General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 'Relentless' Boycott Planned Against Any Team That Drafts Michael Sam [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)A team doesn't know in advance exactly which players will be available when it picks, so when it's that team's pick the staff will often need some time to decide whom to take.
In addition, there are draft-day deals. Two teams might swap their picks in a particular round, with the team that moved down getting compensation in the form of the other team's pick in a later round. More complicated deals have also occurred. Negotiating such deals sometimes occurs during the last few minutes before a team has to make its decision.
But, yes, there is a "big old production" element of it, too. Football fans have gone months without a game and even the next preseason exhibition game is still months away, so the NFL takes this opportunity to give them a football fix.