2005 Nfl College Football Draft


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2005 Nfl College Football Draft

2005 Nfl College Football Draft

When Roger Goodell steps to the lectern to announce the first pick of the 2010 NFL Draft in New York on April 22, millions of people will be monitoring the event via an array of media from televisions to cell phones. Every selection – every word – will be probed, picked apart and analyzed. Of course, the NFL Draft wasn't always such a prized commodity in the sports world. Like the NFL, it has evolved over time from humble beginnings.

The First NFL Draft

In the early years of the NFL, teams were free to sign any player they wished. But Philadelphia Eagles owner Bert Bell – who would go on to serve as league commissioner – thought this Wild West atmosphere eventually would doom the league because a few powerhouse teams would stockpile most of the incoming talent.

Bell's solution was to institute a draft in which teams would select from a pool of eligible players. The team's draft order would be based on the reverse order of how the teams finished the previous season; in other words, the team with the worst record would receive the first pick. The owners approved Bell's plan on May 19, 1935, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Web site.

In 1936, Philadelphia's Ritz-Carlton Hotel hosted the inaugural draft, which consisted of nine rounds – one for each team in the league (that number would later balloon to 30 before receding to today's seven). With a 2-9 mark in 1935, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago; Berwanger had won the first-ever Downtown Athletic Club Trophy (renamed the next year after John Heisman). Citing the low pay of a football career, Berwanger turned down the Eagles' contract offer and never played a down in the NFL.

Adding Twists to the Draft

“Parity” is a buzzword used in conjunction with the NFL's post-salary cap era. But the NFL Draft was the ultimate tool of parity. In 1938 the draft rules were changed so that the five teams with the worst records were the only teams allowed to choose in the second and fourth rounds.

The 1950s brought competition from the Canadian Football League, which sought to siphon off U.S. college talent. In the latter half of the decade, the NFL responded by moving up the first four rounds to late November or early December so that the league would have first crack at the best players. But scouting was still in the dark ages. For example, no team had ever had a telephone at its draft table until Rams employee Pete Rozelle added one in 1956, according to SteelerFury.com.