The NFL Draft has become the Super bowl of the off-season. The NFL has taken what is essentially a human resources function, and turned it into a three-day event. The NFL Draft is:
- Sponsored by some of the most successful companies in the world
- Broadcast by two networks
- Watched by 25 million people last year.
Unfortunately, all of the coverage can lead to information overload, especially on social media. Following is a list of the best people and websites to follow to keep you informed about all aspects of the NFL Draft:
Here are Your Must-Follows for the NFL Draft
For Breaking News:
- Jay Glazer, Fox Sports (@JayGlazer)
- Adam Schefter, ESPN (@AdamSchefter)
Both Glazer and Schefter are consistent and credible at breaking NFL stories. They are the best to follow if you want to know which teams are trading up, which veterans are released or which prospect is slipping in the draft. If you want to stay in the loop of all of the up-to-date information as it breaks, you have to follow these two guys. They are the two leaders who seem to break all of the stories. And as was mentioned earlier, they are highly credible. Credibility becomes very important, especially if you’re an avid retweeter. You don’t want to be spreading any inaccurate information to YOUR followers.
For Sports Business:
- John Ourand, Sports Business Journal (@Ourand_SBJ)
- Liz Mullen, Sports Business Journal (@SBJLizMullen)
- Andrew Brandt, ESPN (@adbrandt)
Ourand covers sports media and gives you the scoop on ratings, broadcast innovations and sponsorship activation on television and the web/social media. Mullen specializes in labor and athlete representation. If you want to know which agencies represent your favorite college prospect, Mullen is the the person to follow. Andrew Brandt is a lawyer who used to negotiate player contracts for the Green Bay Packers. He gives great insight on how trades, free agent signings and drafting players works from a front office perspective.
For Advanced Statistics and Player Analysis
- Football Outsiders (@FBOutsiders)
- Pro Football Focus (@PFF)
- Greg Cosell, NFL Films (@gregcosell)
I admit I am biased – I have volunteered for the Football Outsiders game charting project for eight seasons (they pay me in books). With that said Football Outsiders is very creditable and has partnered with ESPN on various projects. Their statistics are very accurate and they are developing some interesting metrics to project the professional performance of college pass rushers and quarterbacks. Pro Football Focus is another great resource with unique metrics to analyze players. Their analysis has been used by many football writers including Sports Illustrated’s Peter King. Greg Cosell doesn’t tweet daily, but when he does he gives brilliant analysis of draft prospects based on film study he does at NFL Films. Who are some of your favorite people to follow for NFL Draft coverage?
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