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Round Zero: Inside the NFL Draft
The must-read comprehensive inside look into the NFL Draft, football's most fascinating and integral piece of its puzzle.
Millions of people watching globally, hundreds of hopeful athletes and their families on pins and needles waiting, and billion-dollar football franchises making strategic decisions--the NFL Draft is a BIG deal. Round Zero is a close look at one of sport's most thrilling procedure.
As a player for the Green Bay Packers and writer for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Andy Phillips fills Round Zero with revealing anecdotes and unexpected insights from coaches, general managers, agents, players, and more leading up to and during the Draft itself.
This behind-the-scenes look aims to capture the big event beyond its grand pageantry and multi-million-dollar deals.
Millions of people watching globally, hundreds of hopeful athletes and their families on pins and needles waiting, and billion-dollar football franchises making strategic decisions--the NFL Draft is a BIG deal. Round Zero is a close look at one of sport's most thrilling procedure.
As a player for the Green Bay Packers and writer for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Andy Phillips fills Round Zero with revealing anecdotes and unexpected insights from coaches, general managers, agents, players, and more leading up to and during the Draft itself.
This behind-the-scenes look aims to capture the big event beyond its grand pageantry and multi-million-dollar deals.
- GenresFootballSportsNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
Published February 28, 2023
6 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 8, 2024
I have read several books lately about the history of the NFL Draft, and insider's perspectives on the NFL Draft. Some of them were very well written, some of them were glorified Wikipedia entries. This one fell right in the middle.
Andy Phillips signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers and played in four preseason games in the 2015 season. He has a first hand perspective on what happens on Draft night from someone who went through the process. Through this, and his work for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was able to get a lot of well known players, coaches and agents on-the-record to share their stories about the NFL Draft process. This is where he excels. These are great stories with some behind-the-scenes stuff that media pundits and fans have been wondering about for decades.
However, the writing is a little dry. He uses too many block quotes and very little analysis. There are several misspelled words, and for a 202 page book, there is a lot of blank space on the page. In other words, it was an okay read but could have been a little bit longer, with a stronger narrative, and better editing, despite having great content. I wanted to rate this four-stars but the misspelled words and block quotes kept me from doing so.
Also, after reading the stories, I was forced to ask, "What is the purpose of this book?" Like I said, it told great stories, but I'm not sure about the book's focus or who is the intended audience? Is this to show potential players how to prepare for the Draft? Is this to show fans who create Mock Drafts why they are so unpredictable?
He states, "When I entered into this project, my goal was simple - find out everything that takes place leading up tot he NFL Draft to find out why things happen." Through his stories, yes, we get a glimpse about more about what happens. But he didn't find out everything. His sections are solid - Agents, General Managers, Coaches and Players. No doubt they are all important and show different perspectives on the process. However, he leaves out Scouts. The first people to see players are the scouts. He covers this in a roundabout way through the General Managers and Coaches, but the first eyes on a player are the scouts. They are very important to the process. Unfortunately, with 32 teams each having robust scouting departments, they got left out. We need to see what they see. Hear what they hear. Put ourselves in their shoes. It's the scout who hasn't made his way up the ranks to Director of College Scouting or to General Manager that we need to hear from. That's what was disappointing.
Furthermore, the All Star Games, Combine and Pro Days don't get the coverage they deserve. Again, they are touched on from the periphery, but they are integral parts of the process.
Overall, it is an okay book. There is definitely some useful content that you will find here and the stories are awesome. It just could have been edited a little better and written with a tighter focus.
Andy Phillips signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers and played in four preseason games in the 2015 season. He has a first hand perspective on what happens on Draft night from someone who went through the process. Through this, and his work for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was able to get a lot of well known players, coaches and agents on-the-record to share their stories about the NFL Draft process. This is where he excels. These are great stories with some behind-the-scenes stuff that media pundits and fans have been wondering about for decades.
However, the writing is a little dry. He uses too many block quotes and very little analysis. There are several misspelled words, and for a 202 page book, there is a lot of blank space on the page. In other words, it was an okay read but could have been a little bit longer, with a stronger narrative, and better editing, despite having great content. I wanted to rate this four-stars but the misspelled words and block quotes kept me from doing so.
Also, after reading the stories, I was forced to ask, "What is the purpose of this book?" Like I said, it told great stories, but I'm not sure about the book's focus or who is the intended audience? Is this to show potential players how to prepare for the Draft? Is this to show fans who create Mock Drafts why they are so unpredictable?
He states, "When I entered into this project, my goal was simple - find out everything that takes place leading up tot he NFL Draft to find out why things happen." Through his stories, yes, we get a glimpse about more about what happens. But he didn't find out everything. His sections are solid - Agents, General Managers, Coaches and Players. No doubt they are all important and show different perspectives on the process. However, he leaves out Scouts. The first people to see players are the scouts. He covers this in a roundabout way through the General Managers and Coaches, but the first eyes on a player are the scouts. They are very important to the process. Unfortunately, with 32 teams each having robust scouting departments, they got left out. We need to see what they see. Hear what they hear. Put ourselves in their shoes. It's the scout who hasn't made his way up the ranks to Director of College Scouting or to General Manager that we need to hear from. That's what was disappointing.
Furthermore, the All Star Games, Combine and Pro Days don't get the coverage they deserve. Again, they are touched on from the periphery, but they are integral parts of the process.
Overall, it is an okay book. There is definitely some useful content that you will find here and the stories are awesome. It just could have been edited a little better and written with a tighter focus.
July 3, 2025
Draft grades
Book premise: A
Content: C
Interviews: B
Writing: D
Overall grade: C
Comments:
Sure, there are some big names interviewed here, but their limited insights to the NFL Draft itself just left me wanting so much more. We barely scratch the surface of key aspects like The Board, NFL Combine, and poof! - the chapter and topic is over. I'm really not sure how many new things I learned about the Draft as a whole after finishing this book - in his own words, the author says that if that's the case for his readers than he has failed. I will say that I enjoyed many of the personal remembrances shared by the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Cris Carter and Bill Polian's drafting of Peyton Manning - though many of these interviewees were only given a few pages to offer their memories. Ultimately, this author's writing, research and analysis was too often second-rate and amateurish for a published work - were no proofreaders or editors in the entire galaxy available to assist on this project?
Reader recommendation:
Read at your own discretion
Book premise: A
Content: C
Interviews: B
Writing: D
Overall grade: C
Comments:
Sure, there are some big names interviewed here, but their limited insights to the NFL Draft itself just left me wanting so much more. We barely scratch the surface of key aspects like The Board, NFL Combine, and poof! - the chapter and topic is over. I'm really not sure how many new things I learned about the Draft as a whole after finishing this book - in his own words, the author says that if that's the case for his readers than he has failed. I will say that I enjoyed many of the personal remembrances shared by the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Cris Carter and Bill Polian's drafting of Peyton Manning - though many of these interviewees were only given a few pages to offer their memories. Ultimately, this author's writing, research and analysis was too often second-rate and amateurish for a published work - were no proofreaders or editors in the entire galaxy available to assist on this project?
Reader recommendation:
Read at your own discretion
April 3, 2023
Great insight into the NFL Draft process by telling stories around Agents, GMs, coaches and players who give you a well rounded account of what the NFL draft process is like, from their perspectives.
If you are an NFL draft fan- this is well worth a read
If you are an NFL draft fan- this is well worth a read
July 8, 2023
I have read numerous sports biographies written from the player and/or coach perspective. I appreciated the multifaceted approach of this book. A fun read
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews