Last week, April 23-25, was the 85th annual NFL draft. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the draft was conducted via videoconferencing. Even though the draft was not an in-person event, there were still performances, some funny commentary, and plenty of fans with mixed feelings about who their team selected.

This year was the first virtual draft. Coaches and general managers used Microsoft Teams to communicate. The picks from rounds 1-3 were announced by commissioner Roger Goodel. The draft saw performances of Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, and OneRepublic each day of the draft. In between picks, there was some semi-humorous commentary from analysts, current players, former players, and celebrities. Las Vegas, which was supposed to host the draft, will now host the 2022 draft.

For those of you who want to see instant changes on teams, it takes four to five years to see the effects of the choices on the NFL teams and how their draft pick plays out before you can second-guess the choices from this NFL Draft class.  Some of the important questions to ask yourself and to take note of will be if your team got the right player in an area of need on that team. The big question on the table is always looking at the value of the player and if they were worth the high selection compared to others in the lineup. Players are still maturing and growing into their full potential. Tom Brady is a notable low draft pick that has had a long lasting winning career.

As for the player selections, the top ten was similar to what was expected with Joe Burrow going first to the Bengals, Chase Young going second to the Redskins, and Jeff Okudah going third to the Lions. The Dolphins made a great decision with Tua Tagovailoa (no. 5), from Alabama giving him a chance to sit out the first year and recover well with Ryan Fitzpatrick still on contract.  Derrick Brown (no. 7) is a solid Defensive Tackle, playmaker in the backfield, for any team and a great choice for the Panthers.

The two surprises of the top ten were Andrew Thomas to the Giants at four and Isaiah Simmons to the Cardinals at nine. Many expected the Giants to grab Simmons and the Cardinals to take an offensive lineman. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the draft came at pick 26 when the Packers decided to draft quarterback Jordan Love. The Packers were largely expected to add talent around quarterback Aaron Rodgers because they were one game away from the Super Bowl this year. Going into the draft, the Patriots were being watched closely to see what they would do with getting a wide receiver or a top pick for a quarterback to groom into taking over the Tom Brady legacy. In Bill Belichick fashion, he surprised us all by trading out of Round 1 and bringing up middle-tier players in Round 2 to focus on the depth of his team. Not sure what their fans will think, but they are preparing for the long haul and not the term glory with this move. Also lets not forget our favorite Kingwood alumni, Sewo Olonilua, was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an un-drafted free agent.

Out of the Power Five conferences, the SEC led the way with 63 total players selected. They were followed by the Big Ten who had 40 players selected. The PAC-12 had 33, the ACC had 28, and the Big 12 was last with 26. The fate of the NFL with the pandemic is still a big unknown. While we can not control that, many programs still have openings that need to be filled across 32 teams to have a competitive season in play when the time comes.