NFL Draft

As April’s showers transition to May, so too does the NFL officially transition from one season to the next as the NFL Draft commences. The draft typically takes place at the end of April as hundreds of the best collegiate players are picked by different NFL teams in hopes of leading that team to the promised land in the years to come. Of course, with any draft, regardless of the sport, some exceed expectations and some crumble under the pressure. For instance, last year, the Cincinnati Bengals’ first-round pick Ja’Marr Chase silenced his critics with a historic first season at the wide receiver position; however, the likes of Isiah Wilson, the Titans’ first-round pick in 2020, fizzled out due to a multitude of problems and is already out of the league.

Senior Matthew Scholz shared his thoughts on the most recent NFL Draft and who he thinks did the best and the worst. “I think the Cleveland Browns had the best draft overall in my opinion,” Scholz said. Although the Browns’ first pick didn’t happen until the third round, they found great value for their position. Their best picks were wide receiver David Bell out of Purdue and defensive end Alex Wright from UAB (the University of Alabama at Birmingham), both of whom fill the glaring gaps on the Browns’ roster.

Scholz also shared his opinion on who had the worst draft. “The Patriots. The Patriots by far.” This claim is not that bold as many draft insiders also concluded that the New England Patriots had the worst draft out of all the NFL. Their first-round pick, Cole Strange, garnered most of the flak. From the University of Chattanooga, Cole standing at 6’ 5’’ and 307 lbs., certainly has the size to be a pro-bowl center, but the fact of not coming from a high D-1 school hit his draft stock considerably. Many insiders were quite confused by this selection as Strange was projected to be selected in the third round yet the Patriots used their first-round pick on selecting the young man.

Scholz also described his predictions for the upcoming season involving these rookies. He expressed who he thinks will win the rookie of the year awards for both offense and defense.

“I think Aidan Hutchinson is going to win the defensive rookie of the year and Sky Moore for the offensive.” Aidan Hutchinson hails from the University of Michigan and was the consensus number one overall pick until just recently before the draft. He instead fell to the Detroit Lions with the second pick, and the scouts have expectations through the roof for him.

As for Sky Moore, the wide receiver coming from Western Michigan, he has big shoes to fill as pro-bowl speedster Tyreek Hill was traded to Miami in the offseason. Pairing him with Patrick Mahomes seems to be the best-case scenario for Moore to have a breakout rookie season.

Of course, with every draft, there are always those players that fail to rise to the expectations. When asked about who that could potentially be from this draft, Scholz answered, “Definitely Trayvon Walker. I’m not too high on him.”

Walker from the University of Georgia rose on many draft boards, initially being a mid-late first-round pick who climbed to be the first overall pick. Yet, many analysts still deem Hutchinson as the better player, so Walker has a lot of hurdles to overcome to get the recognition he deserves for being the first overall pick.

We won’t know the answers to these questions and predictions until football begins again in September, but all we can do now is speculate and try to come up with our best takes and opinions about these young stars.