The class of 2014 (Getty Images)
Joe Thomas was trying to shun the spotlight. Instead, his decision to skip the 2007 NFL Draft in New York City to spend the day fishing on Lake Michigan with his dad made waves.
Thomas told The Athletic last month:
💬 “It was a Saturday and I usually go fishing with my dad on Saturdays when I’m back home. It was really an easy decision for me to tell my agent I wasn’t interested in going… I already had plans.”
The eventual 10-time Pro Bowler answered the Browns’ phone call from the boat as Cleveland selected him at No. 3.
His story resonates as an example of a common player debate: to attend or not attend the draft.
Each year, the NFL invites prospects — as chosen by a committee, on a rolling basis in March and April — to attend the draft in person.
Players can watch picks announced from the green room and eventually, shake hands with commissioner Roger Goodell after their name is called.
From 2010 to 2019, the first 10 years of the three-day format, an average of 24 players attended the green room each year. Attendance peaked at 30 prospects in 2014, the last year it was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
Of those 30, 21 went in Round 1.
How do NFL Draft prospects decide whether to attend the green room? It’s complicated
