Football GMs are everywhere this time of year

Few things can bring on the football general managerial skills of armchair GMs everywhere more than the annual NFL Draft.

This year is like the many that have come before, when NFL talent scouts, general managers, coaches and even sometimes owners put their collective heads together to try to figure out which collegiate talents will help them gain ground and improve their teams.

Yet, despite the vast amount of knowledge and time investment these teams pour into their jobs in trying to decipher which players will shine on football’s highest playing field, their minuscule talent fails to compare to the truly knowledgeable and elite talent scouts … the fans.

Yes, those zany fans who paint their faces on game day, sit at home screaming at their televisions and host wild pregame parking lot tailgate sessions that begin several hours prior to game time certainly know who their favorite hometown team should pick.

After all, the amount of intense homework fans do in deciphering collegiate talent is almost earth-shattering.

Some fans watch all 17 games in a season and thus know much more than the coaching staff what their team needs.

Some fans watch college football games and can even name a handful of key players on their favorite teams.

There are fans who read social media posts from the professional ranks who provide some unique and detailed perspective on many collegiate players.

Others hear firsthand classified info from their postman, co-workers and circle of friends who heard this or that about a player’s sprint speed or inability to properly rotate their hips while defending a receiver. This quarterback’s hands are too small while that defensive lineman’s three-down technique is suspect.

Yes, the info being filtered down to fans is both reliable and unquestioned to be truth.

Once fans are armed with what they know is undeniable truth about what their team’s needs are and the college players available to draft, they take to social media to throw their opinions around like it was handed down by Saint Paul himself.

Tidbits of information gleaned from the internet become opinion, opinion then becomes fact, and it’s off to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or any other type of social media where they can dispense their undeniable truth as to whom their team should take and why.

I’ve always been impressed with the fans’ ability to digest and discern details and evaluate talent after the draft when players hit the field for real.

It’s obvious to me fans know so much more than the NFL guys who invest their livelihood into evaluating talent and making picks. I mean those guys aren’t getting key bits of info from Uncle Rusty and neighbor Bill.

Every fan who has an ounce of passion about the game has their own opinions based on some information, whether they saw guys, heard about guys, read about guys or have a keen intuition — some call it a gut feeling; others call it a sixth sense — that some player’s skills will translate into the NFL game well.

All of this is said in jest, but the truth is it’s every fan's right and desire to talk about the draft and how to fix their favorite team. Heck, that’s half the fun for fans of teams like Cleveland that seem to struggle immensely to get on track year after year.

Trying to predict what will come to fruition is exciting. Telling your friends “I told you so” when a team takes a guy you dislike and he flames out or screaming in delight from the highest heights when that player you said we should take in the fifth round out of Yale becomes something in the NFL is a rite of passage for those fans who enjoy stroking their own ego.

However, what truly makes me chuckle with endless delight is to go on social media and watch people make statements based on their own opinions they spew out as undeniable truths.

Here are some “undeniable truths” that were bandied about on social media just days prior to the draft:

“Browns are drafting a QB, which means Sanders and Gabriel are gone.”

“There’s not one good player in the draft.”

“There are no wide receivers or lineman worthy of a top 10 pick in this year’s draft.”

“Watson will be the Browns’ starting QB, hands down.”

“Jeremiah Love is coming to Cleveland!”

And not surprisingly, there are about a million armchair GMs who want to take Ohio State Buckeyes with the No. 6 overall pick. I wonder why?

Fans truly make me laugh because so many of them claim sternly and sincerely about how they know exactly how an NFL team should operate, but hey, the guesswork is half the fun, especially when your team is out of playoff contention by week nine.