Grading the NFL Draft
In what is probably one of the biggest football (American) events besides the Superbowl, the NFL Draft took place this past weekend. It's a pretty big event bringing people from all over the country to a central location to learn what the fate of many young adults is going to be.
College and high school athletes who had a dream that one day they would play in the NFL. It would be difficult to tally the countless hours, practices, private coaching sessions, and prayers that went into getting them to this point.
I remember quite well several years ago when @mrsbozz's cousin declared himself for the NFL draft. We waited in anticipation to see if/when he was picked and by what team. If I remember correctly, he was expected to go a lot sooner than he did. Which although heartbreaking, happens to a lot more young men than you would expect.
Just take a look at the guy from Kentucky. He was hyped to go in the first round, but instead found himself still sitting with the spectators by the time the first round was finished.
It should come as no surprise that Bryce Young the QB from Alabama was the first round pick and went to Carolina. Likewise, Stroud was picked up from Ohio State as the second overall pick and he is heading to Houston. If Houston hadn't had some late season heroics, they likely would have gotten that first pick. They were horrible last season.
I should mention, the only reason Carolina got the first pick is because they traded it from the Bears.
I'm not going to go through all the picks, but my Detroit Lions had the 12th pick that they got from the Browns and they went with a running back. Yahoo sports grades their pick as an "F" (on a letter scale with A being the best). I don't agree with that. I think the coaching staff and management in Detroit have a plan.
Yahoo can sit here and say they made a bad move, but the Lions are still favored to make it to the Superbowl next year. There is a point where you just need to trust the system and after so many years of being let down, I think Lions fans are ready to believe in anything.
Time will tell if Yahoo got this one wrong and the Lions got it right. I'm betting on the Lions.
Oddly enough, the Lions are the only team that Yahoo Sports felt the need to give an F to in the first round. They didn't do it just once, but they did it twice. At the 18th pick, the Lions picked up a new Line Backer from Iowa.
It's pretty clear that Yahoo is biased. I just don't understand why.
Pick three in the second round went to the Lions. Surprisingly, Yahoo gave them a score of C+ for that pick.
Finally, in the 14th pick of the 2nd round, the Lions did something to make Yahoo happy. They picked Brian Branch, a Corner Back from Alabama. They gave the Lions an A+ for that pick. Part of me feels like it has more to do with the guy being from Alabama than anything else.
To be fair, all of this commentary from Yahoo is coming from one Charles McDonald. I've never heard of him before, but it is pretty clear he has tunnel vision when it comes to who should have drafted whom.
The Lions got three picks on the third day of the draft and the grades Yahoo gave them were all in the "C" range.
I'm not going to keep going through the next four rounds. Just know there were seven total rounds, and now these teams get to start working with their players to see how is actually going to make the starting roster.
Oh, by the way, that guy from Kentucky... He went as the second pick in the second round to Tennessee.
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