The Casual Fans Guide to the NFL Draft

My good buddy Jeremy Lambert is back from his vacation just in time to bless us with the Casual Fans Guide to the NFL Draft. The draft is just a little over 24 hours away, so make sure you study this and are ready for tomorrow night's spectacle......


The NFL Draft is just a day away. You’ve probably read a million mock drafts and you’re going to read a million more between now and Thursday although if you want to save time, you could just read the mock drafts posted by Dustin James and Todd Bergman on this site because they are the most insightful and accurate.

Or you could stop pretending that you know and care about something that takes three days to complete and involves no actual football action.

Without further ado, here is the Casual Fans Guide to the NFL Draft:

*The Marcus Mariota Saga: The Oregon Ducks QB and Hiesman Trophy Winner will be selected anywhere from first to fifteenth by any number of teams. The big question is whether or not the Eagles will be that team. The truth is, no one knows where Mariota will be playing next year. It might be the Titans. It might be the Bucs. It might be the Eagles. It might be the Jets. It might be the CFL. No one truly knows. What we do know is that either the Titans will likely select him at #2 or trade that pick for a haul similar to what the Rams got from the Redskins when they wanted to move up to select Robert Griffin III.

*The First Overall Pick: Unless of course the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t sold on Jameis Winston due to his off the field issues and decide that they’re going to take Mariota or trade the top pick for an even bigger haul than what the Titans would receive. It’s most likely that the Bucs end up taking Winston since he went to Florida St. and the Bucs not only need a quarterback, but they need a star who can help fill the stadium.

*A Potential Philip Rivers Deal: A lot of people think Rivers is a top 10 quarterback even though he’s on the downside of his career and is 4-5 in the playoffs. Tennessee seems to be the rumored destination, which would really suck for him because they have no offense to speak of. I don’t know if Rivers will be dealt and it probably won’t matter since he isn’t leading any team to a Super Bowl, but he’s a high profile quarterback, which means he matters more than most players in the league.

*Gordon or Gurley: Running backs in the NFL have become less important over the years but are still pretty important. Except at the NFL Draft. There were no running backs taken in the first round in 2014 or 2013. There were three taken in 2012; Trent Richardson (sucks), Doug Martin (seems to suck), and David Wilson (retired). The last productive running back (Three straight 800+ yard seasons) to go in the first round were 2008 draftees Rashard Mendenhall (now retired) and Chris Johnson (might now suck). Two running backs, Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley, could both go in the first round. No one knows if they’ll be good or not, but they’re running backs, so we care.

*Adrian Peterson: It’s possible he gets traded. The only place he’s going is Dallas. So don’t worry too much about this.

*Wide Receiver Heavy: Armari Cooper, Kevin White, and DeVante Parker are all going to be first round picks. After that there could be 3-5 more wide receivers taken in the first round. I’m fairly certain that at least of them if going to be really good and if this class is anything like last year’s then all of them might be really good. If your team needs a wide receiver, you’re in luck.

*Other Positions: Chances are your team is going to take an offensive lineman or defensive player that you’ve never heard of because you only watched a handful of college football games this year. Here’s what you need to know about the guy your team takes: no one knows if he’s going to be good. It takes at least three seasons for a player to pan out in the NFL. Some players have a great rookie season and are never heard from again. Some players take longer to develop. If your team takes a player at a low-profile position, be thankful, because that means they’re set at the high-profile positions.

*You Don’t Have To Watch: There will be better things on TV between Thursday and Saturday like the NHL and NBA playoffs. If you’re on twitter, you can find out the draft picks minutes before it’s announced on TV. The NFL Draft is a long and boring process where, once again, no actual football is played. You won’t miss anything if you don’t watch.