The 2010 draft begins in only 11 days. For the first time, it invades prime time, with round one on Thursday night, rounds two and three on Friday, and the rest on Saturday.
We’ve been hearing for weeks that the second day will entail plenty of possible wheeling and dealing, with the Rams (who hold the top selection in round two) dangling the pick to the highest bidder and other teams at the top of the second stanza working out contingent deals with those who’d like to jump up and snag rookies who squirted through round one.
Pats coach Bill Belichick agrees.
“I kind of think the second round will now be like the first round,” Belichick tells Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Take those [top] 32 players out of there, whoever they are, now you’re starting all over again for that second round. And I can see it being approached more as that first round.
“In the past, you kind of rolled into that round. Now, to actually stop and have the whole night to sit there and think about it and talk to other teams and develop a new strategy. Everybody does that on the second day; now we have three days. It’s a different dynamic.”
As a practical matter, it means that the top of round four also could entail some drama, since it’s the round to launch the Saturday action. The extent to which the possibility of trades could generate interest remains to be seen; though we expect a huge increase in the ratings for Thursday night and a strong showing on Friday, the Saturday 4-5-6-7 phase could end up being an event that even the most die-hard NFL fans will avoid, especially if the sun is out, the grill is hot, and the pool is luke.