Las Vegas welcomes the circus that is the NFL Draft this evening with 32 youngsters set to realise their dream. The annual event has caused a frenzy once more as teams plot the beginning of what they hope to be a run to replicate Los Angeles Rams or Cincinnati Bengals in a future Super Bowl.
The appetite for the draft, a business in its own right, continues to grow with an average of 6.1 million tuning in stateside across the three days last year - topping the first round of the 2021 NBA play-offs.
Unlike previous years there is a dearth of superstar quarterback prospects though, while there is also little consensus surrounding the order of the top 10 picks. There is however the lure of depth in this class with contrasting opinions across the 32 teams. With debate raging, tonight ought to spark a series of gambles that will be furiously debated in the coming days, weeks and months before said player even plays a down.
London’s adopted franchise, the Jacksonville Jaguars, possess the coveted first overall pick, again, set to be announced at 1am BST on Friday. Last year they acquired perhaps the most reliable quarterback prospect of a generation in Trevor Lawrence, but this year the decision demands much more consideration to test the franchise’s key decision-makers and scouts.
So Jacksonville are unlikely to have widespread approval again, which appears to be due to General Manager Trent Baalke, who emerged from the wreckage of last year’s scandalous season led by disgraced head coach Urban Meyer, who was fired mid-season. Back with Super Bowl-winner Doug Pederson, recent momentum suggests Baalke will overcome internal struggles to select Travon Walker from Georgia.
Walker, part of a fearsome Bulldogs defense that won college football’s national title last season, is only eighth in the consensus rankings from over 70 analysts and experts, compiled by The Athletic.
The late shift away from Aidan Hutchinson, out of Michigan, who sits top of the rankings, or an alternative route for a hulking tackle, such as Ikem Ekwonu or Evan Nealonly, only intensifies the pressure. Perhaps the scrutiny is unfair, but conventional wisdom has always pointed towards placing the ball in the fairway, especially inside the top 10, let alone at first overall.
Baalke and the Jags appear to have been mesmerised by Walker’s athletic potential and transcending talent, not to mention a very specific appeal for long-armed athletes and the importance Baalke places in leverage.
But to have such a fortunate opportunity - two years running no less - should catapult most right-minded franchises for the foreseeable future, yet there is little faith that Jacksonville will not be back in a similar position this time next year.
There are other teams who could get better fast, namely the New York Jets (fourth and 10th) and New York Giants (fifth and seventh), who both possess serious ammunition to cause a stir in their divisions next season after languishing for some time.
The Jets, specifically, could star in one of the other fascinating aspects of the draft: trades. There have been murmurs of flipping their 10th overall pick for a superstar wide receiver having failed to include it in their offer for Tyreek Hill, who starred in one of a series of blockbuster moves this off-season to join the Dolphins from the Chiefs.
Should the Jets and others prefer more of a project in their wide receiver room, then the electrifying trio of Jameson Williams (recovering from a knee ligament injury), Garrett Wilson and Drake London look to figure prominently inside the top 20.
As fascinating as the other positions are, the most contentious picks will be the quarterbacks. Fresh from a season where Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen dazzled in the divisional round of the play-offs, with Kansas City prevailing in a 42-36 overtime victory.
None of this class appear capable of reaching that level anytime soon, but that is unlikely to stop teams convincing themselves otherwise. The Lions, Texans, Panthers, Falcons, Seahawks, Commanders, Saints, Steelers and Titans, to name a few teams, all have question marks surrounding their quarterbacks in the short and medium term. So expect passers Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder and even Matt Corral and Sam Howell to all figure at some point across the next 48 hours with the hope they can transform franchises in the coming years.
The bright lights of Las Vegas further amplify the glitz and glamour of this spectacle, increasing the impact of each pick and team’s trajectory in 2022 and beyond.
