schools), along with sports agents and NFL scouts trying to stay a step ahead of their competition.

 

[Englishteacher]

Cool! Thanks for sharing. Was going there tonight. Will have to check it out.

 

[Jene Bramel]

In case the daytime Shark Pool draft crowd missed this a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd bump this post. Good read about the draft process from beginning to end from a number of different angles (agent/personnel men/player)

 

[WhoDat]

Jene, have you read Next Man Up and, if so, how does this book compare? Better? Worse?

I'll hang up and listen.

 

[Englishteacher]

I'm 90 pages into this book and this is def a good read. Well worth the money if you are a true football junkie.

Two

Thanks for the tip JB

 

[Jene Bramel]

Jene, have you read Next Man Up and, if so, how does this book compare? Better? Worse?

I'll hang up and listen.

Thanks, caller.Read Next Man Up and liked it. I get a little tired of Feinstein's long biographical sketches that mess with the flow of the book, but it's a good read for anybody interested in the behind-the-scenes world of an NFL team.

The Draft reads a little like a series of extended newspaper articles and was a little Feinsteiny in parts. But the section on the combine was great and the insight into how the Falcons did player evaluations, set their draft board, and made decisions on draft day was awesome.

If you've any interest in how agents do their thing, Pat Dye, Jr. and Todd France among others are profiled as well.

If you're a casual NFL fan, either book may be a little much. If you're not, they're both enjoyable reads.