From Bicycle Bob
You like the draft, as we know. What I don't understand is this: Why? What does the draft prove? I think of Manziel, for example.
Bob -
I'm not sure how I fell in love with the draft. I love the draft. You know this.
I do remember that I first fell in love with the NBA draft, believe it or not.
Some of the main reasons:
> It overlaps the sports I pay the most attention to: college and NFL football.
> The dominos make it an impossible sporting event to predict, because once one pick turns crooked, the rest is impossible. In fact, Wells correctly wondered on Press Row about the impossibility of picking a perfect first round of the Mock draft being like picking all of the first two rounds of a March Madness bracket.
> The stories of these guys are really cool.
Also, our growing affection for the transaction in today's sports realm is about two things in my opinion.
First, there is the franchise mode of video games. Truly I believe that.
Second, and more importantly, the drafts and the free agency parts of the calendar are the only time a lot of fans can feel the most important feeling a sports fan can have - hope.
From a whole bunch of you
What are your draft thoughts?
Gang -
It's nearly impossible to grade the draft the day after.
Notice I said nearly. It's too much fun not to grade winners and losers in the aftermath of the draft. And especially this draft, which will be the most-watched ever.
Losers
Atlanta. Who knows - A.J. Terrell may be the best corner in Atlanta this side of Peachtree and Piedmont, right? Lord knows the Falcons need a a true cover corner. But consider the variables here. First, the Falcons almost assuredly could have traded back and had a very good chance to land Terrell. Second, Terrell's first two highlights were a pick six on a mis-read and bad throw by the QB and deflecting a pass against a WR who fell down. Third, not addressing the pass rush will be a consistent refrain all season.
Green Bay. The irony here is undeniable. It's 15 years to the day that the Packers drafted a plummeting Aaron Rodgers to sit behind Brett Favre. With the exact same pick - 26 overall - the Packers moved up to take Rodgers future replacement. If it worked so well the first time, why do they fall into the losers here? Well, the Packers were a 13-win team that was a game away from the Super Bowl, so taking an impact player rather than a future replacement would have seemed like the prudent play. (Side note: Think Rodgers is going to be a good mentor? Yeah, me neither.)
Las Vegas. The Raiders went old-school Al Davis "speed kills" by making Henry Ruggs the first WR off the board. I'm not sure he wasn't the fourth-best WR on his Alabama team. Then at 19, the Raiders took Damon Arnette, the one player that has not been mentioned in round 1 anywhere.
Mike Vrabel's draft room. OK, yes, Jerry Jones is Jerry Jones, and his draft war room on his $250 million yacht is not a fair comparison to anything. But what in the name of Hades was going one at Vrabel's crib? There was a dude in Titans-colored spandex and another in a throw-back Vrabel jersey. All the while, Mike Vrabel was popping dip spit into his Solo cup.
Those who wanted draft craziness. The first 10 picks were pretty much chalk, especially with how the QBs fell at 1, 5 and 6. Maybe the Giants going tackle surprised some, but should it surprise anyone?
Winners
Miami. Will Tua be healthy enough to be, well, Tua? Impossible to know. But if you are the Dolphins, you do not blow everything up like they did in 2019 and not roll the dice on a franchise quarterback. Miami got a franchise QB, a left tackle and a speed corner with huge upside and was able to trade down and get more picks.
Arizona. First, did you see Kliff Kingsbury's set up? SUH-weet. Isaiah Simmons is a difference-making defensive guy built for the modern-day NFL that he can cover the slot, pressure the QB and help against the run as a tackle-first safety too. Plus, for a defense that allowed the most yards in the NFL last year, well, the need is clear.
Dallas. When the best WR in an elite WR class falls to you in the middle part of round 1, well, that's great value. CeeDee Lamb could step in and be as productive as any No. 2 in the league.
The NFL. Huge numbers last night, and while the loss of the fans was noticeable, there were very minor technical glitches. (Anyone else surprised that the Commish couldn't pronounce Tua's name? It's not like the kid played at Idaho State.)
San Francisco. The 49ers traded back and still got a top-10 defensive lineman in Javon Kinlaw at 14. They traded up and added a WR in the 20s. San Fran was already dealing from a position of strength with a deep and talented roster. It got a lot better Thursday night.
The SEC. Wow, 15 players in round one. That's impressive. Wonder if the Big 12 fans are bemoaning the NFL's clear and unmitigated SEC bias at this point.
From John
One time I didn't recognize Brooks Koepka when he took his cap off. I was thinking of a Rushmore of people's looks changing with and without a hat...I really couldn't get past Dwight Yoakam. He is a different person with his hat on/off.
Love listening to the show and it was great to hear Weston say what he did about Trump...he sounds like a straight shooter.
John -
I love that Rushmore. In fact, growing up we had a buddy who played on our softball team who lost his hair very early.
So when he took his cap off, it was like he aged 15 years. We always called it the Buddy Portwood.
The famous nominees for the Buddy Portwood Rushmore would start with Dwight Yoakam. Nice call.
Golfers are especially prone to this tendency so I can see Brooks being there. Jim Furyk has spot there. As does John Smoltz.
Which brings us to this week's Rushmores:
Rushmore of current talk show hosts: John Oliver, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen and James Cordon.
Rushmore of Jack Nicholson films: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Departed, Few Good Men, Chinatown.
Rushmore of "Cowboys:" Dallas Cowboys, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, Rhinestone Cowboy, Urban Cowboy.
Rushmore of pseudonyms: Dr Suess, Stephen King, Mark Twain and Joey Freshwater.
Rushmore of fictional sports movie coaches: Morris Buttermaker (Bad News Bears), Norman Dale (Hoosiers), Lou Brown (Major League) and Danny O'Shea (Little Giants).
Update
As for the contest, right now one player (Bill H.) got five of the seven answers that were available last night. There are several players who got four.
With one question left - in what round does Jake Fromm go - there's still some drama.
Good times.
Here are the questions with the correct answers:
> Who will be the second QB drafted? Tua
> How many SEC players will go in Round 1? 15
> First team to make a trade? San Francisco at 13
> More offensive or defensive players drafted in Round 1? Offensive
> Over/under 1.5 running backs drafted in Round 1? Under
> The Atlanta Falcons' first pick will be? A.J. Terrell
> Who will be the first wide receiver drafted? Ruggs
> Heck, let's go ahead and extend this beyond Thursday, right? In what round will Jake Fromm be picked?
Have a great weekend, gang. War Draft.
Jay Greeson