The NFL Next Step

254 young men had their live's changed over the past weekend. Some of them were already nationally known sensations. Some were coming out of small towns in Wyoming. It doesn't matter, they are now employed by different teams in the National Football League.

Up until 1936 athletes who chose to play football as a profession were free to sign with any team of their choosing. Bert Bell, owner of the Philadelphia Eagles at the time came up with an idea that revolutionized sports forever. The concept was simple athletes coming out the college ranks would be drafted by NFL teams in the order opposite of how each team finished in the league the year prior.

This idea change the NFL and sports as a whole. The NFL draft has become a spectacle in its own. With over 600,000 people in attendance in Nashville this year and over 47 million viewers on TV. The NFL draft has become a must attend or watch event.

The NFL draft gives something to every NFL team, that many do not have, optimism. No matter how your team finished 3-4 months ago each team has the ability to select their future. No matter where the pick is in todays media each athlete has a back story and a reason for hope that they could be a star. Athlon sports even did a story about the best player to be selected in every pick of the NFL draft.

Players like Joe Montana, Brett Farve, Johnny Unitas, Mike Singletary, Chris Carter were all taken late in the draft and now sit in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Recently players like Tom Brady, Robert Mathis, Jared Allen, Antonio Brown, and Richard Sherman were all taken in the 4th round or later and have gone on to change franchises forever.

This year there were surprises and outcomes written in stone. One thing remains constant in 10-15 years someone no one expected will have made a name for themselves in the NFL.

Check out this years results and see if there is optimism for your teams future.