As Draft Day Approaches, Some May Ask Themselves, How Does It Work?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- NFL draftniks are anxiously awaiting the start of this years festivities Thursday in Philly. But what if you're just a casual fan how does the draft work?
In a sense the NFL and Philadelphia will be coming full circle this week as the league held its inaugural college draft right here in 1936.
The idea was the brainchild of former Commissioner Bert Bell a Philadelphia native and graduate of Penn University.
NFL Hopes To Leave Legacy Even After Draft Leaves Philadelphia
Hall of Fame writer Ray Didinger says they've been doing it his way ever since.
"All 32 teams draft college players in reverse order of last years won-lost records, and this is the way Bert Bell set it up so that the weakest teams would have first crack at the best college players," said Didinger.
Each team is given ten minutes to make its' round selection, and there are seven rounds to the draft.
As there will more than 250 players will be selected Didinger is hoping the Eagles will focus on shoring up their defense.
"They really don't even have a cornerback right now. So they gotta get at least two of them this weekend and there are some really good cornerbacks in this draft," he said. "So if they just draft the highest-rated cornerback on their board on Thursday night I think that's a real good place to start."
ALSO READ: Draft Day - End Of A Long Road To The NFL
Rounds two and three will be held on Friday, and rounds four through seven will on Saturday.
It's a fine system as long as teams don't screw it up by reaching for a guy like Danny Watkins who preferred fighting fires to playing football. Didinger believes the Eagles all-time first round bust came in 1985.
"Kevin Allen, a tackle from Indiana, that probably should've been a 4th or 5th round pick. But they were so committed to the offensive line that they would up pick up a player that they had no right picking and he only lasted one year," said Didinger. "He played terribly and then after that season he was involved in a rape case, and that was the end of his NFL career totally."
And his all time number one pick--Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarick, the last of the 60 minute players.