On the Clock

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 23 MAR 2015

Sportswriters Wilner and Rappoport chronicle the fascinating history of the National Football League (NFL) draft day, created in 1936 to allow all NFL teams an equal chance to pick the country's top college players, and which by 2014 has become "more popular than many other sporting events," including the playoff games of the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. Although the authors give an excellent account of how the draft works through an in-depth look at the 2014 draft, they never lose sight of the players and professionals who have given the draft its drama over the years. Jay Berwanger, the first Heisman Trophy winner and the #1 overall pick of the initial 1936 NFL draft, turned down playing with the Chicago Bears because "they weren't paying any money, something like $100 a game." Bo Jackson, another Heisman Trophy winner, in 1986 turned down a "reported five-year deal of $7.6 million" with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to instead play professional baseball with the Kansas City Royals. But football fans will be most delighted by the heart of the book, lists of "the bold and beautiful, the fantastics and the flops, in NFL draft history," including a look at the best and worst picks of each franchise, and separate best and worst lists for quarterbacks, running backs, linebackers, and safeties.