The weeks and months that lead up to the NFL draft are known in league circles as lying season. As we covered in a bit more detail last year, pretty much every report that comes out is based on misinformation.
Now, this is done on purpose by NFL teams and the agents of prospects coming into the league. On Wednesday, Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim opened up his press conference to discuss the draft with a tremendous quote that really highlights this fact.
GM Steve Keim opening Cardinals' pre-draft press conference: "the misinformation is flowing and I don't expect the next 20 minutes to be any different."
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) April 18, 2018
Secrecy is the name of the game for NFL decision makers. If other teams know what you have planned, then they can jump out in front, using that knowledge to thwart their rivals. That’s why it’s so funny when some folks get so blustery about how “there’s no way” such-and-such happens or that “this is guaranteed” to occur.
Nobody knows what will happen come draft day. That’s why it’s such a spectacle every year.
Keim is embracing the fact that it is lying season, and it’s refreshing that he isn’t expecting anyone else to do otherwise.