The journey from the green room to the stage Thursday night in Las Vegas was a short one, lasting about one minute and 100 steps. It was enough time for NC State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu to reflect on the longer one he had just completed, from Pop Warner to three-star college recruit to the sixth overall pick in the draft.
He thought about the days when he received extra one-on-one sessions with his high school coach. He recalled his growth at NC State, where he entered as the ninth best recruit in his class.
So when he was handed a Carolina Panthers hat and stopped in front of a mirror, he could think of only one thing to say.
“Wow,” he mouthed.
The word summed up that moment.
“It almost didn’t feel real,” Ekwonu said three days later. “It was like, my name just got called. I really just got drafted. I started playing back all the work I put in the last couple years, especially the last couple months. I had to take a step back and breathe a little bit and think about the absurdity of it all.”
The NFL draft experience is different for each participant, whether you’re a top pick like Ekwonu, a late-round pick, an agent, general manager, coach or parent. It can include playing in an all-star game, attending the NFL combine, running drills at pro days, reading the endless mock drafts and scouting reports, and then the moment itself.
Here’s what the process looks like from the perspective of players, parents, general managers, an agent and a head coach:
The season starts
The draft process hits high gear when the season starts in the fall — even for underclassmen, who might need to make a decision about their future. NFL teams start scouting players and agents start courting them, though for players being considered for name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, that process begins earlier.
Brandon Beane, Buffalo Bills general manager: “I’ll start in training camp watching film [of college prospects]. Once we start playing preseason games until the final cutdown. I…
Source : espn
