Some of you may recall Jeremy Bolander’s rather recent post outlining some of the activities that he had planned for the site as we celebrate what he likes to refer to as Draftivus. Among those, he listed the possibility of periodically hosting live interactive mock drafts right here at Mile High Report. Well, in the spirit of the season and as my first official act on staff here, I will be the one making that vision a reality.
As a few of you already know, I represented our beloved Denver Broncos in a similar experiment headed by a couple of enterprising members over on Mocking the Draft, so I have some familiarity in the matter. That experience also allows me to tell you – with absolute certainty – that, if you’re interested in the NFL draft, live interactive mocks are an extremely fun and useful exercise. So, if you’re at all curious about this project, please follow me below the fold for additional information.
This inaugural edition of MHR’s live interactive mock draft will be in one week's time and it will be three rounds long. I chose that length because: it’s manageable as we work the inevitable kinks out of the process, it’s the minimum length that still involves all 32 NFL franchises and it includes only the picks that won’t change following past free agent loss compensation. If you’re still intrigued, allow me to elaborate on the actual mechanics of this enterprise.
1. If you are chosen to represent a franchise, first of all: congratulations and welcome to our little experiment. As a representative, you will be required to submit to me (via e-mail) an ordered target list for your team at least 48 hours prior to the start of the mock draft. Any lists received after said time will not be binding. You are encouraged to discuss these, as well as overall draft strategy, with any other members assigned to your team, regardless of your role. The lists should cover all of your draft picks throughout the stated length of the mock drafting session.
2. If a team’s representative and his/her back-up(s) – if there are any – are not available to make a selection in the allotted time AND they did not submit an ordered target list or said list is not applicable, I will then make the pick for them by simply selecting the best player available from a pre-determined third party list. At my discretion, however, I may deviate slightly from the strict definition of BPA in order to accommodate for need; that said, I will guarantee that all picks will be made in a timely fashion.
3. When commenting in the actual mock draft post, please DO NOT use the "subject" line in the comments for anything other than to announce an official pick. Limiting the usage of said space will make the picks, as well as the announcements that I will make, stand out and therefore make the draft itself easier to follow.
4. When I announce that THE [LOCATION] [TEAM NAME] ARE NOW ON THE CLOCK, the respective representative(s) will have five minutes to make the pick. Once the selection is recorded, I will then move things along by making the pertinent announcement; that process will continue until we conclude the mock drafting session, with possible breaks therein to gather our collective bearings if necessary.
5. When you make an official pick, you will announce it in the exact format that follows: WITH THE [X] PICK IN THE DRAFT, THE [LOCATION] [TEAM NAME] SELECT: [PLAYER NAME], [POSITION], [SCHOOL]. Once again, you will do so in the "subject" line of the comment box and you will leave the message space blank. You or others may feel free and are, in fact, encouraged to comment on a pick by replying to that official announcement so long as you observe the general rules of conduct that govern this site when doing so.
6. As soon as possible after a selection is made, you are to e-mail a brief explanation of sorts to me. I suggest that you write this as though you are an actual member of your chosen team’s management being asked about the pick in an interview, but you may do so in whatever way you wish so long as it gets done. Since I will compile all of these and post them alongside the respective picks, I ask that you keep them to no more than five or so moderately sized sentences.
7. Retired for John Elway. [I hope you won’t mind my using this once, as a hat tip from me to you, Ted]
If you have read, understand and basically approve of the protocol enumerated above, then please submit a list of three teams that you are interested in representing in this year’s live interactive mock drafts in the comments below. Once sign-up tapers off a bit, I will begin using a combination of logic and randomness to match-up participants with their respective teams.
Do not fret if you are not chosen as the head representative for a franchise, because every back-up that actively participates this time around will be rotated in as the lead for a team on their preference list at the earliest possible future edition. By the way, that patience may be further rewarded in the form of an expanded mock draft experience, with added features such as: more rounds, mock free agency and/or trades (determined by moderator(s) or maybe even the reps themselves) and a streamlined process!
Well, that’s it for now. As always, I am open to suggestions that may improve this concept or its eventual implementation. I thank you all for taking the time to read this and look forward to working with many of you on this project in the days and weeks to come. Cheers, and go Broncos!