Trading Lessons From the NFL Draft

Guy Adami, stocks editor at OptionMonster.

As I watched the NFL draft over the weekend, it dawned on me that it's not unlike trading. The outcome is pretty binary, success or failure. But there are some important differences that I'll discuss in a bit, if you'll indulge me.

I am a huge New York Giants fan. My first memories of Big Blue are the awful teams of the early 1970s. The Giants seldom won back then, and their lack of success can be linked directly to their drafting strategy.

In 1970, the 13th player selected in the draft by the Giants was a linebacker out of Oklahoma, Jim Files. He played for the men in blue for four years. With the 18th pick in the 1971 draft, they chose Rocky Thompson, a running back out of West Texas A&M. He played with the Giants for three years and rushed for a whopping total of 217 yards.

To rub salt in the wound, the next player chosen by the Oakland Raiders was Jack Tatum, one of the most feared defensive backs of all time. In 1972, the Giants decided that maybe they could use that d-back, so they chose Eldridge Small out of Texas A&M at Kingsville with the 17th pick in the draft. If Small's name doesn't ring a bell, don't worry -- he played in New York for three seasons and had only one interception.

In 1973, the Giants figured their first-round prowess wasn't all that stellar, so they waited until the second round and the 40th pick in the draft to select Brad Van Pelt, a linebacker out of Michigan State. Van Pelt went on to become one of the great Giant linebackers in the history of the franchise.