Minor League Football Could Help Stem the Tide of Draft Busts

Every year, at least one team in the National Football League makes a first round draft pick that they will come to regret a few years down the road.

Busts happen in every sport and to every team. If you don't believe me, you can look at a dozen or more lists of draft busts in every sport for proof.

The problem in the NFL is that there is no safety net for teams. They select and pay these hopefuls from day one to be part of the 53-man team roster.

In baseball, things are different. Pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg, selected first overall by the Washington Nationals and the very definition of "hype," was not immediately added to the team's active roster and sent out to play on the same field as the veterans.

Instead, he was started out in the team's minor league system. He will likely have a quick rise to the majors, but he has, nonetheless, received valuable seasoning in the minor leagues.

Almost every baseball player begins their career with a year or several in their team's minor league "farm system." This is where they learn about how professional baseball is played. They live the life of a major league player in everything from schedules and travel to preparation and lifestyle.

In the NFL, however, draft picks are given their big-money deals and told to behave like professionals, prepare like professionals, and play like professionals.

The NFL considers college to be it's minor league.

This is the idea that has given us Ryan Leaf and JaMarcus Russell among other notable disasters.

College is a poor system for preparing future professional football players for several reasons.

Colleges play different styles, players have different lifestyles, the season itself is different. The differences are virtually endless.

Do you think JaMarcus Russell, released by the Oakland Raiders this past week after contributing next to nothing to the team, would have benefited from going through a year or two of learning how, exactly, to be a professional football player?

How about going through a system of minor teams where his training and diet were regulated and scrutinized more closely?

How about simply having to earn his position on the professional team?

How about teaching him how to go from college style run-and-shoot offenses to the intricate systems run in the NFL?

A minor league system would pay huge dividends. It wouldn't eliminate all draft day busts. Some players just can't cut it at the pro level. But it would eliminate some of the common reasons players fail.

It would be particularly effective for quarterbacks, who have so many hurdles to jump before they can be even serviceable professionals. Things like reading defenses, operating from both under center and in the shotgun, and executing diverse playbooks all would be able to be taught in a more controlled setting.

It would be akin to having a skill player sit and learn for a year or two or work in a part time role behind more experienced veterans, except that the team would not have to use a roster spot on the player immediately.

It makes the team more stable and it gives the players themselves a better environment for growth and development.

It's time for football to follow the lead of baseball, which has over 100 years of experience with minor leagues and has been almost all positive in creating its own farm system.

I'm sure Russell would agree.