— Thursday night, 26 of the 32 players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft played in either the SEC or the Big 18……..15 SEC players, 11 from the Big 18.
— Four of the first 12 players drafted were offensive linemen. QB’s make the most money, but they need to be protected.
— Last eleven years, the first pick in the draft was a quarterback nine times.
— Tennessee Titans took Miami QB Cam Ward with the #1 pick; Giants later traded up to the 25th pick and took Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart; they were the only two QB’s drafted.
Cam Ward started 57 college games, albeit at three different schools; Dart played for former NFL head coach Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.
— Giants traded a 2nd-round pick and two third round picks to Houston to draft Dart, who started for three years at Ole Miss, and threw for 4,279 yards, 29 TD’s for a 10-3 Ole Miss squad that won its bowl game 52-20 over Duke.
— Cleveland has two of the first four picks Friday night; if they don’t take a QB, they go into the season with Joe Flacco/Kenny Pickett as their QB’s, so chances are they’re taking a QB Friday.
— Last three years combined, only one QB has been drafted in the 2nd round, when Tennessee took Will Levis two years ago. Levis will probably start for a while longer, before Ward takes his place as the Titans’ starter.
— Green Bay took WR Matthew Golden in the first round; it was the first time since 2002 (Javon Walker) that Green Bay used a first-round pick on a receiver.
— Famous birthdays, April 25th:
Al Pacino, 85
Talia Shire, 79
Jeffrey DeMunn, 78
Craig Minetto, 71
Randy Cross, 71
Dave Corzine, 69
Tony Phillips, 66
Art Schlichter, 65
Hank Azaria, 61
Gina Torres, 56
Darren Woodson, 56
Tim Duncan, 49
Sean Mannion, 33
Trevor Williams, 33
AJ Puk, 30
— Jacksonville Jaguars traded up with Cleveland and took WR/DB Travis Hunter; he is the first WR drafted #2 since 2007, when the Lions picked Calvin Johnson.
— Eagles/Chiefs flipped the last two picks in the first round, with Chiefs getting a 5th round pick to fall back one spot. Eagles then drafted a linebacker from Alabama, who they must really like if they spent a 5th round pick to move up one place.
— Georgia had three guys taken in the first round; Kirby Smart is 105-19 as Georgia’s coach, with 20 players drafted in the first round. More first round picks than losses is impressive.
— Three of the first 13 players taken played college ball at Michigan; had to turn NFL Network off, because studio host Rich Eisen went to Michigan and never shuts up about it.
Nick Saban was on the ABC feed; he is very good at analyzing the draft; smart, concise and gives his opinions, which is how we learn things.
— Rams traded out of the first round, getting a 2nd round pick Friday and a first round pick next year from Atlanta, which took a defensive end from Tennessee.
— There were 120,000 people watching the draft in Green Bay, a city whose population is less than 120,000. Moving the draft around the country has been an excellent idea.
— 2025 NFL schedule release will be Wednesday, May 14; this is a fun night to be in a casino, to see gamblers scurrying to the windows when the opening lines get posted.
