Why You Should Be Excited for the 2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL draft gets underway tomorrow, and in the immortal words of the surprise-loving Sue played by Kristen Wiig on Saturday Night Live, we're "so freakin' excited."
You should be too, because the draft is special—and this one will have a particularly unique feel. But just in case you took a break from football after the Super Bowl or you simply haven't been bitten by the draft bug yet, we've got more than a dozen reasons for you to get fired up just in time for the start of Round 1.
Because the Top Pick Is Still Up in the Air
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The Cleveland Browns hold the No. 1 overall selection after finishing 1-15 in 2016, but one of the league's most unpredictable teams has yet to tip its hand. Executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown has stated (via NFL.com's Marc Sessler) that he'd be surprised if they traded out of the top spot, but there are still indications the organization is divided on whom to choose in that spot.
If they do hold on to that pick, it'll likely come down to freak-of-nature Texas A&M pass-rusher Myles Garrett or polished and accurate North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. The former is widely considered to be the best prospect in this draft, while the latter fills a major need under center for a team that has spent the entire 21st century looking for an answer at that uber-important position.
Because Four Quarterbacks Are Jockeying for First-Round Position
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It's possible Trubisky won't even be the first quarterback chosen Thursday evening, because this draft contains four top-tier quarterbacks, none of whom are clear-cut future stars but all of whom have star potential.
Trubisky could go in the top five based primarily on a dominant 2016 season in which he threw 30 touchdown passes to only six interceptions, but teams could pass out of fear that sample is too small (it was his only college season as a starter).
Alternative options are Deshaun Watson, who just won the national championship with Clemson; Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer, who looks the part as a mobile, 6'4", cannon-armed stud; and Texas Tech product Patrick Mahomes, who might have the best arm among the four.
All four are potential first-round selections, but don't be surprised if any or all of them slide. The draft is unpredictable, especially when it comes to quarterbacks. This year is no exception, so monitoring this quartet should be fun.
Because Myles Garrett Is Unreal
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Great defensive prospects almost always possess elite size and/or speed and/or strength. Blue-chip defensive prospects usually need all three attributes. Not only does that make former Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett a blue-chip prospect, but his measurables, tape and stats make him one of the most compelling defensive draft prospects in NFL history.
The 6'4", 272-pound edge-rusher was already viewed as the best defensive player in this draft after recording 31 sacks and 47 tackles for loss during a dominant three-year stretch in the SEC. And then he ran a 4.64-second 40-yard dash while ranking in the top three at his position at the bench press (33 reps of 225 pounds), the vertical jump (41 inches) and the broad jump (10'8") at the NFL Scouting Combine.
According to Football Perspective, that 40 time was the fastest among defensive players at the event when adjusted for player weight.
"I don't have a player comparison for what I just saw," a defensive coordinator told The MMQB's Robert Klemko regarding Garrett's combine performance. "He looked like Wolverine."
As in, the mutant from X-Men.
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And so Is Leonard Fournette
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He's Garrett on the other side of the ball.
The 6'0", 240-pound back was already viewed by many as the best offensive player in this draft after scoring 41 total touchdowns and averaging 6.2 yards per carry during a dominant three-year stretch in the SEC. And then he ran a 4.51-second 40 at the combine, becoming the fastest among backs and receivers at the event when adjusted for player weight. He followed that up by cutting a dozen pounds and putting on a show as a receiver at LSU's pro day.
Just like Garrett, Fournette is viewed as a top-five selection. Both should start and make large impacts from the get-go. And both have superstar potential. Where will they land? The odds favor Cleveland's taking Garrett with the top pick and the Jacksonville Jaguars' taking Fournette with the No. 4 overall selection, but a lot could—and probably will—change between now and Thursday night.
Because Running Backs Make Everything More Fun
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Running backs might no longer garner as much love and adoration as they used to, but fantasy football and nostalgia will always leave a special place in our hearts for the guys who carry the rock. And this year, there are several enticing backs on the draft board.
Fournette leads the pack, but in a lot of other years, Florida State's Dalvin Cook or Stanford's Christian McCaffrey would have been viewed as the best back in the class.
Cook, who ran for over 1,600 yards and 19 touchdowns in each of his last two seasons with the Seminoles, looks the part. He disappointed at the combine but made up for that with a pro day that one scout told Bleacher Report's Matt Miller was "f--king special."
Soon after that performance, an NFL running backs coach reportedly told NFL.com's Lance Zierlein that Cook "is the no-doubt best [running back] in this draft."
McCaffrey is only 20 and one year removed from being crowned the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year. He killed it at the combine as a running back—only three backs ran faster 40s, only one had a higher vertical jump, and nobody was close to as fast as him in the three-cone drill or the 60-yard shuttle—and then shined as a slot and outside receiver at Stanford's pro day.
While Fournette and Cook could be the best overall offensive prospects entering the draft, McCaffrey is almost undoubtedly the most versatile. Throw in the embattled Joe Mixon (who averaged 6.8 yards per carry at Oklahoma) and D'Onta Foreman (2,028 yards and 15 touchdowns last year with Texas), and you've got a special class of backs in 2017.
Because Jabrill Peppers Can Do Everything
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While McCaffrey might be the most versatile offensive prospect in this draft class, Peppers might be the most versatile prospect overall in the 2017 draft.
Somebody will draft Peppers, probably in the first round, and then the speculation will begin regarding how that team will use the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. After all, Peppers won that award while serving as a hybrid linebacker for the Wolverines, despite the fact he was a star safety in 2015. He was actually recruited by Michigan as a cornerback, and at 5'11", 213 pounds, he projects as more of a defensive back at the NFL level.
Still, hybrids are becoming as popular in football as they are on the road, and Peppers can cover anybody while also shutting down the run inside the box. That might cause somebody to draft him early on Thursday night, creating quite the stir on that team's defensive depth chart.
Because We Have a Need for Speed
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This draft features quite possibly the speediest top-end prospect in league history, considering Washington wide receiver John Ross III followed up a 17-touchdown redshirt junior season in the Pac-12 by setting a new combine record with a 4.22-second 40.
And that wasn't a fluke. According to Christian Caple of the News Tribune, Ross ran a hand-timed 4.25-second 40 despite coming off a major knee injury last offseason. He's a home-run hitter who'll have a chance to light up the league with his legs, and yet he's still barely the fastest prospect in this year's class.
Minnesota cornerback Jalen Myrick's 4.28-second 40 was the fifth-fastest in combine history, while Curtis Samuel's 4.31 mark also ranks in the top 10 all-time.
Because for the First Time in Modern NFL History, It's Outdoors and in Philly
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It wasn't long ago the draft took place in hotel ballrooms, nowhere near national television. Then it started to take off and moved to the Theater at Madison Square Garden and later Radio City Music Hall in New York. Two years ago, it became an even larger event in Chicago, where festivities were split between the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park.
This year, for the first time in more than half a century, the league's largest non-game event will be set in the City of Brotherly Love.
It'll also be the first Philadelphia draft since fictional hero Rocky Balboa made the steps before the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art famous. Naturally, those steps will be the backdrop for the first-ever draft to be held entirely outdoors.
A 3,000-seat, open-air theater is being constructed along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which is why it's a good thing rain isn't currently in the forecast. Although rain would certainly make for good TV, wouldn't it?
Because of Two Amazing Tight Ends
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There's so much to this draft that we've used nearly 1,500 words to express our excitement without mentioning O.J. Howard and David Njoku. Both tight ends are freak athletes who in almost any other year would be viewed as No. 1 in their class, but they're coming out together and they might both wind up being drafted early Thursday night.
Only three tight ends have been drafted in the top 10 in the last 20 years, but a lot of mock drafts have Howard going that early after the Alabama product ran an off-the-charts 4.51-second 40 at the combine despite the fact he's 6'6", 241 pounds. He's got massive arms and hands, tremendous speed and he catches everything in his area code. Coming out of that program, he's hard to pass up anywhere.
Njoku actually put together superior numbers in college and is coming off a 698-yard, eight-touchdown campaign as a junior at Miami (FL). He doesn't didn't have Howard's speed at the combine (4.61-second 40 at 6'4", 246 pounds) but he made up for that by crushing the vertical jump, broad jump and three-cone drill. And at Miami's pro day a few weeks later, Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post reported that Njoku put up a 4.49-second 40, so he isn't exactly lacking in that department.
These two guys will be compared to each other for the entirety of their careers. Where each winds up landing on draft night could have a huge impact on how those comparisons play out.
Because Adam Shaheen
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The tight end intrigue doesn't stop with Howard and Njoku, as the highest-rated Division II prospect in this year's draft also calls himself a tight end. At 6'6", 278 pounds, Ashland product Adam Shaheen, if/when drafted, will become the second-heaviest player in the league at that position, but it wasn't long ago he was merely a skinny basketball player at Division II Pitt-Johnstown.
After transferring to Ashland and walking on to play football without a scholarship in 2014, Shaheen gained about 70 pounds while learning the tight end position (he played wide receiver and safety in high school) over the course of three years. In 2015, he led all college tight ends with 70 receptions while scoring 10 touchdowns. The next year, his yards-per-catch average rose from 11.5 to 15.2, and his 16 touchdowns topped every other tight end in the nation.
Plus, he's awesome. When asked at the combine how he accomplished all of that, Shaheen gave credit to Chipotle burritos. That's the kind of guy you want to cheer for.
Some mock drafts have him going as early as Round 2, so the cheering could begin Friday evening.
Because Obi Melifonwu Is a Marvel
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A lot of stock rose at the NFL combine, but none shot up as dramatically as Obi Melifonwu's. Already riding a wave of hype from a strong showing at the Senior Bowl, the former Connecticut safety checked in as the tallest and heaviest defensive back at the event before posting the second-best broad jump (141 inches) in combine history. He also led all defensive backs with a 44-inch vertical jump and ranked in the top five at his position with a 4.40-second 40.
Melifonwu isn't the perfect prospect—he's vulnerable at times in coverage and often lacks discipline—but those types of numbers from a 6'4", 224-pound defensive back could push the kid into Round 1, especially considering that he might have the ability to work as a cornerback as well.
Melifonwu arguably "won" the predraft process. Can he keep winning on draft night?
Because Ohio State's Secondary Might Make History
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Ohio State has a New York Yankees/Dallas Cowboys/Los Angeles Lakers feel. You either love the Buckeyes or you hate the Buckeyes. Thus, their prospects are often lightning rods in the NFL draft. That's why it'll be interesting to see the reaction if indeed three Ohio State defensive backs are taken early in this year's draft.
If cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley and safety Malik Hooker are all taken in Round 1—and most mock drafts project they will be—it'll mark just the second time in draft history that three defensive backs from the same school have been selected in the first round, according to Cleveland.com's Doug Lesmerises.
The only time that's happened, Miami (FL) defensive backs Phillip Buchanon, Ed Reed and Mike Rumph were taken 17th, 24th and 27th, respectively, in the 2002 draft. But it's entirely possible all three of these Ohio State guys are drafted in the first half of the first round, which would make history while certainly riling up a lot of OSU haters.
Because of Risers
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Every year, we think we have the draft figured out. Our final mock drafts are ironclad and steeped in logic. We're going 32 for 32 in Round 1. We've read too much, watched too much to be wrong. How can these teams see things any differently?
But the truth is NFL teams are pretty good at keeping secrets and even better at generating smokescreens. There are several players who aren't getting a lot of love from fans and the media right now but will inevitably be picked earlier-than-expected on Thursday and/or Friday, rocking the football world.
If we could properly predict who those players will be, we'd be rich (especially now that Nevada sportsbooks can accept bets on the draft). But here are some guys to watch:
Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami: Most draft experts have California's Davis Webb ranked just below the top four quarterbacks in this draft, but Kaaya could be quietly climbing draft boards due to the fact he's had a strong offseason and has plenty of experience as a three-year starter in an NFL-style offense.
Marlon Mack, RB, South Florida: Obscured by a plethora of high-profile backs during the lead-up to the draft, Mack is a home-run hitter who averaged 6.8 yards per carry last season with the Bulls.
Trey Hendrickson, DE, Florida Atlantic: Pro Football Focus called Hendrickson the top sleeper in this year's draft class after he posted the highest pass-rushing productivity grade in college football in 2016.
Xavier Woods, S, Louisiana Tech: The four-year Conference USA starter had 14 interceptions, four sacks, 20.5 tackles for loss and 272 tackles during his time with the Bulldogs. And while this can't be measured, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller heard from one scout that he rocked his combine interviews.
And Because of Fallers
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If some players rise, others must sink. And sadly, every year, several supposed top-tier prospects plummet out of the top 10, the first round or the entire draft.
You might not be excited to see that happen, but the drama is undeniable. Just last year, potential top-three pick Laremy Tunsil dropped out of the top 12 after a video was posted online just prior to the draft that showed him smoking out of a bong. La'el Collins (2015), Eddie Lacy (2013), Rey Maualuga (2009) and Brady Quinn (2007) also notably suffered excruciating draft drops in recent years, for a variety of reasons.
But not all slide stories end badly. Aaron Rodgers was thought to be a potential No. 1 overall pick in 2005, but he dropped all the way to the No. 24 spot. That's worked out well for the Green Bay Packers. Dan Marino (1983), Thurman Thomas (1988), Warren Sapp (1995) and Randy Moss (1998) also put together Hall of Fame-level careers after being passed on over and over again in the draft.
Again, it's tough to tell who might remain on the board a lot longer than expected on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, but two prospects to watch are Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster (who faces character concerns) and Crimson Tide defensive end Jonathan Allen (who may have issues with his shoulders). And as Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier points out in a breakdown of potential draft slides, Cook also has a spotty history and could get lost in the running back shuffle.
Because James Conner Overcame Hodgkin Lymphoma
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The draft always contains plenty of feel-good stories, and this one is no different. Take James Conner, for example.
"Fear is a choice," the mature-beyond-his-age Pittsburgh running back said when he was diagnosed with cancer late in 2015, according to Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I chose not to fear cancer. We're going to fight, and we're going to beat this thing."
Beat it he did, before rushing for over 1,000 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns as a senior with the Panthers.
Less than a year after undergoing his last chemotherapy treatment, NFL.com projects Conner as a Day 3 pick. So if you're looking for somebody to root for on Saturday, there's your guy.
And Because Stevie Tu'ikolovatu Used to Live in His Car
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For a lighter feel-good story, you've got USC product Stevie Tu'ikolovatu, who before officially joining the Trojans lived out of his 2004 Chevrolet Suburban for about six weeks.
As Zach Helfand of the Los Angeles Times tells it, the defensive tackle transferred from Utah to USC in 2015. But a school can't provide a recruit with a stipend or housing until he is enrolled, and Tu'ikolovatu's transcript took longer than expected to be delivered from Utah to Southern California.
He was itching to get to campus, but living ain't cheap in that part of the country, so Tu'ikolovatu relocated to the area in order to begin practicing with his new teammates while spending nights in his SUV. His wife eventually joined him, too, and the two would shower, cook, exercise and eat on the beach before shutting their eyes at night, hoping not to be busted by private security guards or the police.
Now, after a big season at USC, the 331-pounder might be on the verge of becoming a rich man. NFL.com projects him to be a middle-round pick.
Because the Draft Is the Ultimate Reality Show
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Remember, these are real human beings—kids, for all intents and purposes—with a lot of money—millions, in a lot of cases—on the line. A lot of their careers—a lot of their lives—will be shaped to a large extent by what takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday at one of the most historic sites in the country.
And it'll happen live on national television, on Twitter and at Bleacher Report, dominating sports news coverage right in the middle of the NBA and NHL playoffs. That's the power of the draft. Too compelling to be ignored by the sports world, even if no sports are played.
It's the ultimate reality show.
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