2011 NFL Draft: The Harsh Reality Facing Collegiate Athletes Who Dare Enter

On April 28, 2011, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, the NFL will once again hold the most anticipated event of the offseason for the NFL: the NFL draft.

Fans across the country will gather in living rooms, dens and sports bars to watch as a group of executives and coaches show their stuff as they wheel and deal—and select what they believe is the best athletes that the college ranks have to offer.

Fans will high-five their friends for a pick they believe will make their team better, or comfort each other as they moan in disappointment over the failure of their team to pick the player they wanted.

And when it's all said and done, about 400 college athletes, either drafted or signed immediately after the draft, will begin their NFL careers.

While fans and players alike look forward to this day each season, both should be wary of the risks associated with the draft. Being selected high in the NFL draft does not guarantee success, nor does it guarantee the fans of a particular team that their team's pick will ensure a higher level of play.

Some players will inevitably fall victim to being selected by a team that will struggle, or one that fails to utilize their skills in a way that allows them to be successful, and those players may never become the stars they hope to become.

While there are athletes who obviously are born with a natural disposition that allows them to see the game more clearly by nature than some ever will, and therefore do separate themselves from the rest, even the success of those players is often dependent upon which organization they are selected by, and how they are utilized by that organization.  

While some of these athletes will find teams that possess the leadership, coaching, guidance and other essential elements needed to develop them into the best and brightest stars they can be, those few are far less in number than those that will get one rookie contract, and will likely be labeled a "bust" when they are unceremoniously blamed for the failures of their organization or coaching staff.

The number of head coaches fired in the NFL after this season could reach new heights, as owners desperate for a winning season are pulling the plug on players and coaches alike in an attempt to return to playoff contention. This increases the risk that a player may find himself with an organization destined to fail.  

The NFL draft is designed to keep balance in the NFL, so the team with the poorest record from the previous season is awarded the first pick of the following year's draft. This process continues on, and the team that won the previous year's Super Bowl is awarded the last pick of each round.

What this means is that the collegiate athletes that are supposed to be the very best will likely be chosen one of the worst teams in the NFL. This is done purposely in nearly every league in order to attempt to keep every team in the league competitive.

Unfortunately, being the team with the first pick in the NFL draft usually means that team is in disarray.  It is often the last place team from the previous year that has just hired a new head coach with a new set of coaches, and holds a future that is unpredictable, at best.

Looking through history, there are many examples of first round draft picks that have come into the NFL with visions of stardom and leading their respective franchises to glory, only to spend four-to-five frustrating years under supervision that was never qualified to lead them.  

More often than not, these players share the misfortune of playing for a coach that really never had what it takes to lead their team to glory, and when fans and ownership become discontented, the coach is replaced and a new coach will come in with a new vision for the way he will achieve success.

Many players will suffer the misfortune of never receiving the training it takes to excel at the NFL level—placed with a team that has many problems, and forced to play in situations and conditions that will not allow them to develop the skills and maturity needed to be the superstar player they had hoped to become.

And the media will crucify these once proud athletes, looking for anyone they can to place blame for the failures of a team that had high expectations. The media isn't well known for seeing through to the real issues that cause the failure of a team. Whoever becomes the easy target is generally who will become their "whipping boy." It's a shame, too.

With the NFL seeking to limit the amount each team can pay to their top-round draft choices, rookies that sign with a team that doesn't start winning immediately may find themselves signing the only contract they will ever see, or at least see their income potential harmed forever due to not being utilized to their potential.

If a player is injured before he negotiates his second contract, the rookie salary cap may mean a difference of tens of millions of dollars to his earnings in the NFL.

My personal opinion is that any player that has survived the collegiate football programs and made it to the NFL at all has proved that they have the skills to be there, and to be cast off because of the opinions of coaches that routinely are replaced at the NFL level is no reason for these players to be frowned upon.

Emmitt Smith is a prime example of a player who benefited from having a coach and an organization that recognized his strengths as well as he weaknesses, and implemented a scheme that would work to his strengths. The Dallas Cowboys built an entire offense around Smith's skills, and he carried the ball almost exclusively during his time in Dallas.

When Emmitt retired, he was the NFL 's all-time leading rusher. Now, however, many NFL teams have adopted a "running back by committee" approach, using as many as three or sometimes even four different running backs during the course of a season, so as to prevent the team from suffering if the lead back were to be injured.

In a system like that, Emmitt Smith would not have been allowed to carry the ball nearly as much, and his value would have likely been far less to the Cowboys.

Likewise, if the Cowboys had been only a mediocre team with limited success, Smith may have suffered the fate of many other early round picks that become "just another player" in a revolving door of coaches and offensive schemes.

So as the 2011 NFL Draft approaches, collegiate athletes and fans alike should remember that it is the quality of the organization and the leadership within that organization that can be as much responsible as the level of talent of each player in determining the success or failure of the rookies selected in this year's draft.

And that's the bottom line.