Loose Talk: The Editors’ Take
There are people who insist that soccer is the greatest sport in the world because it’s the favorite sport of the most people. And yes, Ewald and Peabody, while you’re technically right about soccer’s global appeal, the most popular sport in America is football—and the contest isn’t even close. Football’s permeation into American life is apparent even in the offseason. Whether it’s trades, team workouts, preseason matchups or the player combine, people are always ready to talk about football. This past week, the biggest non-regular season NFL event took place that will shape the faces of many NFL teams for years to come: the 2015 NFL Draft. Boasting even higher T.V. ratings than many other sports’ playoff games (what’s up with that, hockey?) the NFL draft is where teams take turns in a snake draft to select collegiate players to join their teams for players’ rookie contracts. Usually a time for teams to fill needs in their lineups, the draft helps the weaker teams by giving them higher picks to compensate for their weakness.
The 2015 NFL draft class was considered by most to be a relatively weak class. However, that’s not to say that there wasn’t a fair share of studs drafted in the top ten. The No. 1 overall pick went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and just like everyone predicted months ago when he had a weeklong visit with Tampa, Quarterback Jameis “Crab Legs” Winston will be donning the ugly clock-face numbers next year for the NFC South’s perennial punching bag. Winston, fresh off a near-perfect season with Florida State University, has been dinged for his footwork and intermediate passing game, and condemned for his accusations of rape. However, with a pro-style offense, 6’4” frame and explosive arm, he does help your draft stock and walked away from draft day with a fat contract and some legally purchased seafood.
The No. 2 overall pick went to another weak southern team—the AFC South’s Tennesee Titans (maybe all the talent is absorbed by the SEC?) Because everyone knew that Winston was going No. 1, many teams vied to trade picks with Tennesee to pick up the second phenom quarterback of the draft, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. Hailing from Honolulu, Hawaii, Mariota’s rumored top suitor was none other than the man who recruited him to play for Oregon: Philadelphia’s Chip Kelly. In addition to making a large amount of blockbuster trades this offseason, Kelly also sought to satiate his fetish for former Oregon players, with nine on his 53-man roster from Oregon. Unfortunately, the price was too high for Chip to pay for Mariota, so the native Hawaiian will pack his bags and move to Nashville.
The No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 overall picks went to three teams that were filling gaping holes in their lineups. The Jacksonville Jaguars’ anemic 26th rated pass rush supplemented its defense with Florida’s outside linebacker, Dante Fowler Jr. Combined with its offseason signing of Julius Thomas and development of Blake Bortles, Jacksonville might finish outside of the bottom ten for the first time since 2007 (but probably not). The Oakland Raiders, fresh off drafting its new franchise quarterback Derek Carr in the second round last year, got a new WR for Carr to play with in Alabama’s Amari Cooper. The dumpster fire currently known as Washington Redskins (until some other organization gets fussy) needed a whole lot of everything, but it decided that its top need was an offensive lineman, so the team snagged Brandon Scherff, an offensive guard out of Iowa.
Even in a weak draft, the later rounds are a good time for teams to pick up some talent and add depth. Because of this, analysts are payed exorbitant amounts of money to analyze which random DIII players are the REAL sleeper picks, and which team “won” the most tier-two players. Of course, as an Atlanta fan, as much as I feel like people should take a draft grade with a grain of salt, I’m proud to report that SBNation gave the Atlanta Falcons an A on its draft, tied for first with Jacksonville. I’ll give you that free click, SBNation. I’m equally as happy to report that the New England Patriots had a slightly deflated rating, sitting at a B+. The Great Hooded One isn’t typically known for big blockbuster picks, and with three fourth-round picks, two sixth-round picks and two seventh-round picks, BB added a strong squad of secondary players to make up for the loss of Revis and linemen to make up for the lack of talent last year.
Outside of the players picked, an interesting facet of the draft was the location. The draft, usually held in New York, was held in Chicago this year, and there’s been discussions of changing the location of the draft year-to-year. However, everyone can agree that the highlight of the 2015 draft was the Madden Mobile Event that raised my defense’s rating 4 points. Electronic Arts, you’re the real MVP.