The NFL draft. The day that can change a young man’s life forever. I can be good or it can be bad. Some players get drafted and become stars, while other will take time to develop or be busts.
Thursday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first round of the draft starts with the Cleveland Browns on the clock, for the first of their 11 picks. Projected first overall pick is defensive end Myles Garrett out of Texas A&M.
The Browns also have the 12th overall pick in the draft, where the option of taking a quarterback at this pick is very possible. Mitchell Turbisky out of North Carolina and DeShaun Watson from Clemson are the top two QB’s in the draft.
Cleveland has a quarterback carousel at the moment and could wait to pick a quarterback in round two. Deshone Kizer from Norte Dame or Patrick Mahomes from Texas Tech are two options if they wait. There may be issues in Cleveland but they might not be fixable in the draft. Considering all of the pieces have gone through the organization, the front office may be the issue.
Other big names in the draft are running backs Leonard Fournette out of LSU and Christian McCaffrey form Stanford. The pair lead what is a limited running back group.
Fournette will be the first of the two off the board, going fourth to Jacksonville or to the Panthers in the eighth. If Fournette goes to the Jaguars, then McCaffrey could go to Carolina. If Fournette goes eighth, then McCaffrey could potentially go to Philadelphia 14th.
Jabrill Peppers’ situation now brings a lot of change to the draft. On Monday, news broke that Peppers tested positive for a diluted substance. Peppers stock was falling but now this potentially drops him out of the first round, if not further.
Prior to drug test, Peppers’ possible position at the next level was already in question. Teams aren’t sure whether to use him at safety or linebacker, both of which he played at Michigan. He did play kick and punt returner and snaps on the offensive side of the football in college. Peppers does believe he is a safety in the professional level.
Adrian Peterson signed with the New Orleans Saints. It does not look like they will be taking a running back in the draft. This could potentially lead to the Giants drafting a running back if they don’t sign LeGarrette Blount. The Giants were also in the hunt to sign Peterson.
The Saints have the 11th pick and 32nd pick in the first round. With the 32nd, Adoree’ Jackson out of USC would be the best pick if he is available. A cornerback and kick/punt returner would help the Saints on defense and special teams.
FCS fans will likely have to wait until day two of the draft. Cooper Kupp out of Washington State is the top FCS prospect. Sadly, Kupp’s stock was unable to climb high enough for round one consideration.
Now, the most important part of the draft, the guys with the best name.
Taco Charlton from Michigan. His name is not actually Taco; it’s Vidauntae. I don’t know why he is called Taco, but nonetheless, it’s pretty cool.
Jake Butt is also from Michigan. You know why this name is on here. Butt had surgery for an ACL injury in January playing in the Orange Bowl. Even if he doesn’t play this year, Butt looks to make a full recovery and play in the near future. Butt was easily in the top three for tight ends, along with O.J. Howard from Alabama and David Njoku out of Miami, and arguably the number one for his respective position.
The best name of them all goes to John “JuJu” Smith-Schuster from USC. Smith-Schuster changed his last name in honor of his stepfather. Now the only reason why he goes by JuJu is for the famous pop and dance song “JuJu on That Beat.” I have seen videos and the man can dance.
With the draft only moments away, it will be interesting to see what happens. With trades and surprise picks that many do not see coming.