NFL Draft | A first since 1991

In front of a crowd of some 100,000 spectators, the annual NFL Draft got off to a good start as experts predicted Thursday night in Las Vegas. The first two prospects selected were defensive ends Travon Walker and Aidan Hutchinson, who will begin their professional careers with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions respectively.

Miguel Bujold
The Press

It was alongside family and friends that Walker learned that he had been the very first player chosen, he who was not on the draft site unlike about twenty other of the most prominent prospects.

Hutchinson will have the chance to stay in his home state of Michigan. Visibly comfortable in front of the cameras and the microphones, the former University of Michigan Wolverines will quickly become one of the headliners of the Lions, who just need a little star power after decades and decades of futility.

The first surprise of the evening came during the following selection. Despite only playing three games due to a foot injury last season, cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. was picked by the Texans at No. 3.

From the next pick, the New York Jets drafted the one who was to be the first cornerback selected according to a large majority of experts, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. The comparison game will now follow Stingley Jr. and Gardner for years.

In fifth and seventh, the Giants tried to strengthen their lines with quarterback rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, then tackle Evan Neal. A pick ahead of Neal, tackle Ikem Ekwonu had become a new member of the Carolina Panthers, who thus decided to ignore available quarterbacks.

The first five prospects to be drafted are all on defense. It was the first time this had happened since 1991, when the first six players picked played on this side of the ball.

As the Panthers had done two picks earlier, the Atlanta Falcons preferred to take a player from a position other than eighth-ranked quarterback, even though they currently have no safe bet at the top position. more important. They’ve picked wide receiver Drake London, who will form an impressive receiver pair with tight end Kyle Pitts. It will however be necessary to see if Marcus Mariota will be able to take advantage of it with consistency.

AJ Brown traded to Eagles

After the Seattle Seahawks took on tackle Charles Cross with the ninth pick, there was a rush of receivers.

Teammates at the Ohio State Buckeyes, Garrett Wilson (Jets) and Chris Olave (New Orleans Saints) have alternately been selected in the 10^and and 11^and rank, then the Lions acquired the 12^and choice of the Minnesota Vikings to get their hands on Jameson Williams. Counting London, it is therefore four wingers spaced out in five choices who have been chosen. Like the Lions, the Saints made a trade so they could draft Olave.

We’ll never know if it was because the receivers they coveted weren’t going to be available in turn, but the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals instead made major deals to acquire wide wingers.

Holders of two first picks, the Eagles chose tackle Jordan Davis at 13^and rank and traded on 18^and pick and a third-round selection to the Tennessee Titans in return for the excellent AJ Brown. The three-year veteran has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $100 million deal with Philadelphia.

With the 18^and choice, the Titans hope to have replaced Brown with the addition of Treylon Burks, a 230-pound wide receiver whose style of play is comparable to Brown’s.

The Cardinals meanwhile got Marquise Brown and a third pick from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for the 23^and choice. Brown and DeAndre Hopkins would normally be one of the most explosive receiving pairs in the league.

Clearly, teams like the Titans and Ravens refused to pay a fortune to keep their number one receiver long term. Ever since Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams broke the bank after being traded, there have been a slew of trade rumors about high-profile receivers. Thursday evening, some teams took action.

Pickett remains in Pittsburgh

Most pundits were expecting little action from the quarterbacks, and they were right.

The first chosen setter was Kenny Pickett, who will remain at the same training complex as in recent years. Since the University of Pittsburgh Panthers share the same practice site as the Steelers, the latter knew Pickett very well and got him with the 20^and choice.

Of all the quarterbacks available, Pickett was considered the safest and most pro-ready quarterback. He will now compete with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph to become Ben Roethlisberger’s successor.

The second and third rounds of the NFL Draft will take place this Friday evening (7 p.m.), with the final four rounds starting at noon Saturday.