Fox Sports and NFL Network insider Peter Schrager is about to release his second NFL mock draft and will broadcasts Days 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft from Detroit this weekend, but don’t expect the longtime reporter to join the rest of football media showering every draft prospect with praise.
In an interview on The Press Box podcast released Tuesday, Schrager questioned why NFL reporters insist on painting every young man entering the draft as a “class president.”
“You won’t hear a negative thing about any of these players on night one (of the NFL Draft) anymore,” Schrager told host Bryan Curtis.
The conversation centered on a recent report from Bob McGinn of Substack’s Go Long newsletter that former Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell’s struggle with diabetes leads to unpredictable behavior and practice habits. Schrager confirmed NFL decision-makers are aware of that speculation before reading a message he received from a league source that responded directly to (and mostly denied) the report from McGinn about Mitchell’s health issues being a problem.
“To me it’s a dangerous game if you want to be doing this long term because people hate when you tear down a kid who’s 18 or 19 years old, but you better believe there’s negative stuff written about players,” Schrager said. “How many players are described to me as knucklehead on the board… but it doesn’t get out.”
Schrager said going scorched earth on a college kid is not “productive” but thinks there’s a balance that broadcasters and reporters can strike in how they approach young players whose approach to their career is in question.
“Everyone on ESPN, ABC, NFL Network, they might question the fit for a team, they might question the selection, where it was,” Schrager explained. “But you don’t get the character attacks anymore.”
Among previous generations of sports reporters, criticizing the personal behavior and character of athletes was commonplace. Now, the industry and fans watching may have overcorrected.
Schrager gave examples from last year across two sports. Last year, fans online criticized ESPN’s Malika Andrews for addressing No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller’s connection to a murder in Alabama. Philadelphia Eagles draft pick Jalen Carter left last year’s Draft Combine after being charged with two misdemeanors connected to the deaths of two people in the Bulldogs program.
“It’s all part of the total package, and I feel like the last few years, it’s been really, really purified to every player is awesome and every kid is going to be class president and win the award for greatest human ever,” Schrager said.
While Mitchell’s health issues pale in comparison to criminal activity, the contrast between what teams, agents and insiders discuss around athletes versus what reporters share with the media certainly feels stronger than ever. Finding the line between being honest with the audience and being respectful to athletes and sources is the job of insiders.
[The Press Box]
