It is very arguable that April is the most congested month in all American sports. The NBA and NHL playoffs are in session, the MLB regular season is well underway, and the NCAA transfer portals are still providing eye-catching news day-in and day-out.
Also, by the end of the weekend 32 NFL teams will have drafted players who might end up being franchise cornerstones, fan favorites or even hall-of-famers.
This year’s NFL Draft has flown under the radar more so than many of its recent predecessors, despite following one of the most controversial and historic college campaigns ever. With the draft only a handful of days away, there are plenty of people with a lot of catching up to do, so to a certain extent, here are a plethora of things you might want to know from a setting, player, and team perspective.
For starters, this year’s draft is taking place in Green Bay; and while some products of the SEC might not be enraptured by the projected light rain in fifty-five degree weather, it is prominent in the fact that apart from a brief cameo in the 2015 rendition, the Badger State last hosted the draft in 1940. Held in Milwaukee at the Schroeder Hotel (now the Hilton at 6th and Wisconsin), first overall pick and Tennessee fullback George Cafego highlighted a 200-player draft class split up amongst the league’s ten teams.
When you look at this year’s player pool, there are of course plenty of stories to be told from there as well.
Earlier in the postseason, the first-overall-pick-holding Tennessee Titans’ president of football operations Chad Brinker claimed that the Titans “won’t pass on a generational talent with the first pick in the NFL draft”. And while many have contested the boldness of that statement in thinking that there is a generational player that they can even draft first overall, there are four players who have an argument for that category.
Heisman Award winner and Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter stands out among most experts as being the ‘most talented’ player in this class. While his media spotlight and desire to be a dual-threat at the NFL level has turned some heads, that dual-threat ability is the exact polarization that comes with a ‘generational’ talent.
However, it has been twenty-nine years since a first overall pick hasn’t been a quarterback, defensive end, or offensive tackle, and Heisman finalist and University of Miami QB Cam Ward has stood out as the odds-on favorite to be selected first overall. With a lack of movement in the offseason QB market from the Titans, it is almost certain that they will use the draft to move on from 2023 draftee Will Levis who has started 21 games since then.
There are also outside chances for Boise State running back and Heisman runner up Ashton Jeanty, as well as Penn State edge-rusher Abdul Carter. Jeanty rushed for over 2,600 yards in the 2024 campaign putting him at the second-most all-time in that category only behind Barry Sanders in 1988. Jeanty also led the Broncos to a first round bye as a top four seed in the first ever twelve-team college football playoff and has drawn comparisons to Marshawn Lynch and LaDainian Tomlinson.
Carter was a standout in the second half of the season for a Penn State team that reached the CFP semi-finals, and his physical profile has drawn comparisons to All-Pro Cowboys DE Micah Parsons who also dawned a Nittany Lions jersey back in 2020.
Apart from those headliners, there is plenty more to be looked into with some of the premier position groups among this year’s player pool.
With Saquon Barkley highlighting a year in the NFL that proved just how important the running back position is, this draft class is host to nearly a dozen running backs that could top their team’s depth charts come midseason. Apart from the aforementioned Jeanty, North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo, and Ohio State’s duo of Quinshon Judkins and Treveyon Henderson have captured immense interest at the top end of the draft.
If your team is looking for a quarterback not named Cam Ward, then the front office might be in for a dicey decision. While Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders has grabbed headlines both on and off the field, he is projected by many as a mid-level starter at the NFL level, akin to Jared Goff or Geno Smith.
Meanwhile, players like Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart, and Ohio State’s Will Howard project as high-level backups with potential to be project starters down the line.
While the wide receiver class is far from what it was this time last year, this is an eye-catching year for tight ends as the likes of Penn State’s Tyler Warren, Michigan’s Colston Loveland, and Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr. project to be off the board in the top 40 picks or so.
Like many recent years, the interior offensive line class is incredibly shallow at the top end of the draft, while offensive tackles are riddled throughout first round mocks, with players like Kelvin Banks Jr., Armand Membou, Josh Simmons, and Will Campbell with the chance to land anywhere from the top five to the late-twenties
The edge and cornerback class are as deep as they have been in years, but if your team needs a linebacker and they miss Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell, they might have to wait for Day 2 to really get excellent value out of one. At the same time, teams who need help in the interior defensive line or at safety will be dealing with two very top-heavy classes, with the best of either group set to be gone before the end of the first round, if not around then.
Overall, while there is an argument for a lack of ‘generational players’ at the top like in years past, all sorts of draft projections, both good and bad should be taken with grains of salt as we have seen how sky-high projections have panned out (look at the 2021 QB class).
Nonetheless, we are sure to see many of the young individuals who walk across the stage in Green Bay this weekend turn into perennial stars, so make sure to read up and keep your eyes on the screen when the commissioner opens those envelopes.
The draft is set to start tonight at 7:00 p.m. CST and will be televised on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network. The NFL Draft Experience in Green Bay is free for all to attend. All you’ll need to do to register for free entry is set up an account and register through the NFL OnePass app. Instructions on how to do that can be found here.
This article was written by Eamon Bevan. He can be reached at eamon.bevan@marquette.edu.