3/24/22 - Thanks for the comments. Clearly there is no interest in this. I appreciate the feedback and will consider this trial balloon "popped". -----------------------------------------------------
I am throwing this out there as a "trial balloon" to gather feedback and am not making this a formal proposal at this time.
Current Rule: I cannot find it specifically in the rule book. Since I've been commissioner, we've followed what has been done in the past season. The players available in the annual KRFL Rookie Draft are those players who were drafted in the most recent NFL Rookie Draft. i.e. the players eligible in the 2022 KRFL Rookie Draft are those who were drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Contemplated Rule Change: Beginning with the 2024 rookie draft, the annual Rookie Draft would be the players who were drafted in the NFL Draft in the prior season, and who have completed one season in the NFL, and who appear on the annual NFL season player file released by DKSports. For example, if this rule were in place now, the 2022 KRFL Rookie Draft would include Mac Jones, Trevor Lawrence, Ja-Marr Chase.... instead of those players being in the 2021 KRFL Rookie Draft.
If this were to be proposed and were to pass: -The 2022 rookie draft would proceed as it has in the past. -There would be no rookie draft in 2023 -In 2024, the rookie draft would be the players drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Justification: Currently we draft a rookie player and wait a season/year before that player can play in a KRFL game. So we follow him for a year in the NFL before being able to use him in KRFL. While drafting before they've ever played a game in the NFL is exactly how the NFL teams have to do it (obviously), for a rebuilding team it comes with more risk of making a bad pick and prolonging the rebuilding process vs. having seen how the player performed in his first season in the NFL. This change could help rebuilding team make better draft decisions and shorten the rebuilding time.
-------- And if there were significant interest in this, would could consider combining the rookie and free agent drafts into a single draft beginning in the 2024 season.
Please, don't touch the rookie draft. For me, it's the coolest and funniest thing in the action league. I have left all leagues without rookie draft except one, and I can guarantee that the balance hasn't improved. Coaches who have made good choices for years always remain competitive, coaches who do not make good choices continue not to be contenders
Despite drafting poorly in the last couple of drafts, I enjoy the rookie draft the way that it is and recommend that no changes are made to the current structure. I like that it closely mimics the NFL draft and leaves a lot to chance.
One of the cap secrets for the NFL is playing rookies under a rookie contract for 4 (sometimes) 5 years and using the savings to build the roster in other places. We currently mimic this with our two year rookie contracts. This idea would throw good rookies into the $10 million round of the draft, eliminating this savings and making it tough to keep rookies for any length of time because of the cap hit. Further, there is adventure in drafting a unproven player as we do know, similar to the NFL GMs.
