Mental health increasingly becoming a significant factor in NFL Draft evaluations
By
Dan Pompei
4h ago
Draft prospects are evaluated first by game tape. How they perform in tests of speed, quickness and strength also influences their stock. Body measurables are important. Medical exams can be critical.
And now, more than ever, mental health is a significant factor.
“The biggest thing that has been emphasized in the past year or so is the mental health issue,” one veteran head coach said. “Anxiety has impacted so many players.”
It has been standard for team evaluators to dedicate one meeting every April to medical reviews and another to security issues. This year, for the first time, one team has dedicated a meeting to the psychological makeup of players, according to one prominent front-office person.
“There’s more awareness than in the past,”
Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “Our organization has been front and center with the Kicking The Stigma campaign. We’re all more cognizant that people have issues and need help.”
The NFL’s emphasis on mental health is reflective of a changing world.
At least two players were overcome by stress at the combine in March and backed out of commitments, sources say. In team interviews, many prospects acknowledged taking anti-anxiety medication or antidepressants. Many more are taking stimulants for attention deficit disorder. Others say they use marijuana to address stress.
The front-office members of an NFC team met with a sports sociologist in the offseason to learn more about how young people are coping — and struggling to cope.
Running back Ricky Williams and wide receiver Brandon Marshall were pioneers in raising awareness for mental health in the
NFL. Williams was open about suffering from social anxiety, and Marshall shared that he has borderline personality disorder.
A number of players currently in the league have shared their mental health struggles. Among them are
A.J. Brown,
DJ Chark,
Randy Gregory,
Everson Griffen,
Hayden Hurst,
Lane Johnson,
Darius Leonard and
Solomon Thomas. On a broader scale, public revelations by gymnast Simone Biles, tennis player Naomi Osaka and swimmer Michael Phelps have empowered athletes to come forward with mental health struggles.
“It used to be taboo to talk about it,” said agent Peter Schaffer, who helped Gregory, one of his clients, identify his social anxiety. “Now it’s not embarrassing to say, ‘I had it and I beat it and I want to make sure others who are going through it know they have support and a path.’”
A scouting director said he has found out about some players’ mental health issues by researching their social media feeds.
“With this generation, it’s embraced,” he said. “It’s almost a celebration, not an embarrassment as it may have been perceived in the past. And the league is trying to embrace it.”
There is no doubt young people are more open about mental health issues than previous generations were. But more of them also may be afflicted.
About 13 percent of 350 players on one team’s draft board are flagged for mental health concerns.
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