— NFL Draft is over for this year; the league is tremendous at staying in the news just about year-round. Moving the draft around the country (next year is Pittsburgh) has jazzed the whole thing up a little bit. Must be a tremendous amount of work that goes into setting up the whole thing, but now they can relax until they release the 2025 schedule on May 14th.
Everyone has their opinions on which teams did best/worst in the draft, but no one knows for sure until the games start in September
— One thing we don’t get to see, but it is important; as the draft ends, and it is only seven rounds, teams sign undrafted free agents to try out for their teams— lot of good players do not get picked.
Sometimes, it is better for a player not to get drafted; that way, he can choose which team he tries out for, and can choose a team that might need a player like him.
— Seattle Seahawks traded QB Sam Howell to the Vikings; they moved up 30 slots in the fifth round to acquire Howell, who was 5-13 as a starter for Washington in 2022-23, but threw only 14 passes for the Seahawks last year.
Vikings also have JJ McCarthy, Brett Rypien at QB; Seattle has former Vikings’ starter Sam Darnold, Drew Lock and rookie Jalen Milroe.
— Detroit Lions signed S Kerby Joseph to a 4-year, $86M contract; Lions are 29-9 the last two years, losing the NFC title game in 2023.
— Last year, Baltimore Ravens had more rushing yards than every team they played, first time that happened since 1970. Ravens made the playoffs six of the last seven years, but haven’t been in the Super Bowl since they won it after the 2012 season,
— Famous birthdays, April 27th:
Gary Huff, 74
George Gervin, 73
Herm Edwards, 71
David Whitehurst, 70
Dave Wilson, 66
Roland Williams, 50
Keenan Allen, 33
Corey Seager, 31
The great actor Jack Klugman (Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple) was born 104 years ago today; Casey Kasem, who did the top 40 music countdown on the radio for years, was born on this day 93 years ago.
How NFL teams trended in the draft:
NFC
— Six of seven players the Cardinals drafted play defense.
— Four of five players Atlanta drafted play defense.
— Carolina drafted Tetairoa McMillan, the best WR in the draft, as they try to help young QB Bryce Young, after he went 6-22 in his first 28 NFL starts.
— Bears’ first two picks were a TE/WR; third pick was an offensive lineman, as new coach Ben Johnson, brought in to make Caleb Williams a winning QB, gets some more weapons.
— Cowboys drafted nine guys; their first round pick is an offensive lineman. Dallas missed the playoffs last year for first time in four years, then fired their coach.
— Four of Detroit’s first five draft picks are linemen, two each on offense/defense.
— Host team Green Bay drafted a WR in the first round for the first time since 2002; they also added another WR in the 3rd round- they’re serious about helping QB Jordan Love.
— Rams’ first pick was a tight end; they had the fewest receiving yards by tight ends last year. Their second pick in a linebacker that was highly endorsed by Nick Saban.
— Minnesota traded for QB Sam Howell, to back up JJ McCarthy; they only had five draft picks- the first two were an offensive lineman and a receiver.
— Saints drafted two guys from Texas, two from Louisville, including a 26-year old QB (Jalen Hurts is 26, has already played five years in the NFL). New Orleans missed the playoffs the last four years- will be interesting to see who they start at QB.
— Giants traded up a for a QB who played at Ole Miss, kind of like Eli Manning; two of their first three picks are offensive linemen.
— Eagles’ first five picks in this draft all play defense.
— 49ers drafted 11 players; the first five all play defense. They took QB Kurtis Rourke from Indiana in the 7th round (their QB Brock Purdy was also a 7th round pick)
— Seattle drafted 11 guys, nine of them play offense; they took QB Milroe from Alabama, then dealt Sam Howell to the Vikings.
— Buccaneers only had six picks; they took two WRs, four defensive players.
— Washington had only five draft picks; three of them were Pac-12 guys, back when the Pac-12 still existed.
AFC
— Baltimore drafted 11 players, including a kicker in the 6th round; Justin Tucker has been a great kicker for years for the Ravens, but he has some off-field issues now, and they may be moving on from him.
— Buffalo’s first five draft picks all play defense.
— Bengals only drafted six guys; the first two play defense.
— You may have heard; Cleveland drafted two QB’s, one from Oregon, one from Colorado- he played for his father, both in high school and college. Browns have made the playoffs twice in the last 22 years; you’d think they have more needs than backup QB’s.
— Denver drafted seven guys after trading down a couple times; they picked a punter, which isn’t terribly optimistic, also added a couple of defensive ends.
— Houston drafted two players each from Iowa State/USC; two of their first three picks were wide receivers.
— Colts’ first three draft picks played in the Big 18; they later drafted Duke/Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard— it irritates me when starting QB’s bolt to a different school without his head coach going too. Indy’s first round pick is a tight end from Penn State.
— Jaguars traded up for WR/DB Travis Hunter; will he play both ways? Jags drafted nine guys, including a DB from the Naval Academy.
— Kansas City drafted an offensive tackle first, then took three straight defensive players. They picked a WR from Utah State who got some praise from the TV guys.
— Raiders had 11 draft picks; they took a pair of I-AA quarterbacks, one of who is apparently moving to receiver. Five of their first six picks were spent on offensive players.
— Four of Chargers’ first six picks were either RB/WR/TE; they’re trying to give QB Herbert some help.
— Four of Dolphins’ five draft picks play defense; they took a QB from Texas in the 7th round, about 90 seconds after the TV guys on ABC gave him the thumbs down.
— New England drafted 11 players; the first four play offense, two of them the offensive line. They also drafted a kicker from Miami; wonder how he’ll like December in Boston?
— Jets drafted seven guys; all seven either played in the SEC, or at Miami/Florida State. Three of their first four picks play offense.
— Five of Pittsburgh’s seven selections play defense; they took two guys each from Ohio State, Iowa, two winning programs. Some teams prefer to draft guys who are used to winning.
— Tennessee drafted QB Cam Ward with its #1 pick, later added two WRs and a tight end to help him out.
