I Haven't Felt a Draft

It's been a while since I've blogged about the draft. For a time there I was coming to you every Friday with tidbits about player rankings, mock drafts and the like. Then I stopped. I have my reasons. One of which is it's just the time of the year where there is a lot of noise. A.J. likes to call it Liar's Month. I just think there are way to many people being paid to come out with opinions way too frequently. Mock drafts in all their varieties, slight changes in player rankings and some belated scouting reports eat up the pages of internet space. And the networks just let their best experts babble on about the same stuff they could have pontificated on months ago.

Some of the best (or maybe a better word is: clearest) information about the draft during the college football season. That's why I tried to follow players that fit Chargers needs during that time of the year. The bowl games are key because some players who don't normally face top competition get to be challenged for a single game. The college all star games are also good because there are tons of scouts and coaches at those practices and the media finally gets to hear what they are thinking about players.

That last sentence is so key. Really, what the heck do we care what some draft expert thinks about a player? We don't. We want to know how the draft will shake out. Who our favorite team will pick and how it will fit our needs. Some of the most important information we really want to know is locked up in the board rooms in NFL teams' front offices. Anyone who can get a scoop on that information is finding the real draft gold.

However, as we creep closer to the draft some people do start getting details. Teams will contact agents or perhaps leaks get to the media or perhaps its just good journalists finding ways to zero in on their answers. Whatever it is, that info should start trickling its way to the casual fan soon enough and I think we are all hungry for it.

It's only been recently that I've started "feeling a draft". I get the feeling that Cam Newton is going to be Ron Rivera's guy and Von Miller could be bound for Buffalo. And just a few days ago A.J. Smith hinted that  DE, OLB, WR, OT and maybe a CB would top our favorite team's priority list. I've also heard rumblings for other reaches at QB, which is good news for the Chargers since better players will drift our way. Two weeks left until our first round pick comes and it's all starting to ramp up.