The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent

by Pete Williams

Book Overview

An explosive look at the NFL Draft from the inside out that exposes the multilayered feeding frenzy that swarms around America's top college players.

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312354398
• ISBN13: 9780312354398
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 3.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great book at a Greater Bargain!

I purchased this book for my boyfriend who is an attorney trying to become a sports agent. He loves the book!! Thank you so much.

A look behind the curtain

I liked the book okay. It painted a somewhat realistic scenario of what goes on behind closed doors at a NFL franchise but not completely realistic based on what's been going on in the actual league and the trading values of picks. I thought the author took more than his fair share of latitude in painting a few of the trade scenarios but the story seemed to work and was an entertaining read. Compare this book to John Feinstein's excellent "Next Man Up" is a study in fiction vs fact. Both are entertaining to read and I guess it depends on what one prefers in that sometimes reality is more fascinating than fiction. I think the author could have done more in-depth research and fleshed out the story more than he did. It's almost a novel where there was a looming deadline and he was forced to fast track the story to get it done in time. All in all, not bad.

Review of The Draft, an Inside Look at the NFL Draft

The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent is a detailed look at what players, agents, and NFL teams go through leading up to the annual NFL Draft where teams select college players. The Players Williams chooses several players to follow for this book, some first rounders and a few who start with great promise but ultimately flounder in the draft for a variety of reasons. There are three main things that stand out about what players go through leading up to the draft. First is the feeding frenzy with agents jockeying for their attention. The more talented and greater the potential, the more demand there is a player's time and attention. Agents communicate with them directly when they are allowed (and sometimes when they are not) and often try to woo their parents, girlfriends, and anyone else that they think might have influence on the player's decision on which agent to go with. Secondly, there is a lot of money involved and many temptations to break NCAA rules. It's illegal for players to take money or gifts from agents while playing college football but it undoubtedly happens. Third, is that the NFL selection process is a meat market. NFL scouts are watching players, many from high school through college. The best players have agents hanging around them, especially their senior years in college. After their college careers are over they are faced with extensive training for the NFL combine, working out for teams at their schools or at team facilities. The NFL Combine, where the NFL brings any eligible player that wants to participate, is really the centerpiece of the entire draft. Here players are put through all kinds of drills, timed in the 40 yard dash, interviewed by team representatives, are poked and prodded for physicals, and given an intelligence test called the Wonderlick. Most players go to specialized training facilities paid for by their agents just to do well at the combine to improve their draft status, whereas some locks for the first round skip it fearing a bad performance could drop their draft status. And then, of course, there is the emotion of draft day of either going in the round you thought you would go in or slipping to later rounds and realizing the amount of money you just lost as a result. The Agents Are the agents greedy sharks looking to make their livelihood off of young millionaire players, or hard working men (there are few women) in a very competitive business doing their best for their clients? Undoubtedly there are unscrupulous agents but for the most part Williams paints them out to be in the later category. They sacrifice their personal life to recruit players and then work to make sure they maximize their potential in the draft and negotiate the best contract possible for them with the team that chooses them. Williams paints the profession as extremely cut throat. As noted above, agents talk extensively with players' families, spouses, girlfriends and anyone else tha

An enjoyable look at the NFL's big day

While not exactly a pieced of hard-hitting investigative journalism, Williams' book is one that most NFL fans will find enjoyable. It's not to cause much in the way of controversy because of its non-critical tone towards players, agents, coaches, and just about everyone involved in the draft, but it's still a good look at the process involved when a player moves from college to the pro ranks. Focusing on several players - among them Chris Canty, Fred Gibson and Ray Willis - Williams examines the events that take place from the time a player "graduates" from school (many drop out immediately after their team's bowl game) up through the draft itself. Besides the players, Williams also looks at the role played by many others, including coaches, compliance directors, families, agents, and teammates. The book's strength is that Williams goes lightly on all the participants. It's easy to portray agents as sharks, or schools as taking advantage of the kids, but Williams sticks to facts without adding too much of his own spin. That's not to say that he doesn't criticize certain people or tactics, but he's more interested in passing the story along to the reader for them to make their own judgments. It's this nonjudgmental approach that allows us to draw our own observations about featured coaches like Al Groh, or agents like Jack Scharf and Pat Dye, Jr. They may not always come across in the most positive light, but they're at least given a fair chance to speak for themselves without being judged by the author. If there's a weakness to the book, it's that Williams spreads himself a little thin. With trying to cover the roles played by everyone listed above, the book can often seem scattered or presented in a non-linear way. When dates jump back and forth, it can be a little confusing, especially from a book geared towards a very specific date. However, it's difficult to fault the author too much for trying to present so much information without loading us down with a 500-page work. This isn't a subject that has been covered often in such great detail, so Williams' work should be a worthwhile read for any fan of the game. For those of us who spend much of the off-season worrying about our team's draft-day prospects, this is an essential read. A title that will be enjoyable for any NFL fan, this one is recommended.