D6, how would you know about the potential draftees back in the 70s?  Were there draft magazines?  I imagine there weren't many draftniks back then so it was probably hard to gather much information.  Did you just watch a lot of college football and have guys in mind that you wanted the Lions to draft?

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D6, how would you know about the potential draftees back in the 70s?  Were there draft magazines?  I imagine there weren't many draftniks back then so it was probably hard to gather much information.  Did you just watch a lot of college football and have guys in mind that you wanted the Lions to draft?

 

  hendershot,  back then I relied largely on the late Joel Buchsbaum,  who wrote for ' Pro Football Weekly', to provide information.   The only football magazines I recall other than ' Football Digest'  until 1980 were the magazines that previewed College Football and the one's that previewed the NFL before the start of the season.   ' Football Digest' is something I used for draft information but it was relatively limited.  Buchsbaum was by far the best at what he did,  in terms of providing fans draft information and opinions.  He considered himself an information gatherer. 

 

  Another source was newspaper articles.   Also,  sports talks shows were helpful at times. 

 

  I was a Nebraska fan in my youth,  hence I watched a lot of Big 8 games.   I also watched the Big 10,  Pac 10,  SEC, and SWC Conferences when it came to big games.  

 

  I had players in mind I wanted the Lions to draft starting in 1978,  when I was 16.  Before that,  it was just getting some information after seeing who was picked. 

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I prefer it the way it is today.  Makes for better watercooler discussion, IMO.  And, I get my weekend back.

 

Breaking it up creates more drama, IMO.

 

I like the meat of the draft being prime time.  I would usually skip the later rounds anyway.

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"You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud."

As far as the draft goes... the Sports Illustrated features leading up to it probably got me more excited about the draft than the event itself in the 80s.

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"You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud."

First draft I ever watched was 2001 when we picked Stroud. Of course, I was still very young so I thought WRs and RBs were the only positions worth taking. I was so mad we didn't get David Terrell or Koren Robinson instead of some boring lineman. I'd say it ended up working in our favor.

My favorite draft memory was 2003 when the Vikings ran out their clock and we ran up to the podium and drafted Byron. I loved Brunell but I knew he was getting old and I was 1000% sure Leftwich would be a superstar.

My worst draft memory was 2010, when Goodell walked up to the podium and announced to the world we drafted Tyson Alualu. My first reaction was "at least it wasn't Tebow" immediately followed by "who the [BAD WORD REMOVED] is Tyson Alualu?"

Honorable mention for worst was when we took Anger in the 3rd round. I knew right then that I was done with gene smith and it was the only time I felt ashamed to be a Jags fan.

All in all I love the draft and I watch almost every round every year. I do miss the draft being an all weekend event. Not a huge fan of the Thursday night 1st round but whatever.

Stroud. I was probably more confident of that pick than any other in Jags history.

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I thought the draft was best when it was done over two days-Saturday and Sunday.  You could plan your whole weekend around watching it.  Now?  Pffft.  Goodell messed it up again.

Totally agree, this Thursday night crap sucks, only 1 round, I watch the entire thing but most people tune out as soon as their team picks. I remember a few years ago, I live in Minnesota and the Vikings were,drafting late 1st round, everybody at work was [BLEEP] because they stayed up late only to watch the Vingsmtrade out of the 1st round...lol.

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I just remembered another funny thing from my NFL draft past. My best friend is a Packer fan and fellow NFL draft fanatic. A few years ago in the 2007 draft, we met up as we normally do on draft day and we had analyzed and overanalyzed the draft the way we always do. As such, we had players/positions in mind and were ready for our teams to better themselves.


When it was the Packers' turn to pick, my buddy inched forward in his seat. I can't remember what player or position he wanted but, spoiler alert, it wasn't about to be the name called.


The commish stepped up and said, "with the 16th pick of the 2007 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers select...Justin Harrell."


What was so funny is that as soon as the commish said "Justin", my buddy fell to the ground. There was nobody, and I mean nobody, with the first name Justin on his wish list. He was a complete unknown. An oft-injured DT from Tennessee who turned out to be, well, a oft-injured NFL player who never amounted to squat.


It was just one of those moments that you laugh at and realize that sometimes NFL execs overthink it and don't even know as much as the common fan. They get it right most of the time and know way more than us but sometimes they overanalyze the draft.


We still laugh about that moment.

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When we picked Alualu, I was like....who??


Went straight to youtube.

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First draft i watched was when we drafted reggie nelson. I was freaking stoked! High fives all day at football practice because we thought he was the next ed reed lol


Next favorite memory, drafting bortles. We played teddy bridgewater in the state championship and won. So while i thought he would be the pick, i really didnt want him considering we came back from a 21 point deficit to beat the team he was leading for the state championship. Blake on the other hand was from oviedo whom we played every year in high school so i was rooting for him to get drafted. Hindsight im happy as **** we got him.

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Perception blurs Reality..


http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/8-26-2014/QUeOky.gif

The Gabbert pick, I was at the sports bar with a buddy when they announced the pick, he cheered and said we finally got us a QB, he looked at the puzzled look on my face and asked why I wasn't cheering too, I said to him, I watch a lot of Big 12 and my two teams are Baylor and Texas, not once before either of those games did I remember saying oh no we are playing against Gabbert,

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A good loser is a good loser

2005 NFL Draft

 

I absolutely hated Khalif Barnes during all the pre-draft hype in 2005. I remember there being talk he would go in the first round and I thought he was a 7th rounder at best. A buddy of mine used to write for a draft website and after giving him a negative review during the Senior Bowl, Barnes' agent threatened to sue him and the website if he didn't take it down.

 

Just before the draft, my buddy was busting my balls telling me the Jags were going to take him. I told him that if the Jags select Khalif Barnes I was going to lay outside in the middle of the street. We take Matt Jones in the first and I thought the nightmare was avoided.

 

Draft continues and we hit Round 2 pick 52. I knew it was going to happen. My buddy knew it was going to happen. Sure as [BLEEP], Jags take Khalif Barnes. I put my head down, took a deep breath, and went outside. I walked into the middle of the street, laid down, and stared into the sky for 15 minutes.

 

That pick haunts me to this day.

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