2024 NFL Draft and Player Development
Three Thoughts from the 2024 NFL Draft Plus Connection to Draft Picks
THE PICKS ARE IN!
257 players have been drafted and have realized one of their many dreams.
While the draft in Detroit over the weekend, there were three thoughts that were heavy on my mind while watching the draft.
Before I get into those three thoughts, I had some type of personal connection to five of the young men drafted.
Patrick Paul - 2nd Round, Miami Dolphins
When I was at Houston, we recruited and signed Patrick. While in the role I had some personnel responsibilities for one year and wanted to sign his brother, Chris, but we were late to the party. So, I definitely went to the coaches and let them know he had a little brother who was a good player. Unfortunately, after Patrick signed early with us, we got terminated in favor of a new coaching staff.
Brandon Coleman - 3rd Round, Washington Commanders
As mentioned earlier, I had personnel responsibilities in the role at Houston. One night while watching film I saw an OL at Denton HS, he was a lanky kid but played hard. I did some research and found out he has just moved from Germany and was new to football. I sent his film to our coaches, and they passed, he will always be the one that got away.
Layden Robinson - 4th Round, New England Patriots
This one hit home for me because while I was coaching/teaching at my alma mater, Layden was one of the freshmen in my class. He was a big kid from the jump and there were kids in the class who would get under his skin. I would have conversations about how he would have to block out the noise to get where he wanted to get. He wanted to play college football and play in the NFL. So, I held him accountable to those goals and at times he didn’t like it, but he respected it. I left Hightower HS to become the Director of Player Development at Houston and he eventually went to another school. I got to see him at Houston while he was on a recruiting trip, at this point he was out of our radar because he was an SEC recruit at this time. While talking to him, he took the time to pull me to the side and say thank you for all I did in his life. In the last few years, we have continued to talk on social media, and he has left me some thankful messages that have made my day.
WHO IS CUTTING ONIONS?!
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson - 4th Round, Arizona Cardinals
I had the pleasure of speaking to the Texas Tech Football seniors at their senior retreat in Houston last year. When I walked in the room Dadrion, nicknamed Rabbit, came up to me and introduced himself and said he looked forward to my topic. I spoke about Choices vs Mistakes and HE WAS LOCKED IN! I had the players do an engaging activity at the end and he went around to see the answers his teammates were putting in. I had the chance to see him play when Texas Tech played Kansas in Lawrence, he had an incredible game and him being LOCKED IN is who he is.
Marcus Harris - 7th Round, Houston Texans
Marcus was with us at Kansas, during that time we were preparing him for a gray shirt. This can be a difficult process as you’re setting up housing, employment and other things for a player to stay in the city and start in January. During this process Marcus kept a cool head and took care of what he could control. As scholarship opened in the following weeks allowing him to attend school and play immediately. He did a great job for us on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. He ended up transferring to Auburn and continuing his great career on and off the field there.
Overall, in my career I have been blessed to have 27 players drafted that I worked with from Houston, Kansas, and Baylor.
My Three Thoughts from the 2024 NFL Draft
The Preparation for Those Who Will Get Drafted
In my time in the role coaches, speakers, and even I used the statistics of how many of the players on the team would actually make the NFL. Even with those messages, every team I have been on has had NFL players on it. So, I though how do we prepare the 2% that will get will make it?
I have been guilty of putting a significant amount of attention to the players who won’t see their NFL dream come true. This all changed when I had a locker room conversation with Ed Oliver at Houston. Ed was a Top 20 recruit nationally, the #1 DL in the country coming out of HS and was on cover of Sports Illustrated during his time at Houston.
WE ALL KNEW HE WAS GOING FIRST ROUND IN THE NFL DRAFT!
One day in the locker room, I asked Ed what would you want to do during the offseason in the NFL. He said Coach I want to get connected to Lebron James, so I can do what he does of the court. He mentioned all the opportunities Lebron created for himself, and he wanted to do the same in his own way. Now, we didn’t get Lebron, but we were able to continue conversations with Ed and lead him in the right direction.
Watching those players walk across the stage or cheer with family and friends I wondered have they had the preparation to STAY in the NFL. They’ve made it, but the goal is to STAY in the NFL. I have many friends who serve in the Player Engagement space at the NFL, and they have mentioned there are a number of players who are not prepared for what PROFESSIONAL sports truly is.
I ‘ve have seen, heard, and read many stories about how players don’t stay because of their athletic ability, but their ability to be a professional. If you are in the space continue to prepare the ones you know will make it.
Stay in Contact with Your Guys
This is a lesson I learned at Houston as well. My first year in the role, we had 3 players get drafted and 8 make teams. I sent the common congratulations messages but didn’t feel I had the space to keep in contact throughout the season as I had only built a relationship with them over the year. They were people in their lives who saw the whole journey.
One day during the season one of our players got their first sack and I reached out and congratulated them. He said thank you and then asked how everything was going we texted back and forth throughout the day with him ending it by saying it’s good to hear from you.
This reminded me that although I hadn’t had the longest relationship in his life, we had a relationship and I provided value and had a impact on him.
You may be reading this thinking well, I will reach out to so and so later or maybe never again and I SAY NO, DO IT NOW.
Although there may be many people tugging at them, there is space for you.
Undrafted Players
Ever year there are a group of players that went undrafted who will sign or be invited to a camp. In some instances when you get to the end of the draft this may be a better situation than getting drafted, as a player can chose a place where they will have a chance to compete.
Either way it’s a chance to get in the door, but as stated earlier the goal is to STAY! I have had to have some real conversations with undrafted players I know. After congratulating them, I then will give advice to them based on tendencies and habits I saw of them at the college level. They must understand their “bank of mistakes” is WAYYYYYYYYYYY smaller than those players who were drafted in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounds. This is the best time to be realistic with them while encouraging them they can do it.
There are many success stories from undrafted players, but it never came from those who felt entitled to be there. A chip on the shoulder is a nice mindset but it is not going to create action. Go get it done!
I will be speaking about these thoughts on the podcast this week.
Access Granted
Access Granted is a Platinum Sponsor for the 2024 Player Development Conference.
Thank you Access Granted for sponsoring this year’s Player Development Conference.
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