The biggest headline of the draft was QB Shadeur Sanders, the son of Hall of Fame Corner and current Colorado HC Deion Sanders, having the biggest draft slide in NFL Draft history. Coming into the Draft, Sanders was expected to be the 2nd or 3rd Quarterback off the board, behind Miami’s Cam Ward and Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart. The general consensus was that if he fell out of the top 10, he would go to the Steelers at 21, and if Pittsburgh didn’t take him, then a team would either trade up at the back end of the first round, or the Browns would take him at pick 33 at the top of the 2nd round. He went to the Browns, but not at that pick. Actually, he didn’t go at all on the first or second day. He was drafted to the Browns in the 5th round, at pick 144, being the 6th QB off the board after Miami’s Cam Ward, who went to the Titans 1st overall, Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart, who the New York Giants traded up for at pick 25, Louisville’s Tyler Shough, who the Saints took at pick 40, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who the Seattle Seahawks took at pick 92, and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, who, ironically enough, went to the Browns at pick 94. Sanders will compete in probably the first ever 4-horse QB race between himself, Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.
Shadeur’s slide was crazy to say the least, but that wasn’t even the biggest headline of day 1. Going into the draft, everyone thought the top 3 would have gone as follows: Miami Quarterback Cam Ward goes 1st overall to the Titans, Colorado CB/WR goes to the Browns 2nd overall, and Penn State Edge Abdul Carter goes to the Giants 3rd overall. The players did go in that order, however, one of them didn’t go to that team. Shocking pretty much everybody, the Jacksonville Jaguars in their new regime under HC Liam Coen and GM James Gladstone gave up an absolute haul to get pick 2 from the Browns. Jacksonville gave up pick 5, pick 36, pick 126, and next year’s 1st round pick, for pick 2, pick 106, and pick 200. The Jaguars ended up going with Hunter at pick 2, and the Browns would go with Michigan DT Mason Graham at pick 5, and by doing so, made one of the most shocking draft night trades in NFL History.
Some other major news also happened on day 1 of the NFL Draft. One of them being the Giants aggressive move up to pick 25 to select their QB of the future, Jaxson Dart. The Giants gave up quite a bit to get him, as they gave the Houston Texans pick 34, pick 99, and a 2026 third-round pick in order to get Dart. Dart has good arm talent, mobility, and character and leadership. However, his accuracy and decision making can be very inconsistent at times, which we saw a decent amount of when he was at Ole Miss. Another big trade happened the pick after, with the Falcons giving up a haul to the Rams at pick 26. Coming into the draft, Atlanta’s biggest need was by far Edge, at pick 15, they lucked out by getting Georgia linebacker/edge Jalon Walker, who was projected to go in the top 10 by many. Later that night, the Falcons thought they should complete their edge duo, as they traded quite a bit to get to pick 26. The Falcons gave up pick 46, pick 242, and their 2026 first-round pick in return for pick 26 and pick 101. At pick 26, they ended up drafting Tennessee edge James Pearce Jr., who is known for his speed and explosiveness off the line. At this time last year, Pearce was the unanimous 1st overall pick. However, after a down year at Tennessee and concerns about his character, effort, and commitment, his stock took a heavy hit, and the Falcons took a swing on him at 26. Another big storyline was the Host’s 1st round pick. For the first time since 2002, the Green Bay Packers drafted a WR in the first round, taking Texas’s Matthew Golden. Golden is known for his speed, explosiveness, hands, character, and work ethic. He clocked in a 4.29 40-yard dash at the combine, which was the fastest for Wideouts.
Other notable picks were LSU Tackle Will Campbell going to the Patriots at pick 4, Boise State RB and Heisman Runner-up Ashton Jeanty going to the Raiders at pick 6, Arizona WR Tet McMillan at 8 to the Panthers, among many others.
With the draft being over, this next crop of players look to highlight the Superstars of this next Generation, and some of the major questions from this Draft will be answered. Will Shadeur prove everyone wrong and show why he shouldn’t have slipped? Will Travis Hunter be worth the gargantuan haul the Jaguars gave up for him? How will the Rookie QBs fare in their Rookie seasons? Who will exceed, live up to, or not meet expectations? Regardless, these young men have finally accomplished their lifelong dream, and they hope to do more, trying to make a name for themselves in the NFL.
