With the NFL draft only days away, excitement is running high for players and fans alike! The draft promises a fresh start for both young players and fans of teams that have struggled in the past.
Every year, we enjoy getting a glimpse of how teams are built and the process that each team goes through to try to select quality talent from a pool of young athletes. Each selection is a little more than a gamble, as teams roll the dice on players based on talent observed throughout their college careers and betting that same talent will make that transition into the pros. By the same token, we enjoy the chaos when one team makes the bold move to draft “raw talent” way to early according to the “experts”, or mortgage their future to climb the draft boards and grab the quarterback that will lead them back to glory, which undoubtedly will leave another team in a lurch because they too had the same aspirations for that same player.
So without further ado, here are my three bold predictions for this years’ draft.
The Cleveland Browns select Mitch Trubisky number one overall in the 2017 draft
This is such a Browns move, but hey, I could actually see it pay off! Trubisky’s production was overshadowed by the fact that he played in the ACC with Heisman front runners Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson. Many believe that defensive end Myles Garrett is the best overall player and should go number one, but the Browns are in desperate need of a talented quarterback. Just be ready for Garrett to bring a little extra juice to his game against the Browns if they don’t select him.
Joe Mixon gets drafted in the first round of the draft
Off-field issues? Sure, but Mixon would be the number one overall running back in this draft if we could have seen more of him during his college career and some NFL team knows this. Mixon possesses too much talent to slip to the second day. Likewise, with the right supporting system and mentors around him, he can make the team that picks him very happy.
5 running backs are selected in the first round of the draft
If there were such a thing as shares to be bought in a running back stock market, I’d be buying! This is the year we see the value of the running back raise in the NFL and we’ll see it start when five of them are taken in the first day! Yes, you heard it here first: Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey, Joe Mixon and Alvin Kamara will be drafted day one and in that order! Expect two of them to be drafted in the top 10, which  this in turn will create a domino effect that will have teams scrambling to get their share of the talented rookie class.
As far-fetched as these moves might seem, there’s always a curve-ball nobody sees coming in the NFL draft and this one is no different. However this draft turns out, there will be a surprise or two, these bold predictions might be the ones.
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