The fascination with the NFL draft is peculiar and pervasive. It’s undeniable, even if it somewhat defies explanation.
There is no ball or blocking, no tackles or touchdowns, but it has become one of the nation’s biggest single sports obsessions. There is an overload of talking and analysis, and even a mixture of the obtusive oxymoron that is the front-end second-guessing.
It is the full-force collision of college stars and NFL stardom. It is the Super Bowl of the offseason. And, as it moved to prime time for the first time this week, it appears only to be getting bigger.
Television ratings were through the roof as the draft expanded into a three-day event with Thursday’s first round. Combined estimates — that’s right, this thing is so big it’s carried live on two networks — put Thursday’s telecast at a healthy 6.42 rating, which was up almost 30 percent from last year’s Saturday afternoon showing of the first day.
ESPN registered a 5.47 rating — the NFL Network accounted for the rest — which represents the percentage of households with a television tuned into the coverage.