On the Clock: The Story of the NFL Draft

I like to watch NFL football on Sundays but I don't follow the NFL as closely as I follow MLB or the NHL. For a slightly more than casual fan like me, this book on the NFL draft was informative. I suspect though, that for the die hard NFL fan, this book might be far too simplistic.

The authors tell interesting stories about the history of the draft and talk, too, about the op draft picks and the duds. More interesting, though, were the portions dealing with the guys who've become known as draft gurus, such as Mel Kuiper, how teams prepare for the draft, and how ESPN first got involved.

I think the book could've used better organization, though, as it tended to jump around quite a bit.

I'd recommend this to my friends who like football, show more though probably not to those who live and breathe football. show less

An entire book on the NFL Draft, past and present, I was intrigued, but wasn't sure what sorta shape it was going to take. Was it going to be a big honking list of choices, maybe a little annotation with each name, or was it going to be prose like? I was so very happy to see that it was the latter and not the former. Honestly I didn't know that I wanted to know all the stuff about the draft that was in this book until I read it.

It was so chock full of information I'm not sure what I liked best. I liked reading about the 2014 draft, mostly because it was the most recent. I also liked the stories about the uncommon drafts and draft picks, and learning about Kiper and those other draft gurus was cool too.

And of course there was the history show more of the Draft too. I knew absolutely none of the history and that stuff was very cool.

One thing that I didn't like about the book was that there seemed to be a lot of subtle Bill Belichick bashing in it, which bummed me out. Really, a line implying Belichick has no emotions is really needed? I don't think so.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Rowman & Littlefield. show less

At first glance, I am not the obvious audience for this book, not being someone who closely follows the NFL. But ever since seeing Draft Day, I have become interested in the behind-the-scenes work that occurs on that fateful draft day. This book has some great details on the backstage wheelings and dealings, the missteps and the successes, the controversies and the catastrophes. I only wish more of the book had focused on that as promised, as opposed to getting lost in statistics and game play, which seemed meant for a book of a different title.

If you're interested in learning about the NFL draft, this book really isn't for you. If you're interested in learning about the inner workings of a football team in the lead up to the NFL draft, this book really isn't for you. If you're interested in the strategy of how NFL draft selection are made, how teams are selected and formed, how the draft impacts the league and competitive dynamics, etc., this book really isn't for you. Unfortunately, that's how the authors positioned the book, and what I was interested in learning about - and I imagine you are, too. This book really isn't for you. It reads like a transcription of ESPN or your local talk radio, it lacks depth, it's less about history than about stories that are easy to tell. show more Unfortunately, the hard story to tell - the well-written, in-depth one about the NFL draft - isn't to be found in this book. show less

I love football so I was really excited about, On the Clock: The Story of The NFL Draft. The book seemed perfect for South Carolina Gamecock fans like me. I’m going to echo what some of the other reviewers wrote. Although interesting, there was too much “filler” for me. I guess I was expecting the entire book to be about the draft. The few chapters that actually talked about the draft were very interesting and informative. The rest of the book, although somewhat interesting, didn’t really satisfy my interest in the draft. I still think the book is worth reading if you're a football fan.

This book is just as much a history of professional football as it is the draft, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

To give you perspective, I follow the NFL more than the casual fan, but I'm can't tell you the Offensive line for my home team. I'm 41 years old so anything prior to the 85 Bears I only know from reruns.

The book gives a good picture of the early days of the league and the draft. Not knowing much of anything about this development was enjoyable for me. I knew Pop Warner was person, but didn't really know what his impact on the game was and why little league football was named after him.

I wasn't all that interested in reading behind the scenes of the last few drafts because anyone interested can find that on ESPN so I show more was glad this book focused on the history.

That being said, it wasn't overly enthralling for me. Eventually some of the names started to run together. It's a relatively quick read though and I did pass the book onto my father who may have more interest. show less

I was initially excited to learn about a topic that I really enjoy, yet know very little about it's beginnings. I have watched many of the NFL drafts over the last 10 years.

With a title stating "The Story of the NFL Draft", I expected there to be much more on the how the draft came to be, and how it has changed/evolved from the original version to the media event it has now become. There is really only a couple short chapters on how the draft was started, and one about the tv, but the majority is filled with interesting stories from specific drafts or from specific players drafted. Not what I was expecting.

I would say my favorite chapter was the one that talked about the 'Draft Gurus". I have never had the NFL network, so I am only show more familiar with Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay. Learning about Gil Brandt, Joel Buchsbaum, and Mike Mayock was interesting.

I did enjoy reading through and debating in my head whether the best draft lists were what I thought they should be, but felt like there was just something missing. I give On the Clock 3/5, and would recommend it as a quick read to NFL fans. Especially those who love watching and debating the draft. show less