Last week was draft week was in Arlington, TX. This is the first year the draft was held at an NFL stadium. AT&T Stadium proved to be a great choice. The NFL invited 80 prospects going in the draft. Prospects in the past were called Rookies, my how things change. And since they had ample room to showcase the draftees they did. When Donovan was drafted they invited 8 Rookies! Wow. This year they invited 80. The NFL experience was fantastic. In last weeks draft, teams seemed to be saying younger is better when it came to top pics. 17 of the 32 players selected in the first round was 21 & younger. It's a continuation of a trend. I guess the younger prospects have left college early - in fact, those who stayed in school have often garnered the bigger headlines. So the increase in top drafted underclassmen isn't completely explained by the overall increase in players declaring. After eligibility was granted for underclassmen, NFL coaches praised now for knowledge of the college game were still stating a general preference for seniors. Apparently younger draftees perform better.
But what about the age at the games most important position, quarterback? This is the one position where pros and cons of age are arguably most balanced. Older QBs may be ready to slot into an offense right away if that's what a team needs, while other teams may have the luxury of letting a younger player carry the clipboard for a while. So for a QB age is even more important.
Great observation from FiveThirtyEight. A good read, don't you think?
Mama McNabb
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