NFL Draft 2020: The first round

Night 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft is in the books, and there were a few surprises.

However, there were no surprises with the first two picks.

Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow (LSU), as expected, was selected by Cincinnati with the first pick. Chase Young (Ohio State) went at #2, going to Washington. Detroit, picking at #3, had the first real surprise of the night, taking another Buckeye, Jeff Okudah, to help refresh their defensive secondary.

Considering that Burrow had played at Ohio State before transferring to LSU, ESPN made a point of stressing that it was the first time that three players who had been at the same school at one time were selected with the first three picks.

New England and Buffalo had dealt away their first round picks, so for local fans, it was just a matter of who the Giants & Jets, and, for some, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, would take.

The Jets, picking at #11, addressed offensive line needs by taking Mekhi Becton from Louisville. The Giants, with the #4 pick, chose an offensive lineman as well, selecting Andrew Thomas from Georgia.

Dallas made a splash by taking speedy Ceedee Lamb (Oklahoma) at #17, giving Dak Prescott another target to complement Amari Cooper. Philadelphia picked receiver Jalen Reagor from Texas Christian at #21.

The Miami Dolphins, looking at an opportunity to finally move to respectability in the AFC East with Tom Brady now in Tampa Bay (and the NFC), chose Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa at #5, then chose offensive tackle Austin Jackson (USC) at #18. They then completed their first round hat trick by selecting defensive back Noah Igbinoghene from Auburn at #30. Super Bowl champion Kansas City got richer at running back, taking Clyde Edwards-Helaire (LSU) with the final pick of the first round.

They're making a mountain out of a molehill online with commentary on Green Bay drafting Jordan Love (Utah State) as a prospective heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers at #26. To those short-sighted souls, we have this:



Rodgers will be entering his 16th season this year, and has declined some the last couple of years. The Packers are erring on the side of caution, hoping that Rodgers will be healthy enough to play this season while Love carries a clipboard, just as Rodgers was an understudy for Brett Favre during his first three years in the league (2005-7), before Favre departed, first to the Jets, then Minnesota, to finish his career.

LSU had five players selected in the first round. The SouthEastern Conference (SEC), as a whole, had fifteen players picked, a record for the draft. The market reopens tonight at 7.