NFL draft in review: The highs and lows from the seven-round affair
The NFL draft is (finally) over.
From the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafting Jameis Winston (and the dumb Social Media Outrage that followed the crab legs photo) to the Arizona Cardinals taking Mr. Irrelevant, it was a wild three days. What moments won the three days? Let’s check it out.
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Most touching moment
This one was easy. It was Jim Kelly, whose battle against cancer was followed closely by all NFL fans, taking the stage to a great standing ovation that obviously surprised and touched him.
The moment that’ll make us laugh every time we hear it
Every time the NFL Network or ESPN played a highlights montage that included commissioner Roger Goodell trying to pronounce Marcus Mariota’s name, it was a classic. “Mariato”? C’mon commish, this wasn’t exactly cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu in the seventh round.
Stealing the show
It’s kind of fun that we have Ickey Woods back in our lives. WOOOOOO!
Most extra special moment for one player
Every player hopefully enjoyed the special moment when they were drafted, but it had to be really cool for Eddie Goldman.
Legendary Bears linebacker Dick Butkus was announcing the Chicago Bears’ second-round pick when he read the card and exclaimed, “I like this,” before announcing the pick was Goldman, the Florida State defensive tackle. That’s a heck of a way to start a pro career. Goldman said later that Butkus is one of his father’s favorite players.
“But him to say that ‘and I like this,’ it’s so subtle and so small but coming from him it kind of made my heart drop a little bit because he’s NFL royalty right there,” Goldman told the Bears’ site.
Most surprising reaction from a player
When a player gets drafted, a few minutes later he has a teleconference with that team’s local media. The questions are typically the same. Inevitably, the player is asked if he had any clue that team would pick him. It’s usually either, yes because they met with me and I hit it off with the coach, or no because I hadn’t talked to them at all.
Nobody says what New York Giants fifth-round pick, Texas safety Mykkele Thompson, said about being drafted.
“It was a surprise for me,” Thompson said, according to ESPN.com. “I don’t even know how to explain it right now. After the numbers I put up this year, I thought free agency was going to be the main goal, probably.”
That’s different.
The “awwwwww” moment
The NFL let fans at each of the 32 team sites announce picks in Rounds 4-7, because the draft needed to be a little longer I guess. It did have one fun moment, when a couple who was just married got to announce the New York Giants’ pick. And wouldn’t you know it? The player was the appropriately named Bobby Hart, a Florida State offensive lineman.
Most GIF-able moment
Ah yes, there was one more highlight from the fans announcing picks, when some excited Buccaneers fans gave everyone the easiest GIF of the draft.
Most extreme high and low
Clemson defensive tackle Grady Jarrett had one of the biggest moments of his life on Saturday when he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. But it followed an incredibly tough situation on Friday night when his childhood house that was hosting a draft party was significantly damaged by a fire. It’s hard to imagine experiencing all those emotions in a 24-hour stretch.
Pick that most teams could regret not making
I’m not the biggest Brett Hundley fan, but the UCLA quarterback does have talent. And there are many teams who are pretty desperate at quarterback. If the Green Bay Packers saw the value in trading up to draft him in the fifth round, why didn’t some other teams that don’t have an MVP at quarterback? (And the “he couldn’t develop slowly with a worse team” argument holds no water; teams have free will and can choose to develop a fifth-round pick at any rate they want.)
Pick that a team might regret
Nebraska pass rusher Randy Gregory is talented, and there’s a reason a top-10 type talent slipped to No. 60. The Dallas Cowboys already have a pretty wild locker room, so I’m not sure of the fit here. Hopefully the issues that forced Gregory to slip so far will be behind him. A big draft drop like that can be a wake-up call. But I think, even at the value of a late second-round pick, it was risky.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
