Mike Celizic

There’s only one way for football fans to make sure they have given the NFL draft the attention it deserves: Don’t watch it.

I’m not talking to the draftniks here. Telling them not to watch the draft would be like telling a dog not to lick its plumbing. They watch the draft like people who never throw anything out watch “Treasures in the Attic.” They want to know what value the experts put on things, whether they be football players or tchatchkes.

But unless you burn with a passion for the subject and can recite the 40 times for offensive left guards projected to go in the lower half of the fifth round, it’s not going to do you any more good to watch the draft than it would to read about it that evening or even the next day. All you really need to know is which players your team drafted and where the big names went.

If you want to get a little more technical, look at where your team needs the most help. If it gave up the most sacks in the league last year, then you’ll want to see some offensive linemen in the draft class. If your pass defense had more leaks than a cardboard canoe, you’ll want to see some defensive backs added to the roster.

Just don’t fall into the trap of actually believing all the mock drafts. They’re useful, and the writers who put them together are highly knowledgeable. But the guys making the picks spend their entire lives evaluating talent, and they have their jobs because they’re good at it — most of them, anyway.

The general managers also are famous for lying about what they really want, the better to throw off the competition. And the people they’re lying to are the guys writing up the mock drafts. So don’t blow an artery when Bronco Colitis, the big left tackle the draftniks said your team had to take at No. 17 is passed over for somebody else.

If you’re a fan, you know how many players hailed as future hall-of-famers don’t quite meet expectations. You also know there are a lot of players taken lower in the draft who turn into stars. So don’t sweat it if the analysts say your GM blew it.

Instead, look at your team’s record in this affair. No matter who the New England Patriots take, you can be pretty sure it’s a good choice. And forget how much praise the experts heap on a pick by the Arizona Cardinals, because you know from 50 years experience that the team is still going to stink.

Pick-by-pick recaps, team reports, more Report card: Chiefs score; Raiders stink Rotoworld: Latest NFL analysis, rumors Dolphins, Rams go Long to start draft Big names among picks on second day 10 rookies who will shine next season  |  Vote Opinion: Draft picks who will flop  |  Vote Fans react to Jake Long  |  All-time No. 1 picks Expert: Wanna win? Better draft well The biggest draft busts  |  Best bargins

Besides, none of this means anything until the players actually pull on their pads and attempt to play the game in the NFL. That’s why the famous report cards everybody issues on the draft are nothing more than guesswork. No one knows how good a draft class is until there’s some performance on which to base an analysis. You may as well guess which car is going to win a race by its paint job.

I’m not going to get into the draft being overhyped. That goes without saying if only because everything in sports is overhyped. The day after the Super Bowl ends, we’re giving you a prediction column about who’s going to win it next year. Tiger Woods wins two tournaments in a row and we immediately start writing about his chances of beating Byron Nelson’s record of 11 straight. A 14-year-old girl hits a nice drive and Nike gives her a $20 million endorsement deal. By sports standards, the draft is hyped just as much as it should be.

There’s nothing especially wrong with that. The reason we love sports is because they give us so much to talk about, and there are few subjects more enthralling than arguing about what’s going to happen tomorrow and next week and next season. Since you can’t be wrong — or right — you’re free to argue your lungs out.

That doesn’t mean you have to sit in front of the tube all day and buy into the hype. As broadcasts go, it gives a whole new meaning to boring. Even the NFL knows it's boring. That's why the league trimmed the time each team has to pick in the first round from 15 minutes to 10. And even that's too long. NFL personnel departments spend the entire year working on their draft boards. If the NFL gave them three minutes to make a decision, you wouldn’t notice any difference in who is picked.

The real reason there used to be 15 minutes between picks was to allow the 67 ESPN analysts enough time to bloviate about the wisdom of the pick and to stick a microphone in the newly-minted pro’s face to ask him such penetrating questions as, "How’s it feel to be a (put team name here)?" and then cut to a commercial. But even ESPN can't keep blathering for that long, so now it's 10 minutes. And you notice that after the first round, when there aren’t any more hyped players on the board, the draft goes a lot smoother and the time per pick gets shorter. Nobody cares what fourth-rounders think.

You shouldn’t either. All you should care about is how these guys play come September. That’s when you can start to evaluate these things. That’s the time to get excited — or disgusted.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Brady vs. Manning — who has the edge? Cimini: Patriots-Colts greatest NFL rivalry of 2000s     Slideshow: Peyton vs. Brady through the years   Video: Playing 'what if?' with Peyton's career Report: Raiders want to fire coach Tom Cable Eagles-Bears matchup will remain Sunday night game PFT: Rest of league is catching up to Broncos PFT: Tomlinson hints at retiring after this season PFT: Ex-Packer Brown rips McCArthy PFT: Quinn reportedly will start for Browns again NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: