The latest Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookies won’t have to run or throw in a parking with a single scout watching.
They won’t have to wait eight rounds to have their names called either. That’s how much the NFL Draft process has changed from the early years of the Buccaneers franchise, which former Buccaneers signal caller Randy Hedberg recounted in an interview with the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy.
Hedberg, an eighth-round pick in 1977, played two seasons for the Buccaneers before he turned to coaching. He fared wildly better as a quarterbacks coach with Division I power house North Dakota State, where he has developed two quarterbacks who went in the top three of the draft – Trey Lance and Carson Wentz.
Hedberg told Dunleavy that he had to throw passes in a parking lot for his combine workout, and he completed the Wonderlic test afterward. The NFL combine has become a TV event since the 2000s and is hosted at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Field.
As for the draft, it was once 12 round from 1977 to 1992, and it shortened to seven in 1994. The draft likewise became a major TV event over the years, and more than 500,000 fans are expected to attend this year’s draft in Pittsburgh.
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