By James Claussen, Jr.
The NFL draft has come around once again, and it was hosted in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24. There were many big names in the draft, such as Heisman trophy winner Travis Hunter, Miami standout Cam Ward, and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
With the first overall pick, the Tennessee Titans selected quarterback Cam Ward, who started off as a zero-star recruit before transferring to multiple colleges and playing great at each one. Travis Hunter went second to the Jacksonville Jaguars, offensive linemen Will Campbell went fourth to the New England Patriots, and the Las Vegas Raiders selected Ashton Jeanty.
The Atlanta Falcons picked a linebacker and edge rusher (defensive end): Jalon Walker, who was a Butkus award winner (best linebacker in college football)and James Pearce.
Some notable collegiate stars that were picked in the first round include tight end Tyler Warren, selected to the Indianapolis Colts, left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. selected by the New Orleans Saints, running back Omarion Hampton selected by the Los Angeles Chargers, and defensive back Malaki Starks selected by the Baltimore Ravens.
But after Thursday, the biggest shocker of the night by far was Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, falling out of the first round. There was a point leading into the draft where he was considered a top-five pick, but his draft stock quickly crashed after bombing interviews and having perceived attitude issues.
Friday, hosting the second and third rounds, also saw many notable collegiate players being drafted. Among them were the Cleveland Browns selecting running back Quinshon Judkins, the Detroit Lions selecting guard Tate Ratledge, and the Chicago Bears selecting wide receiver Luther Burden.
The third round also saw many notable names being drafted, such as the Carolina Panthers taking defensive end Princely Umanmielen, quarterback Jalen Milroe being picked by the Seattle Seahawks, Xavier Watts being picked by the Atlanta Falcons, and Dillon Gabriel being selected by the Cleveland Browns.
The shock from the first round became even greater throughout Friday. Shedeur still had not been selected, with other quarterbacks being snatched up, such as seventh-year senior Tyler Shough and the earlier-mentioned Dillon Gabriel.
Related to this draft fall, there was a draft prank on Shedeur during the second round. The New Orleans Saints appeared to call him and say he was going to be picked by them, with his family celebrating all around him outside. (This is on video, as it was live-streamed on Instagram by Sanders.)
But it turns out that the New Orleans Saints never selected him and the prankster was the son of the Atlanta Falcons’ new defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich (son is Jax.) He snagged the phone number off his father’s iPad and used it to call him up after an investigation by the NFL.
The Saints did pick a quarterback before Shedeur,the earlier-mentioned Tyler Shough, who was picked much earlier than expected.
Saturday, featuring rounds four through seven, saw many notable picks and finally the selection of Shedeur, with him being picked 144th by the Cleveland Browns, who had already taken a quarterback earlier in the draft (Dillon Gabriel).
Besides that, some notable fourth-round picks include the New York Giants selecting running back Cam Skattebo, the New York Jets taking Arian Smith, and the Cleveland Browns taking Dylan Sampson.
The fifth round had to offer some other big names, such as Dallas taking Jaydon Blue and the Philadelphia Eagles taking Smael Mondon. Besides the earlier-mentioned pick of Shedeur Sanders, this round did not have many big collegiate stars.
Round 6 had both quarterbacks who played in the National Championship get selected, Will Howard and Riley Leonard, selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts, respectively. Some other big names include the Eagles selecting quarterback Kyle McCord and running back Ollie Gordon being selected by the Miami Dolphins.
The seventh and final round included Quinn Ewers going to the Miami Dolphins, as well as wide receiver Dominic Lovett (no, he’s from Missouri, didn’t go here) going to the Detroit Lions. The final pick of the draft, otherwise known as Mr. Irrelevant, turned out to be Kobee Minor, a corner from Memphis who was selected by the New England Patriots.
Speaking of Lovett, Nick Jackson, who had a standout collegiate career at Virginia and Iowa as a linebacker, was part of this class. He went undrafted, but got a minicamp invite to the New York Giants, so he could end up being in the NFL.
There were also some notable names that ended up going undrafted, but were signed later. Among these include the Atlanta Falcons signing wide receiver Nick Nash, the New York Jets signing EA Sports College Football 25 cover athlete Donovan Edwards, and the Tennessee Titans signing wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, who has the most receiving yards in Miami football history.
I wondered what other people thought about the draft. First, I wondered what the biggest surprise was.
Freshman Hall Kollme said that it was “Shedeur (Sanders) going as late as he did.” Freshman William Millican said the same thing, agreeing that it was him as well.
There were many good steals throughout the NFL Draft. For Hall, it was still Shedeur Sanders. He “went so late,” and Hall thinks “he’s an unbelievable fifth-round talent.” William thought it was (Alabama linebacker) “Jihaad Campbell going to the Eagles,” or Cincinnati corner “Cobee Bryant going undrafted to the Falcons.”
For favorite picks, Hall’s was the “Atlanta Falcons getting Jalon Walker.” William said the same thing.
In terms of which team drafted the best, Hall said that he thought “the Falcons got a lot of good picks,” while William said he thought the “Giants drafted the best.”
There is also the question of a controversial first-round pick, as Cam Ward went #1 overall. Hall said he “didn’t like it too much.” Hall also said that he “doesn’t think Cam Ward will be that good in the NFL.” William jokingly said that he “should have gone first overall, I’m not going to lie.” He also said that he’s “been the best player in the country for so long.” He didn’t like the draft selection of Ward, though.
In terms of what people thought about their team’s drafts, Hall said he liked it as an Atlanta Falcons fan. William, who is also an Atlanta Falcons fan, said they could have “done a lot better offensively,” but he isn’t going to complain due to them “really building a good defense.”
