There’s a long gap in between the NFL Combine and the draft (for some reason the gap is getting bigger every year as Goodell tries harder and harder to eliminate the offseason. It’s NFL365 to him). And during that time, people love to talk about who’s going where, who looks like a bust, who is a future star, etc. And while anchors and sports writers are mainly talking out of their asses, everything a GM or team spokesman says is intentional and calculated. Whether or not it’s true doesn’t matter. There’s one thing every team lives by during this period: the only thing more valuable than real information is misinformation. Sometimes they have to lie through their teeth to hype up a player they have no intention of drafting, or completely shit on the guy they really want. This type of thinking serves two purposes. The first is if their team holds a really high pick, but the guy they want is graded as a mid to late round pick, they hype up another player that’s graded around where they are picking. This will make teams drafting behind them think that they might not get that player and should trade up. This adds more value to the pick than before, so the team putting out the bullshit can get who they want and extra picks if they trade out. The second purpose is if their team really wants someone to fall to them, they either hype up other players at the position or hate on the guy they want to convince others to avoid him. Some examples from the past few weeks:
- The Cleveland Browns say they would rather draft Derek Carr over Johnny Manziel, maybe because Barry Switzer hates him, who knows. This comes weeks after they said they would do anything to draft Manziel. Verdict: Bullshit. Cleveland sits at 4 and 26 (thanks to Indy). They could easily draft either, but would prefer if one fell to 26 so they can get a top defensive player at 4. All they’re trying to do is get someone behind them, like Tampa Bay or Minnesota, to get nervous and try to trade up for a QB. Manziel is a popular name to hate, but Cleveland would love to have him, and would love him even more if they could trade back and turn his hype into picks.
- The Atlanta Falcons want either Khalil Mack or Anthony Barr at 6. Verdict: Bullshit. When it comes to defensive ends, no matter what anyone says, they all want Clowney. Guy is destined for greatness and everyone knows it. Atlanta would love if Clowney fell to them at 6, so they’re starting the bullshit hype trains on the other defensive ends/outside linebackers early. Probably a Falcon scout who said he wouldn’t draft Clowney just to throw everyone off.
- Apparently there is a market for Mike Vick, and his likely landing spot is Oakland. Verdict: Bullshit, once again. A few weeks ago it was a sure thing that Vick was going to the Jets and the Raiders loved Manziel and could take him at 5. The thing is, they already have a QB who plays like the both of them on roster already in Terrelle Pryor. Pryor also was the most successful QB the Raiders had last season so there’s no reason to give up on him and bring someone else in. Raiders are likely to trade out of the 5 and bring in neither.
- Most of the best players on the Dolphins may be on the trading block. Verdict: Actually most likely to be true. The Dolphins are trying to distance themselves from the bullying nonsense, so blowing up the team is not much of a stretch. They already fired a bunch of coaches, wouldn’t surprise anyone if they started getting rid of players as well to try and move up from 19. The Dolphins are saying none of them are up for trade, but that’s most likely misinformation to see if there is a market for them.
So just remember to treat draft rumors the same way you treat any story that breaks on April 1st. Until something solid is presented, ignore everything and assume all the teams are putting out misinformation just to see the response to it. Deception pays, and every team wants to get the best deal. Trust no one.
This is the Life 