The NFL Network’s Rich Eisen, who will host the network’s NFL Draft coverage (Thursday through April 28), talks about this year’s coverage from Radio City with The Post’s Justin Terranova. Eisen, a Staten Island native, also recommends his Podcast for those in the metropolitan area shut out from the NFL Network because of its ongoing dispute with Cablevision and Time Warner.
Q: How different does this feel from a year ago when the draft was held in the middle of the NFL lockout?
A: Last year the draft was “How good this would be if we didn’t have all the labor [junk] hanging over it?” And right around this time rhetoric was being ratcheted up because we had not reached the whole legal part of the disaster, where both sides had to get in a room and hammer something out. Now we are coming up to an NFL Draft with two supremely talented quarterbacks going 1, 2 coming off the greatest season ever.
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Rich Eisen
Q: When you came over to NFL Network, did you guys use ESPN’s draft coverage as a model for how to cover the event?
A: I just make sure that what we are doing is something that I want to watch for a really long time. The one thing I like about our coverage: The pick comes in and we don’t sit there like Roman emperors and give the thumbs up and the thumbs down immediately or throw the pick to the lions. We talk about what the kid is and what he may be able to accomplish in the current system and move forward.
Q: What storyline intrigues you the most about this year’s draft?
A: Would the Browns really go ahead and use the fourth pick on Ryan Tannehill and if so, would there be a market at No. 3 for someone to trade up with Minnesota and actually make it three quarterbacks in a row to start the draft? ... And, of course, when the Jets get on the clock it’s always fun.
Q: Why do you think the draft has become such a big event?
A: It’s the Super Bowl of the non-playing season, and for many good reasons. It’s the time when the regenerative process hits its apex. You’ve seen these guys every Saturday and you know exactly what they can do, how they might fit into your team’s system, so there’s a relate-ability from the fan to the draft process that puts it in a whole different level.
Q: Non-playing season?
A: That’s what we call it here. When I was coming from ESPN and there were discussions on “SportsCenter” meetings in March and April and anyone that mentioned a football story got laughed out of the room. Now ESPN has live football programming year-round. I would definitely say part of that is due to the success of the NFL Network.
jterranova@nypost.com
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