“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”- William Shakespeare
Yesterday, the usual tomfoolery made the rounds on NFL social media as April Fool’s pranksters took advantage of those not paying attention to their calendars. From J.J. Watt announcing he’d be managing the sideline during Burnley’s upcoming match in the English Premier League…
After discussions with the board following Vincent Kompany’s red card against Chelsea on Saturday, a decision has been made:
While Vince serves his mandatory one-match ban, I will be taking the touchline for my 1st ever Premier League match as Burnley’s Caretaker Manager.#UTC pic.twitter.com/OqJciIV1ih
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 1, 2024
…to former Raven Matt Judon announcing via Instagram that he’d be stepping away from the Patriots to pursue an equestrian career…
…April Fool’s was an eventful day as always. Still, you can only fool some of the people some of the time. Pat Ricard was on guard from the outset, and he wasn’t fooled by the Ravens’ attempt to convince him that the mustard uniform pants were making their return in 2024.
Ravens are April Fools pranking players with the gold pants.
(IG: pric508) pic.twitter.com/x1JpmlIgll
— Baltimore Beatdown (@BmoreBeatdown) April 1, 2024
This is a good time to remind you all that misinformation isn’t reserved solely for April Fool’s Day, though. As our guy Chris highlighted yesterday, the calendars turning to April means that we’re officially in Draft Month. Yes, that’s awesome, but it also means that it’s time for nothing-burgers to circulate around the NFL news cycle to drive web traffic, or in some cases, influence the market for certain players. For example, look at this story from the other day about what the Commanders are considering with the second overall pick:
hm? pic.twitter.com/Ms8YJM3JrD
— Luke Braun (temporary college basketball fan) (@LukeBraunNFL) March 25, 2024
Beloved readers, there is a reason that JJ McCarthy is listed as QB4 to QB6 on almost every draft board you’ll read. I’m not saying he doesn’t have any path to NFL viability, but with the Combine and Pro Days in the books, no amount of conversation alone is going to suddenly catapult that player into consideration as the #2 overall pick.
That clip came from a segment at the NFL Owners Meetings, attended also by coaches, and (notably) general managers. There’s a pretty high likelihood that a GM in attendance floated that story out there to drive up McCarthy’s market, perhaps enticing an interested team in trading up if they felt like he would be selected before they could get their hands on him. GMs are masters of misinformation, deliberately generating leaks to keep other teams guessing, much to the chagrin of the reporters who take the bait and run with it.
Beyond that, though, even the guys who get paid the big bucks to study the draft are just taking educated guesses at the end of the day. Can you imagine how different Baltimore’s outlook would have been over the past few seasons if Mel Kiper had been right about their first-round selections?
What if the Ravens had listened to Mel Kiper and Todd McShay in the last 10 drafts?https://t.co/RjvnczgBBA
— Baltimore Beatdown (@BmoreBeatdown) April 1, 2024
Make no mistake about it, I’m not knocking these guys or their process. It’s hard, and with 32 teams to cover, there’s obvious room for error. That’s what makes the draft such an exciting process: we never know what’s going to happen. Still, taking the opportunity to sell RSR a little bit, our guys have been all over Baltimore’s draft needs the past few years, correctly predicting a lot of the players who ended up in black and purple. If you want a better idea of what a team’s going to do, follow the guys who cover the team every day and you’ll get closer to the actual answer. As for the Talking Heads, given how much time they need to fill between now and the end of the month, they’ll eventually Stop Making Sense.
For the four people reading this who got that joke, you’re welcome.
