JORDAN PURVIS
Special to The Leader
The National Football League hosted their annual draft between April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. The first round of the draft was full of surprises, as well as questionable decisions made by several teams. Five quarterbacks were selected in the first round, marking the third time that at least five quarterbacks were selected in the draft’s opening round since the inception of the common draft in 1967.
Ravens move up to No. 32 to take Lamar Jackson: Baltimore traded three picks (No. 52, 125 and a 2019 second-round pick) to move up for the No. 32 pick and No. 132 in the draft. The Ravens decided to get Lamar Jackson for the No. 32 pick. Jackson previously played football for the Louisville Cardinals under coach Bobby Petrino. In his junior season, Jackson played in 13 games, finishing with 3,660 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. It’s a bit obvious that the Ravens are moving away from 33-year-old Joe Flacco and are preparing themselves for the future at the quarterback position with the new addition of Jackson and Robert Griffin III.
Seahawks draft Shaquem Griffin with the 141st overall pick: Shaquem Griffin’s life is truly inspirational. Griffin was born with amniotic band syndrome, which is caused by strands of the amniotic sac separating and entangling with digits, limbs or other parts of the fetus. Despite only having use of his right hand, Griffin played as linebacker at the University of Central Florida, receiving the AAC defensive player of the year in 2016 and being named a second-team All- American in 2017. In addition, Griffin is reunited with his twin brother, Shaquill Griffin, who plays cornerback for the Seahawks.
Cleveland Browns select Baker Mayfield with the number one pick: Honestly! Did anyone actually think Baker Mayfield was going to be chosen number one pick in the draft? Definitely not me. Mayfield is the first former walk-on to be selected No. 1 overall in the NFL draft. Ever since enrolling at the University of Oklahoma in 2014, Mayfield has scored 199 touchdowns with 21 interceptions and threw for 12,292 yards. Mayfield joins a great team. The Browns have made some big moves this offseason, adding Tyrod Taylor, Carlos Hyde, Jarvis Landry and reinstating Josh Gordon after violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Barkley heading to the New York Giants: The Giants decided to ditch the idea of getting their quarterback for the future and instead drafted running back Saquon Barkley. Yes! Barkley was one of the top prospects in this year’s draft and is a great addition to the Giants organization, but will he instantly help turn the Giants back into a playoff contending team? In just 38 games at Penn State, he had 671 rushing attempts for 3,843 yards and 43 touchdowns.
Josh Allen goes No. 7: The Buffalo Bills select Josh Allen for the seventh overall pick in the NFL Draft. The Bills’ postseason run ended off quickly as they lost against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL Wild Card Round. With the departure of Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo no longer has an experienced player in the position. After three years of playing for the Wyoming Cowboys, Allen finished his junior season with 5,066 passing yards, 44 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
The NFL preseason begins Aug. 2 with the first game featuring the Chicago Bears against Baltimore Ravens for the Hall of Fame game.