The NFL Draft ain't what it used to be, oh no. The image-obsessed league is also about making the three day event as glamorous as the run up to the Super Bowl, to the point where this year's draft is originating from the Temple of Excess, aka JerryWorld, aka AT&T-Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Well, excuse me if I don't feel like watching and running the risk of falling asleep. I've better things to watch.
Anyway, some of those first round picks can be punctuated thus:
"Just when you think you've got all the answers, I change the questions!"--Roddy Piper.
Cleveland took the late wrestler-actor's words to heart, and stunned everyone by selecting Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma). However, not everyone is digging. Seems social media was abuzz with comments from armchair know-it-alls about Mayfield, whose on-field antics will remind many of another would-be franchise quarterback the Browns selected just four years ago, that being immature man-child Johnny Manziel (Texas A & M), who flamed out in 2 seasons, and claims he wants to make a comeback. At least Mayfield is a senior, and due to graduate in a few weeks.
"You can't fix stupid."--Ron White.
The Jets already have 4 quarterbacks on their roster, having picked up Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent over the winter. Two others, Bryce Petty & Christian Hackenburg, have barely seen the field since they were drafted (2015 & 2016, respectively). So why did the Jets, winners of this week's Dunce Cap Award, pick yet another quarterback, in this case Sam Darnold (USC)? They have, in this writer's opinion, a more pressing need in the offensive line with the retirement last week of center Nick Mangold. The Jets swapped picks with Indianapolis to get Darnold (The Colts picked offensive lineman Quenton Nelson (Notre Dame) with the #6 pick), and now have a difficult training camp awaiting them.
"You can't always get what you want."--The Rolling Stones.
UCLA's Josh Rosen reportedly claimed he didn't want to go to Cleveland, so the Browns went with Mayfield instead. Then, Arizona traded picks with Oakland to draft Rosen at #10 as the heir apparent, we think, to newly retired Carson Palmer. Reportedly, Rosen's not happy, and that could spell trouble for the Cardinals unless they can do a major sell job ASAP.
Super Bowl champion Philadelphia traded away their first round pick to Baltimore, and management must've felt like they were zonked on Let's Make a Deal as a result, as the Ravens, preparing for a future without Joe Flacco at quarterback, picked Lamar Jackson (Louisville), hoping the 2016 Heisman winner can be their franchise quarterback of the future. The man is the real deal, but he'll get a quick, brutal education, as will Mayfield, for that matter, in the brutal AFC North.
Meanwhile, the Giants got the man they wanted in Penn State's Saquon Barkley, filling a void at running back created when Big Blue let Rashad Jennings walk after the 2016 season, a mistake the team ended up paying for in spades last season.
But what stood out more than anything Thursday night in Arlington wasn't the usual shuffling of picks via late trades, but rather the apathy shown to commissioner Roger Goodell. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tried to mute the boo-birds by surrounding Goodell with a group of Cowboy legends on stage. It didn't work. The people have spoken, or, to paraphrase a line from Arrow in its early years, Roger Goodell has failed the public. It's that simple. Whether it's giving the Patriots slaps on the wrist for their alleged misdeeds, or doing nothing to stem the tide over player protests regarding racial inequality in society, which President Trump hijacked into a tirade over respect for the flag, since the protests were usually during the playing of the National Anthem, Goodell has gone from being a respected leader to a pariah over the last few years, and yet league owners are unwilling to remove him from office.
Right before the draft, Jacksonville owner Shaild Khan entered a bid to acquire legendary Wembley Stadium in London. Now, what could he possibly want with that? Stay tuned.
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