Record-breaking crowds flood the Parkway for NFL Draft Experience in Philly

Day 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft had some big trades and some big surprises. When you draft a player in the first round in the National Football League you expect an immediate impact. The first-rounder on wideout John Ross was odd.

The Kansas City Chiefs gave up next year’s first-round pick and a third-round choice to swap first-round picks with the Buffalo Bills, allowing them to draft Mahomes, the Texas Tech gunslinger. I was playing every play like it was my last. So he’s not afraid to tell the Giants fans that he’s a part of the Jets family now.

The Bears, who have been looking for a franchise quarterback since Jim McMahon led them to a storied Super Bowl championship in 1985, made a bold and expensive move by trading up with the San Francisco 49ers to land quarterback Mitchell Trubisky of North Carolina. Trubisky idolized one Bears legend as a kid, which makes this moment extra exciting for him. Using a standard popular with fans of Jay Cutler, Trubisky didn’t have a lot of help from the UNC defense, which allowed nearly 25 points per game. “My favorite player growing up was Walter Payton”.

Overall, a lot of teams will have something to look forward to in the upcoming season. But the second-round selection of a player much like first-rounder Christian McCaffrey was a bit curious.

“The Browns did work on the first day too, moving all over the place and eventually coming away with three first-round picks: Myles Garrett (1), Jabrill Peppers (25) and David Njoku (29)”. That ties Florida (1983-1991) for the second-longest streak.

Two small-school tight ends went back-to-back early in the second round – South Alabama’s Gerald Everett (No. 44 to Rams) and Ashland’s Adam Shaheen (No. 45 to the Bears). “[The draft] is the most unpredictable thing in all of sports television”.

The first run of defensive players started with Arizona taking Temple’s Haason Reddick at No. 13, which drew a big cheer from the huge crowd at Philadelphia’s Museum of Art – city officials estimated 100,000 attended the Draft Experience.

The Crimson Tide was on ebb throughout almost the entire first half of the first round with cornerback Marlon Humphrey (Baltimore Ravens, No. 16 overall) surprisingly being selected over more highly touted former teammates Jonathan Allen (Washington Redskins, No. 17), O.J. Howard (Tampa Bay, No. 19) and Reuben Foster (San Francisco, No. 31).

Washington’s best pick in terms of value and need, however, may be grabbing Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine in the fourth round. “Always pushing each other”, King said.

Here’s another interesting note on New England’s draft trade history. He should walk in and start from day one, and third-round selection Dan Feeney could well claim the other starting guard spot as well. It also set a new attendance record.