A Look Back at When The NFL Draft Was in Philly
While the world prepares for the 2020 virtual NFL Draft which should feature plenty of bizarre glitches and awkward face-time interactions, let’s look back at a simpler time when the most beautiful NFL Draft of all-time was held in Philadelphia.
It was just the beginning of the NFL Draft moving out of Radio City Music Hall and becoming an annual tour nationwide. The national media salivated at the thought of covering savage Philadelphians booing everyone and going bonkers all over the city, but instead the opposite occurred. No arrests were made in the most lively atmosphere the Draft ever produced. The League and the rest of the national media gave the city tremendous credit for setting up a fantastic show. The draft itself had it’s fair share of drama and the effects of every selection are felt throughout the league today.
The Cleveland Browns picked the consensus top pick in the draft with Myles Garrett, whose great play is overshadowed by one moment of being a complete idiot on the field last year. What happened next was the most consequential moment of the event: In case you didn’t know, the Chicago Bears traded up one spot to draft Mitchell Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Speaking of Mahomes, Andy Reid fittingly picked the player who put him over the hump in Philadelphia by trading to get him with the 10th pick. The process of drafting and developing Mahomes has already become a legendary moment in NFL Draft history.
Fresh off an epic National Championship win, Watson surprisingly fell to Number 12 in the draft and got picked up by the Houston Texans, instantly making him the best quarterback in their franchise history. Other current NFL superstars like Jamal Adams, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle were also drafted at the event with Kittle being a 5th round steal. The Saints also hit the jackpot with drafting Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore, propelling New Orleans to become a pain in the Eagles ass in 2018.
The Eagles themselves did not have a great draft at the event. 2nd round pick Sidney Jones seems to finally developing after facing injuries in the beginning of his career. Rasul Douglas has been a solid corner and helped the Birds defense to make the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. And first round pick Derek Barnett hasn’t quite hit his potential yet, but he did recover Tom Brady’s fumble on the biggest play in franchise history. Unfortunately Howie Roseman and company whiffed on skill position players, but hopefully that means they learned their lessons and are prepared for the 2020 draft. And thank god they didn’t listen some fans and draft Ruben Foster that year.
Little did everyone know that the site of the 2017 Draft would be the setting of the Super Bowl champions parade just over nine months later. It was perfect bookends for a perfect season (perfect for Eagles fans at least.) Hopefully the NFL Draft will be back to their city tour someday, and if they can’t find a new place to host it, Philly will gladly welcome it back.