Podcast: NFL scheduling and draft position

There was a recent Twitter debate about whether or not the NFL should have a lottery for the draft, as other major sports do. I give my two cents. I don’t think they should, but I think there is another option available that would keep games competitive throughout the season.

This idea will make late-season games more competitive and exciting. It also has the potential to prevent top quarterbacks from going to teams that lack the infrastructure to support them. I lay out my plan in this podcast.

Next, I talk about the NFL schedule. An Orange and Black Friday would have been a cool tradition for the Cincinnati Bengals, but let’s look a little deeper into midweek games. How can we continue to have midweek games while making them more competitive? How can we make playing on a Thursday night safer?

The answer two both questions is the same... add more bye weeks. With more bye weeks, teams will not have to play on a short week and little rest. Their bodies can recover, and their game plans can be extensive because if you have a bye week before a Thursday night game, you have a week and a half to get ready. It also means more total weeks in the NFL coverage, which means more TV money.

Why wouldn’t they do this?