Actual helmet-to-helmet football action can only take a movie so far. These days, hardcore NFL fans are all about the action behind the scenes—or that’s what movies like the new Draft Day would have us believe. Out this weekend, Draft Day follows Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner), coach of the lowly Cleveland Browns, as he struggles to acquire the No. 1 draft pick for his bad, but not bad enough team. While players are certainly involved—they’re getting drafted, after all—the real action in Draft Day happens in the Browns’ front office, where middle-aged white dudes are wheeling, dealing, and talking hours of boring strategy. In the real world, an NFL front office might be a less than smashmouth place, but in Draft Day, the team’s staff becomes just as important as the players on the field.
