On April 25, 2017, the NFL Draft started in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Draft is an annual event that gives the nation’s best young football players an opportunity to fulfill their dream of being selected to play in the NFL. Each team gets picks in the draft based on how well teams performed in the past season. There are seven rounds in the NFL Draft that are spread over three days. The player’s this year came from all different backgrounds and colleges, and the teams had to carefully choose who will be wearing their jersey in the 2017-18 season.

The Cleveland Browns had the first pick in the draft this season, after a poor 1-15 record last season. Their pick was defensive end from Texas A&M, Myles Garrett. Garrett was widely considered to be a top pick in the draft due to his athleticism and size, and it was no surprise that he went first. Following the first pick, the San Francisco 49ers were supposed to have the second pick, but ended up trading picks with the Chicago Bears, for their third pick in the draft. Chicago ruined everyone’s predictions by selecting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky from North Carolina, instead of DE Soloman Thomas, who they were projected to get. While Trubisky is certainly a talented player, analysts have raised questions over the riskiness of the pick. Trubisky only started 13 games in his college career, and that is far from enough games to exactly know what you are getting. Something even more bizarre about this pick is that the Bears recently signed Quarterback Mike Glennon with a contract adding up to 45 million dollars over the course of three seasons. With a pick as high as they had, they surely could have gotten a player that could fill a different hole in the team’s roster.

Some players had their draft stock seriously hurt from their off the field issues. Reuben Foster, linebacker, was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the thirty first pick. Foster, who was expected to be a top ten pick, failed a drug test due to a diluted sample, which automatically fails the NFL’s drug test. To make matters worse for the Alabama linebacker, he was involved in a verbal altercation with a hospital employee that prematurely ended his NFL combine. Gareon Conley, cornerback from Ohio State, was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the twenty fourth pick in the draft. Conley is currently under investigation for sexual assault accusations that caused teams to shy away from picking him due to the repercussions that could follow. Safety Jabrill Peppers was also drafted later than previously expected due to a diluted sample, but the Cleveland Browns decided to pick him with the twenty fifth pick.

As the 2017-18 season comes closer, the rookies will start to adapt to life in the NFL in preparation for the upcoming season. It will be interesting to see how the players will end up performing.