Spontaneous Excitement in Round One of the 2010 Draft...Maybe...

A theory:

  The NFL and its 32 teams knew before draft day what was going to transpire in Round one of the 2010 Draft.  The proof lies in the events that took place regarding college football golden boy Tim Tebow's draft.  Is it merely great predictions or coincidence that EVERY analyst on NFL network planted the seed that "perhaps" Tebow might "surprise" everyone by being taken in the first round and suddenly *gasp* he was?  It very well may be great predictions and a fantastically dramatic coincidence, but what if it wasn't?

  Think about it like this.  Tim Tebow has been a source of football drama for the NFL from his suspect abilities at QB, to his "controversial" Superbowl commercial.  Is there any way to create more drama around this guy during the NFL draft in an effort to drum up ratings among NFL fans?  Sure there is!  Why not make him a "surprise" pick, knowing all along that a team wants him and will select him in the first round.

  Let me give you some evidence. As mentioned before, NFL Network analysts predicted that just maybe Tebow would go in the first round despite the fact that he is most likely a 2nd or later round talent.  That was before draft day. Now, let's move forward to the draft.  The Denver Broncos pull a "surprise" move and trade up to take Tebow in the 1st round.  Please do not misconstrue my intentions. I am not suggesting that the Broncos were somehow coerced into taking him or bought into it by the NFL.  However, what I am suggesting is that the league, the Broncos, and the Ravens (the team that traded with the Broncos for the Tebow pick) perhaps knew, maybe well before draft night, what was going to happen.  Basically, this implies the knowledge of the entire league because the Broncos and Ravens would have to know beyond doubt that no team before that pick was going to take him.

  So it happens like this.  No team takes Tebow before it is the Ravens time on the clock.  The Ravens and the Broncos have a trade lined up long before draft day and the Broncos know they are moving up to take Tebow because they know he will still be on the board.  All of this happens before draft day, but what's the fun and drama if it isn't spontaneous right?  So instead, analysts plant the seed that Tebow may go first round in an effort to drum up some foreshadowed suspense and drama.  Then, this pre-determined plan takes action on draft night and the Broncos conduct a "spur of the moment" trade with the Ravens to get their pick and obtain Tebow.  Suddenly we have completely calculated drama for ratings.  It is much like a soap opera with a murder.  The public has no idea who killed Matt Kincaid (or whatever), but the soap opera knows all along because they scripted the murder to create a dramatic plot.

  I know, you need more information.  Alright.  Tim Tebow did not attend the NFL draft, yet his whole family (1,000s of miles from NYC) had Denver Broncos draft hats. Is it possible that the NFL furnished the family with 32 draft hats representing every NFL team?  Sure it is.  However, isn't it also possible that they all had Broncos hats because they knew in advance that Tebow would land in Denver?  It certainly is possible.

  Naturally, the story would have to be continued as a complete "surprise" in order to substantiate the story and make the drama more spontaneous and real.  After all, Draft Day drama is what drives draft ratings and makes the draft a successful television event.  Therefore, the analysts after the draft are all talking about the HUGE "surprise" that Tebow went 1st round even though they all knew it was going to happen.  It makes a great story right?

  Now let's put some more pieces together.  Jimmy Clausen turned down an invitation to the draft.  Presumably, he did this because he wanted to watch the draft at home with his family.  However, is it at all possible that he knew he wouldn't be taken in round one?  I'm not talking that he thought he wouldn't be, but that he KNEW he wouldn't be.  If he knew, then maybe he wouldn't want to go to NYC and sit through the whole first night, only to be taken later than a QB that everyone considers him to be more talented than.

  I am reaching a grand conclusion here.  That conclusion is that the entire first round of the draft may be pre-determined, but in an effort to keep up suspense and drama, the NFL maintains that everything is happening spontaneously while the teams are "on the clock."  This is certainly not a cardinal sin, but it is a misrepresentation. If the first round of the NFL Draft is misrepresented as a spontaneous piece of sports mastery, there is neither ill intention nor foul play necessary.  It just means that the NFL is savvy enough to think about television ratings and marketing during a very complicated, yet important and exciting, month or two of the off-season. 

 It is entirely possible that teams made their first round decisions before draft night and that the NFL knew what was going to happen.  After all, it is a little more than intriguing that the first draft day would move so quickly if every team had to make decisions on the fly as players are coming off the board unbeknown-st to the teams that have the next picks.  Even the draft day commentators conveniently mentioned how smoothly and quickly round one was progressing.  Besides, the draft conveniently ended at exactly 11pm.  Not 11:10pm, not  11:02, but 11pm (well, besides glad hand commentary that lasts practically all night and a farewell from NYC and Radio City). 

  Is the 1st round of the draft pre-determined by 32 NFL teams and the League that harbors them?  I don't know.  I'm merely saying it is possible.  Or maybe I am just creating some spontaneous draft night drama. You decide.