The second round has now become more of a negotiation than a distribution of talent on merit; instead of the "best" players being selected, it's the best players who are willing to be selected under the team's terms. An agent who deals with these types of players yearly explained exactly how the process goes down during draft week.
"Usually in the few days leading up to the draft, just about every team calls around to agents and asks, 'Which of your players would consider being stashed if we pick them, generally in the second round?'" the agent said. "I lay out all of the options with my players, what each of the options means, and get an answer to relay back to teams. Then, teams come up with two lists. One is kind of their draft board based on how they rank prospects. The other is based on who is willing to be stashed."
