The biggest difference between the NBA and NFL drafts, in my mind is the ability to project production of the drafted players.
The ability to project how good a player will be as professional based on their amateur career is significantly more difficult in the NFL than in the NBA.

The mechanics of American Football are such that your production is very heavily impacted by your team mate’s ability, your coach’s ability and the role in your team’s system.

Whilst in basketball is more of a sport where good player can produce regardless, sure numbers are still impacted by other factors but they are both more obvious and less influential than in the NFL.

Generally, in basketball, the only thing that will stop a truly great young player from becoming at least an occasional all star is injury.

Of the last ten top draft picks in the NFL, five are either already out of the league or are back ups, none are perennial pro bowlers and only one has played a role in on team that has gone to a super bowl. In other words it’s a crap shoot.

Then you have the financial impacts, the NBA has a fixed salary for drafts pick that is below the average for a starting player and it has a soft salary cap.

The NFL has no rookie salary scale and because of this high draft picks which, know they are going to be marketed as the saviour of the club, command massive contracts which are typically quite long dated.

Under a fixed salary cap, like the NFL has, these contracts can cripple a team for years.