The NFL draft is Thursday April 30th. It won’t be at Radio Music Hall, in New York, where it has been for the past 9 years. It will be in Chicago. The draft is a special time when NFL teams select players hoping to start their NFL career. Some college athletes attend the draft and once their name is announced they receive a team cap and jersey from the Commissioner of the NFL, Rodger Goodell. Two of the top quarterbacks in this year’s NFL draft may not attend.
Jameis Winston is expected to be taken number one by Tampa Bay. He said two weeks ago he may not attend the draft. He wants to be with his grandma who has Type-2 diabetes and is unable to travel. Winston might change his mind and left the door open for traveling to Chicago to attend the draft. He said, “We really haven’t made that decision yet. There’s been a lot of pressure on people trying to get me to come and make the draft.” If he doesn’t appear at the draft, he will become the first overall pick since 1994 not to be at the NFL draft, when Dan Wilkinson decided not to attend.
Another top pick won’t be in attendance either. Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota will be in Hawaii. He believes that being in Hawaii is more important. He wants to be with the family and community who helped raise him. According to ESPN, “it is important to him, both personally and culturally, to be in Hawaii to celebrate the next step in his life.” Even though he won’t be there, he will allow ESPN and NFL Network to broadcast his draft-day experience.
This is a good choice for Mariota. He is expected to be a top 5 draft pick. He doesn’t want to have a moment like Brady Quinn. Quinn thought he should be drafted number one overall by the Oakland Raiders in 2007. The Raiders drafted JaMarcus Russell. Quinn fell to Cleveland at number 22.
If both of these players don’t attend, it could mean the highest picked player there would be USC defensive tackle Leonard Williams. Goodell isn’t worried. He said, “I’m not concerned with that. I think that it’s something we respect when a player says, ‘I’d like to be with my family on that day.’ It’s an important day for them also.”
The NFL draft is an extraordinary night for these college athletes. They should be able to watch the draft wherever they want to. We shouldn’t make a big deal about top draft picks deciding to be with their families instead of being in Chicago. Watch the first round NFL draft on April 30th to see who your team selects.
I am sure tv cameras will be focused on these players wherever they are. It would b nice for the public to watch but u can’t make them attend if they don’t want to.