The NFL draft always comes in like a mountain lion on HGH and goes out like a comatose lamb. Now that all the names have been called and the teams are scrambling for training-camp tackling dummies, it’s time to hand out official grades.
And, as usual, we give every team the same grade: Incomplete.
It’s too early to know how any of these teams have done, because no one has any idea how any of these players will perform until they step onto an NFL field and face competition significantly greater than anything they ever have faced before. Some will slam against a ceiling that no one knew existed between their abilities in college and in the NFL. Others will surpass even the wildest hopes or expectations that anyone currently could have of them.
Some will seemingly do a deal with the devil, going from widely-overlooked 199th overall pick to one of the best to ever play his position.
Even though there’s no way of knowing what will happen, that doesn’t stop people from pretending to know, all in the hopes of satiating the public’s unquenchable thirst for reasons to be optimistic that their favorite teams could possibly find a way this year to navigate through their schedule and make it to the playoffs. And given the multiple recent examples of teams turning a skin-of-their-teeth postseason berth into a Super Bowl win, there’s never been a better time to sell hope.
When it comes to selling hope, however, it’s important to be realistic. And anyone who pretends to know how these players will translate to the NFL in light of decades of history proving that it’s a crapshoot simply isn’t being realistic.