Bill Belichick raises important point about pre-draft rumors

The future Hall of Famer shared some draft-related knowledge on the Pat McAfee Show this week.

Besides the Super Bowl, the draft is arguably the biggest singular event on the NFL calendar. It’s not hard to see why: all 32 teams and their fanbases are invested in it, and there is eternal optimism surrounding every franchise and the potential to add promising talent to the roster.

Needless to say, there is plenty of interest in all things draft. One prominent part of that is the ever-moving rumor mill.

The speculation about where players might end up is part of the appeal of the pre-draft process, of course. However, it also is something that might not necessarily be a reflection of actual NFL reality a lot of the times. Draft season is called “silly season” for a reason.

And don’t take it from us either. Take it from the man who knows more about the NFL than anybody alive, former New England Patriots head coach and quasi-general manager Bill Belichick.

Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, Belichick spoke on a variety of draft-related matters. One of the most insightful moments among many was a look at the relationship between teams and all the pre-draft information going around.

“At this point in time, a little over a week from the first round, I think teams are probably starting to really get things pulled together now,” Belichick said. “There’s just a ton of information that comes in there in March and April when all your scouts are out, probably at least a dozen scouts on every team. So, multiply all the information times 12. Reports coming in, new information. Then, on top of that, you got the medical, you got security, you’ve got all the scouts reports — all being compiled and accumulated.

“And now that last week, or 10 days or so, is where you really sit as an organization and sort through it and sift it out. There’s always a little bit of contradiction, but you got to figure out where you’re going to place your chips, what you’re going to believe, what you’re not going to believe.”

While players and teams take center stage in the draft process, another group is also actively involved: player representatives. From Belichick’s perspective as a long-time executive dealing with agents, they — rather than the teams — are the primary source of information being made available to the public at this point in time.

One big part of it, in Belichick’s experience, is trying to boost their clients’ value.

“I think the biggest newsmakers here, quietly, are the agents. Nobody wants their player to get picked higher than them,” Belichick said. “When the agent hears, ‘My player could go anywhere from the second or the third round…,’ you add one to that and say, ‘Well, these GMs or these teams are talking about taking my guy in the first round.’

“I’ve never told an agent, ‘Alright, we’re going to take your guy in this round. We’re going to take your guy with the 27th pick or the 31st pick or whatever pick it is we have.’ I don’t think there are too many teams that do that, but I think the agents will say, ‘My guy’s going to go at 31 to this team, my guy’s going to go at 17 to that team’ — that type of thing. And that just generates interest in their players.”

Does that mean all information coming out at this point is illegitimate? Not necessarily. However, all piece of news needs to be taken with a sizable grain of salt at this point in time simply because teams are not yet at a point where they will make definitive decisions regarding prospects.

“I think you have to sift that out, but as you get closer to draft day sometimes teams get closer to figuring out what they’re going to do, there is information that can leak out of the organizations in one way or another that can give you some insight in what they’re going to do,” Belichick added. “I think it’s a little early for that, but when you get into the last 12 or less hours before the draft, sometimes that information can be very, very accurate and helpful.”

Belichick, who parted ways with the Patriots in January, has been through the draft process dozens of times — including in his 24 years running the show in New England. If there is one person qualified to speak on the matter, it is him.