NFL Draft Weekend finally forces all bluffers to show their hands

RANDY GALLOWAY

Here’s the good news for all followers of the NFL:

The lies will stop Saturday, which begins the most overhyped event in all of jockdom: Draft Weekend.

Given the failure rate, however, of this particular process, where even the best of the league’s college talent judges are successful at a mere 50 percent rate, the truth can often be much more harmful than the falsehoods.

But for 32 teams, preparing for the draft has evolved into a CIA-type covert operation that requires even the God-fearing and the morally pure to speak publicly to the media, or privately to competing drafters, in the most forked of tongues.

"April should be declared National Liars’ Month and all 32 teams would be tied for first place," said local resident Gil Brandt, who has spent most of his adult life involved in the NFL Draft, starting with the birth of the Dallas Cowboys in 1960.

Brian Broaddus, who has worked in scouting for four NFL teams, including the Cowboys, and is now a popular local media member, explains his former football career this way:

"I thought I was a decent scout, but I wasn’t a very good liar. This is the time of year when you really need to know how to lie."

As of Saturday, and all day Sunday, "on the clock" means the truth will finally be revealed. For better or worse.

We all know that April drafting success in the... -- Continue reading at the publisher's site