Drifter Drafters

  When you hear about the "NFL Draft" what's the first thing that comes to mind?  Mock Draft? Mel Kiper and Tod McShay? Trade Up, Trade Down? There are so many things that come to mind when we think of the NFL Draft. This Thursday is the the 2017 NFL Draft in Philadelphia. There are alot of story lines coming into this years Draft. What will Cleveland do with the number 1 pick? Will they trade up with the Number 12 pick? Who will be the first quarterback taken and where? Many different situations during the draft.
    The first question is Cleveland and what they will do with that Number 1 pick. It's almost a consensus pick that they will pick Myles Garrett. He is the best talent in the draft and they need to build around that defense. That pick in the first round is not what is in question, its the number 12 overall pick that's in question. The question presented to everyone is whether they not they trade up high enough to ensure they pick a franchise changing quarterback. There are 2, maybe 3 quaterbacks in this draft that will be taken the first round. Is it really worth it to mortgage so much to move up for them? Cleveland has had so many quarterbacks since coming back to the league, you can't even count them on your toes and fingers. If I am Cleveland, I stay put with the number 12 pick. They rebuilt their O-Line through free agency, maybe they draft a running back, receiver, or more defense.
   After the Browns, we have the other 31 teams. There are many teams with needs. There are have been rumbles that the 49ers and Jets will be trading out of their respective 2 and 6 spots. If the 49ers are going to get someone like Kirk Cousins, that makes sense. They need to rebuild more than the Browns do. They don't even have 1 mainstay on their roster(check Joe Thomas for the Browns). Kirk Cousins is still young enough and building up momentum. With a rookie GM and Head Coach, they need to get creative. The way teams' front offices' are run today, they could both be out of jobs after 2 years.
   The Jets, on the other hand, have no idea what direction they want to run. With the exception of Bryce PITTY and Christian SLACKENBERG, they have appeared to be defense heavy in the past 4-6 Drafts. They have drafted Muhmmad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson to name a few. Honestly, they should either give Petty or Hacky a chance and draft lets say Leonard Fornette or Christian McCaffery, or OJ Howard. They should being taking advantage of the young offensive talent available, even if Todd Bowles is defensive minded, McCaggnian is money minded, and Woody Johnson being Trump minded. The best way to attack the other side of the chess board is to attack! 
    To be quite honest with you, most of the teams in the past 5-7 drafts have been really stupid and unlucky. The Giants got lucky with Odel Bechkham,, Junior, the Cowboys with Zac Martin and Dak Presscott, and the Patriots with Julian Edelman. The unluckiest and most unthoughtful team has been the Browns. They need to draft need and best available talent, it’s plain simple. It’s fair to say that any quaterbacks that are going to be drafted will go within the top 15 picks. The bottom 15 picks of the first and subsequent rounds all have cornerstone quaterbacks(Giants, Patriots, Packers, Cowboys, Lions, and the Steelers.) Granted someone  of the top 15 pick teams have quaterbacks(Panthers, Bills), they will worry about putting supporting teams around them.
   “With the first pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns will pick Myles Garrett.” That is what we will first be hearing Thursday night. Let’s hope that these other teams actually do the same thing for their situations. Remember trading up, down, or staying the same is not always the smartest situation( RG3 for Washington(bad), Eli to the Giants(good)). That’s why football is a team sport, you don’t just work together on the field, but behind the scenes as well. Let’s see jf that actually works this year.