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Why Everything We've Heard About The 2013 NFL Draft Is Probably Wrong

An argument for chaos as we approach the 2013 NFL Draft.

By Dave Choate
Jeff Zelevansky

Every year, we pour millions of hours and the networks pour millions of dollars into trying to figure out how the draft will go down. Every year, everything goes to hell within the first ten minutes or so.

This is not a knock on anyone's expertise, but more the clandestine nature of the NFL Draft. There's so many things going on behind the scenes, so many discussed trades and smokescreens and general chaos that predicting it is a fool's errand.

I think it's instructive to keep this in mind, because as fans thus far we've heard:

  • The Falcons may trade into the Top 10-15 picks for Sheldon Richardson, Dee Milliner or Dion Jordan
  • The Falcons may trade up a few spots for Desmond Trufant
  • The Falcons may stay put and take Tank Carradine, Jonthan Banks, or Zach Ertz
  • The Falcons may trade down and take, I dunno, a guy?

Ultimately, one of those scenarios will happen...or not. The Falcons may take someone we've spent no time discussing, they might jump all the way to the top for Luke Joeckel or they may amass seven third round picks. The draft is unpredictable, and we ought to prepare ourselves for that randomness. Your favorite prospect (or my favorite) is probably not going to end up in a Falcons uniform. The odds do not favor that outcome.

That's what makes the draft kind of a delight, though. I'm old enough at last that I've come into this draft relatively unattached to various prospects, which means for the first time, I will probably not be screaming at the television when some heretofore obscure prospect heads to the Falcons in the third round. If we embrace the randomness of the day, we'll be less disappointed, and we may even have more fun figuring out just who the hell these guys are.

The important thing to remember is that this front office has been largely successful at building through the draft, with enough exceptions that we should definitely withhold our biggest cheers along with our most virulent scorn. It's an exciting three days, but we have no idea what's going to happen.

That said, the Falcons are trading up for a cornerback. I'm sure of it!

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