The NFL Draft: The Greatest Gift to Fans of Garbage Teams

While many this time of year are focused on college basketball and the start of Spring Training, all of my attention and free time is dedicated to learning about every prospect in the NFL Draft.

With great passion and dedication, I (usually unsuccessfully) annually decide who I think will be great and will be a bust. This year is no different and with the Jets trading up to the 3rd overall pick, I am praying daily that the Jets don’t ruin arguably their best chance to be a Super Bowl contender since the 2011 AFC Championship.

As a New York Jets fan, I am sort of forced to care about the NFL Draft and the best that college football has to offer on a yearly basis particularly at the quarterback position. This year, there is no shortage of talent at quarterback. Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield have stood out as many people’s top four quarterbacks in some order or another. It is incredibly likely one of these four will be wearing a Jets jersey come August. The question is which one.

Personally, I would be content with anyone of them going forward. They all have flaws but all of them possess some combination of incredible skills and traits that could make them a great NFL quarterback. But the love affair that I have with the NFL Draft goes far beyond the quarterbacks.

Bradley Chubb, Quenton Nelson, Saquon Barkley, and Minkah Fitzpatrick are just some of the top prospects that have a great chance to be difference makers on whichever team takes them. The Cleveland Browns have the 1st and 4th picks and could very well go quarterback with the 1st pick but could very well not. The idea of having Chubb opposite 2017 1st overall pick Myles Garrett might be too tempting. Perhaps adding Barkley behind Tyrod Taylor and the excitement of having a premier running back is enough to pass on a quarterback. The decision that Cleveland makes at 1 has an immediate impact on everything that happens afterward which means they have an impact on every franchise in the NFL to some degree.

Then you have the New York Giants at 2. For months, many thought they would jump at the chance to grab Eli Manning’s successor. Now, new GM Dave Gettleman seems to be pushing a “win with Eli” philosophy. That doesn’t at all rule out a quarterback but it also means every prospect I listed above is in play for this spot.

The Jets could have anywhere from 2 to 4 quarterbacks to pick from. That may not seem like a lot but the difference between John Elway and Todd Blackledge, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf, Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez, Cam Newton and Jake Locker, or Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III can be the difference in being a Super Bowl contender and just being a perennial top 5 NFL Draft pick.

Once the Jets and Browns picks go by, it will be Denver, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, Chicago, San Francisco, and Oakland. All of them have multiple needs they could address and will have to just sit back and watch how the top 5 plays out (unless they trade up). They could also strike a deal if one of the top four quarterbacks is available and a team like Buffalo or Arizona decides to make a move.

Of course the Super Bowl is the most exciting event of the year for football fans. However, all of the possibilities, intrigue, and rumors make the NFL Draft the most exciting event of the year for football fans unable to really be invested in football in January and February.