NFL Draft: A layman's thoughts

A one-time annual event is now a prime time drama as teams bet on players' futures

Many years ago the NFL draft was an “event” for me.

For most of my life it was that way, beginning with ESPN's decision to cover the event in the channel’s nascent days, when it was looking for programming, which included the O.G. USFL, Australian Rules football, billiards, and more.

Eventually, the NFL draft turned into its own sort of industrial-complex…