NFL Draft Day One Review: The 2019 NFL Draft Reality Show

The opening of the draft was dramatic, with the Cardinals using their entire allotted eight minutes keeping eyeballs glued and ratings high before they turned in their number one overall pick to Roger Goodell. The likelihood that this was due in part to the Cardinals trying to decide between picking Kyler Murray or Quinnen Williams is zero.

Day one of the NFL draft has become a reality show aired on multiple networks; this year it is the combination of ABC, NFL Network, and ESPN. ABC released their overnight rating for the draft (3.7) up 28% compared to one year ago when round one of the draft aired on FOX. The Draft is in Nashville this year, and it drew a monster crowd of 200k with live bands playing music between picks, and lights shining their brightest on the main stage. The analysis of round one can be summarized as some teams traded picks, other teams made picks, the media graded these picks. Some picks were ho-hum (Kaleb McGary), some were hurrayed (Josh Allen), and a few picks had fans and analyst alike digging deep into their player rankings trying to figure out who the heck their team just picked in round one (Tytus Howard).

The nostalgia of the first round ended at midnight, and without the reality TV drama, it could have easily been over at 10 pm (get off my lawn). It is now day two where the fanfare, bands, and bright lights will not be as nostalgic. The next two days will be a measure of every NFL scout and GM‘s ability to evaluate. This is where they earn their money.

I found a study that provides a detailed analysis measuring the average player success rate by round and it drops significantly from round one to round two; for example, a QB picked in round one starts half of their career 63% of the time, dropping to 27% in round two.

Click here to go to our current Team Needs Analysis

Click here to go to our best available player composite rankings

Top ten best available to begin day two