Sports psychiatrist breaks down NFL Draft pressures, reveals how athletes can fight through the anxiety

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LAS VEGAS – All eyes will be on the incoming NFL rookie class later this week as college football athletes finally learn whether a team will select them during the three-day draft.

The pressure is immense for young athletes who are expected to make an immediate impact on their team, resonate with the fan base and hopefully help guide the organization to a Super Bowl championship. That’s a lot to handle for a 22- or 24-year-old man.

Dr. Joshua Norman, a sports psychiatrist who works with Ohio State Sports Medicine and The Ohio State University Department of Athletics, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview the events leading up to the draft are similar to the Olympics in that the tiniest second at the Scouting Combine could have an immense effect on where they place come draft time.

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Alabama Crimson Tide offensive tackle Evan Neal blocks against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Dec. 31, 2021, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"When I think of the draft, in some ways, it's kind of analogous to the Olympics in the sense that a lot of the guys that are going to be in the draft really trained their whole life for that one moment. Even the smallest difference of time or measurement can be the difference between a first-round pick or a late-round pick or undrafted," Norman said. "It’s similar to the Olympics in that one one-hundredth of a second difference on a time could mean the difference in first place or second or third place without all the fanfare, potential fame and financial benefit from that.

"I think the pressure to compete at the