Looking at the NFL draft is like watching a game and being told it is being stopped with the score tied with two minutes left and being told it will resume in two or three years. That is because it is difficult to judge how good a draft pick is until he has had a chance to play a couple of years. That is why I prefer to look for the best stories on the first round rather than trying to pick winners and losers this early.
Here are some of my favorite stories:
–The most heartwarming story of the draft was Fernando Mendoza deciding to stay home and not attend the draft, mainly because his mother has MS and it is difficult for her to travel. The NBC Nightly News even had a story about the reason for his decision. But the NFL didn’t salute him. They tried to get Peyton Manning to change his mind. Good for Mendoza for saying no. Now let’s hope it was good for Mendoza being selected by the Raiders, who have been struggling for years.
–The Rams selected quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th pick to replace Matthew Stafford when he retires. But coach Sean McVay didn’t seem thrilled with the pick. He wants to win a Super Bowl with Stafford and a rookie sitting on the bench won’t help him this year. And the next question is whether Simpson will be a long term answer.
–For the first time in their 32 year history, the Jaguars didn’t have a first round pick because they sent it to the Browns for Travis Hunter last year. It is still too early to tell whether that was a good move because Hunter played in only seven games last year before undergoing surgery for an LCL knee injury and missing the rest of the year.
–The Chiefs decided to go for defense with their two first round picks. They traded up from nine six to take cornberback Mansoon Delane who was targeted to replace Trent McDuffie. And with their second pick in the first round they took defensive lineman Peter Woods, who will backup Chris Jones and may eventually replace him. The Chiefs hope it will help Patrick Mahomes to have a better defense.
–The Vikings took defensive tackle Caleb Banks at No. 18 even though he is recovering from fool surgery. It was maybe the biggest gamble to take him that high and we’ll see if he makes a complete recovery to justify the move.
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