Off-Season Post #2: This is One Draft You Don't Want to Dodge

Anyone who has had an American History class has learned about the draft, specifically during the Vietnam War when boys and men 18 and older were pulling all kinds of tricks to avoid being drafted into the army. There is a draft in NFL-land as well but in this case boys 21 and older are killing themselves to make it in and make it in fast! To girls the end of April means sundresses and wine nights on the patio; to guys the end of April means the Official Unofficial Beginning of the NFL Season, also known as the NFL Draft. Y'all, over the course of the last 8 years that I have been with my husband I have been made to actually sit down and watch this thing for one reason or another. Sometimes it was voluntary...most times I would consider hostage situations with beer and snacks. All that being said, I learned that if you know a little bit about the draft it can make this last weekend of April with your man a lot more interesting.

During the course of this blog I have mentioned how NFL football is basically a soap opera for guys. Well, this is where the soap opera begins. The 2013 NFL Draft begins on Thursday night with the first round being broadcast in prime time ( a new development in the last few years, the Draft used to not start until Saturday). The very simplest of explanations of how the NFL Draft works is this: There are 7 rounds in the draft. The first round is by far the most interesting to a lay person AKA, me. There are 32 picks in the first round, theoretically one for each team in the NFL, though this changes with trades. The team with the worst previous season (the Kansas City Chiefs this season) gets the #1 pick in the draft and the order goes on from there until the #32 pick of the first round which goes to the reigning Super Bowl Champs (the Baltimore Ravens). Then the second round begins with the 33rd pick and it goes on from there. Naturally, the higher a player is picked in the draft, the higher their value, so the more they get paid. Sounds simple, right? WRONG. Teams make deals with each other to trade players for draft picks (this can actually happen right up to the second before a team is supposed to make their pick), teams lose draft picks as a form of punishment, and all kinds of other crazy stuff happens which adds an element of drama to the proceedings. Click here if you want to see a full run down of the picking order for the 2013 draft.

Trying to navigate the top stories of this years draft seemed a daunting task for even this totally knowledgeable blogger. So in the interest of full disclosure, I had to get some help from my friends at Pro Football Hot Reads. If you have a hard core football fan in your life or if you want to know more about what   I write about here, this is the site to go to. Luckily for me, they were happy to help me weed through the noise and pick out some of the biggest stories going into the draft, and here they are.

1.)Who will be the #1 pick for the Kansas City Chiefs? All (qualified) fingers seem to be pointing to Luke Joeckel, the Offensive Tackle from Texas A&M (basically offensive tackles protect the quarterback). This is the guy who helped Texas A&M beat an undefeated Alabama in their first year in the SEC and who is universally described by his teammates and opposing players as "nasty"...but you know the good kind of nasty. The bigger picture here is that there may be three offensive tackles who go in the top 10 of the draft.

2.)Where there seems to be an abundance of Offensive Tackles in the first round there seems to be a lack of the so-called "stars" of the game, the quarterbacks. I have heard a lot of back and forth on this one. Some say that Geno Smith of West Virginia will be the only quarterback drafted in the first round because of his experience on the field. Others think that maybe Ryan Nassib (Syracuse) will go at the #8 spot to the Buffalo Bills because he used to play for their new head coach and they are in desperate need of a QB. Either way, this draft is seriously lacking in the big quarterback names of drafts gone by which had high profile prospects like RG3 and Cam Newton.

3.)The big story that broke just this Sunday is that the New York Jets have traded their star cornerback, Darrelle Revis to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for the 13th overall pick in the draft and a conditional selection in next year's draft. This gives the Jets two first round picks, #9 and #13, so it will be interesting to see who they go shopping for with their extra pick, could Mark Sanchez be out of his quarterback job? Bottom line, nothing the Jets do make any sense (like trading away their best player) needless to say there could be some high drama early in the first round.

4.)While Darrelle Revis might be the most talked about cornerback this week, he is not the most interesting cornerback story out there. D.J. Hayden is a cornerback from the University of Houston. Hayden suffered a hit during practice which freakishly caused the inferior vena cava aka the main vein to his heart to tear. Hayden underwent emergency heart surgery where he specifically told the doctors not to mess with his abs, so they went through his sternum. Let's all just keep in mind that this happened back in November...about 5 months ago and this guy showed up to Houston's Pro Day and basically ran like the wind. I try to keep this blog family friendly, but I am going to say that this story deserves a solid "WTF". Who comes back from heart surgery and runs faster than Batman? These guys are the very closest we will get to superheroes on Earth, their bodies do not behave like mere mortals. Keep an eye on where D.J. Hayden goes in the draft, you may be hearing his name on Thursday night. If that story didn't get you and you are in the mood for a good cry check out this story on DeAndre Hopkins, a wide receiver from Clemson who is expected to go in the first round, it will make you hit your knees and thank God for everything you have.

Yep, he seems okay to me. (Source: Houstonchronicle.com)

5.) Another name that seems to come up again and again is Tavon Austin, wide receiver from West Virginia. You may remember from my Combine post ( I assume that you are all committing these posts to memory, right?) that Tavon Austin was the wide receiver prospect who seemed to shine for the scouts in Indianapolis. But it is decision time now and at 5'8", 170 lbs, Tavon Austin is a tiny Wide Receiver prospect. Coaches and general managers are likely worried that while he is a talented player, he is too small to take multiple NFL hits without getting injured. And when you are good at something in the NFL, they tend to hit you even harder. They may think that it is a gamble to pay him first round money, or they may think that he is worth the risk. It will be interesting to see where Tavon Austin falls in this draft.

There you have it, the Top 5 stories going into the draft. Not as complicated as Days of Our Lives but not as simple as Hart of Dixie and definitely involves more math than both. Remember this information is only to be used for good OR to shut up that incredibly obnoxious co-worker who talks to you like you know nothing...I know you all have one. And another BIG thanks to Pro Football Hot Reads for helping a girl out....seriously tell all the guys you know about this awesome site!

Don't forget to follow along on Twitter @girdiron4girls for all the happenings of this year's draft. As always if you have any questions about football or life you can always hit me up on Twitter, Facebook, or at girdironforgirls@gmail.com. Let me be the first to welcome you to the 2013 NFL season, this is where it all begins.