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The NFL Draft is the most efficient and cost-effective way to build a team. The future of franchises significantly depend on how well they draft.
Just look at the two teams playing in the Super Bowl next week. The Eagles drafted studs like Jalen Hurts, Fletcher Cox, and Lane Johnson, while the Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce.
A big part of how NFL teams decide to draft comes down to pre-draft interviews with players. Many players have seen their stock soar based on these chats with team brass, but more famously, the stock of some have plummeted after poor performances in the interviews.
The questions can get pretty personal, too. Teams are known to ask about romantic relationships, behavior dating back to middle school, in-depth conversations about their upbringing, and their experience with drugs and alcohol.
But, there are questions teams are no longer allowed to ask, according to league policy. Here is the Huffington Post with more details.
Those questions — such as, would you rather be a Super Bowl champion or Hall of Famer? — are standard issue for teams vetting potential draft picks leading up to all-star games like Saturday’s Senior Bowl and at the NFL combine. What aren’t deemed acceptable anymore: the outlier questions that a player might find demeaning or embarrassing, a nod to the greater attention being paid to mental health concerns among athletes…
The league warned teams in a memo last January they could be forced to forfeit a draft pick between the first and fourth round and be fined a minimum of $150,000 for out-of-bounds questions. Individual club employees could also face fines or suspensions.
There have been isolated reports in recent years of inappropriate questions being asked of draft prospects.
In 2010, then-Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland apologized to Dallas Cowboys first-round draft pick Dez Bryant for asking during a pre-draft visit whether his mother was a sex worker.
In 2016, then-Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn apologized to Eli Apple because one of his coaches asked the cornerback about his sexual preference.
Two years later, former LSU running back Derrius Guice said one team at the combine asked about his sexuality and another inquired if his mother was a sex worker.
This seems like a good development. Frankly, Peyton Manning wasn’t being asked if his mom was a sex worker, but certain demographics were definitely getting those questions more than others. And, how does that have anything to do with how good they will be in the NFL?