Mayock: NFL Draft Is Lopsided

Is this year’s NFL Draft akin to a Bizarro world where everything is backwards? That might be stretching the point a bit, but there’s still a growing consensus in NFL circles that the quality of players available in the top 10 picks is extremely similar to the talent level of the players projected to be drafted in the teens and early 20s of the first round. According to NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, per Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, teams are looking to bail out of the top 10 and trade down. “Every team in the top 10 is looking to trade out,” Mayock told reporters today in a conference call. “I’ve never seen a situation quite like this. And the theory is, everybody knows we’re upside down with this draft. The rookies are getting paid way too much money proportionate to their value. So, teams are scared to death to miss in the top 10.” According to Mayock, part of the trend goes back to simple economics. (Random thought: Where’s the teacher from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to explain it all to us?) “Here’s what’s happening, which I think is really interesting to see if this trend plays out: That old trade chart that all the teams used to use, it began to go out the window last year and I think, like the economy, it’s completely out the window,” Mayock said. “So, I think any team in the top 10 that’s looking to get out will listen to any reasonable offer. And more than ever teams are looking to get down to 15 to 25 because you can get the same kind of player at 20 than you can at seven, and you pay one-third the money.”