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Rich Cimini
There’s nothing quite like an NFL rookie camp, a microcosm of the league’s class system. It’s where highly drafted players, on the verge of mega-million pay days, share a locker room with dozens of hopefuls whose football careers will end as soon as the three-day event concludes. It all unfolds in an environment that screams, “Football 101!”
The postdraft staple begins Friday, with six teams poised to open their rookie minicamps this week — the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks. The remainder of the teams will follow next weekend as the league welcomes a fresh group of players into its rank and file.
Rookie minicamp is one step in the offseason schedule before OTAs begin later in the month. For 10 hours per day (the league max) over three days, about 40 to 60 players per team — constituted of draft picks, undrafted free agents and non-roster tryout players — will participate in what amounts to an orientation/job interview.
The trend in recent years is the increased number of non-roster players — the ultimate long shots. It’s akin to a Broadway audition, with dozens showing up (invitation only) with the hope of doing something — anything — to catch the eye of a coach or scout. The goal is to land a contract, a spot on the 90-man roster and a trip to training camp.
The odds of uncovering a gem are Powerball-esque, but, hey, you never know.
“My biggest fear is that somebody that’s out here for three days ends up somewhere else, playing well,” coach Sean Payton said at the start of his first Denver Broncos rookie camp in 2023, promising to give every hopeful a good look.
Payton told his team the story of wide receiver Adam Thielen, a Division II standout whose long NFL career began in 2013 with a minicamp tryout for the Minnesota Vikings. He’s still going strong, now for the Carolina Panthers.
“History would tell us there’s players that get overlooked, and it’s not a science,” Payton said.
Former special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff, who coached with five teams over four decades, always began rookie camp with an inspiring story about beating the odds. One story, which he read in a newspaper, was about an Australian sheep rancher who relied on dogs to keep his flock in line. The rancher, Westhoff told his players, had an affinity for the runts who outperformed the bigger, stronger dogs.
The analogy was clear.
“We looked for the best to come from the least,” said Westhoff, who had a knack for finding those kinds of players — most notably special teams ace Larry Izzo for the Miami Dolphins in 1996.
That’s the fun part of a rookie minicamp — the search for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Consider: 257 players were drafted last weekend and more than 300 will sign as undrafted free agents. The next pool is the non-roster tryouts, so now you’re into the 600s. Not even Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board goes that deep.
Wait, there’s more: Each team is allowed to invite up to five veterans to try out, many of them forgotten players trying to make a comeback.
Most of a rookie camp is about acclimation though.
The routine varies from team to team, but the rookies generally meet the equipment staff and get fitted for practice attire. The draft picks, who have more job security than the others, are measured for helmets, shoulder pads, pants and cleats. Some teams, such as the Los Angeles Chargers, use a scanner and 3D technology to measure exact foot size.
Players are often introduced to different departments, from strength and conditioning to player development to football operations. The New York Jets have their rookies meet with a player engagement rep who offers tips on local real estate — i.e., where to rent during the season.
Basically, there’s a lot of people to meet and many places to see inside the facility. Some head coaches believe the purpose of the minicamp is to familiarize the rookies with life as a professional football player and to experience the rhythm of a typical workday in the NFL. Onboarding, they call it.
Most of the time is spent in the classroom, with coaches teaching from a scaled-down playbook that includes basic formations, coverages and route concepts. The actual practices are less strenuous than they were years ago. In 2015, Jacksonville Jaguars first-round pick Dante Fowler tore an ACL in minicamp, which still resonates with some coaches. The fear of injury is real.
Some teams keep their draft picks out of practices (non-contact) and limit them to strength and conditioning, figuring they’re not in top shape after a month of crisscrossing the country on predraft visits. It’s the only time during the calendar year, veteran coaches will say, that the exact conditioning level of every player isn’t known.
So they err on the side of caution, often letting the undrafted players and non-roster players get the practice reps.
For many, the rookie camp also provides that wow moment, the realization that the NFL dream is close enough to touch. A year ago, Jets fifth-round pick Qwan’tez Stiggers, who didn’t go to college after losing his father and worked odd jobs before landing a roster spot in the CFL, described it as a surreal experience.
“I got on the plane to come here and put my headphones on,” Stiggers said. “I go to my Apple music, put on my calm playlist and just closed my eyes, taking everything in. And then when I got here to put my helmet on, I was like, ‘I’m here.'”
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