Thursday night/Friday morning sees one of my favourite times of the year roll around, as the NFL Draft comes out to play once more. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has already claimed the live show, so there will be no chest-bumping, high-fiving, or bear-hugging of Roger Goodell on stage, but nevertheless, all 32 teams will be involved as they try to get better and earn their way back to the top of the pile as the Kansas City Chiefs aim to hold them all off once more.
With that, here are some predictions from me, a very average draft follower-and-knower, for what may happen early on Friday morning (GMT):
1. At Least One Team Trades Into the Top 5
With the general consensus pointing towards LSU QB Joe Burrow at number one overall, and Chase Young following him off the board to the Washington Redskins, the Detroit Lions and New York Giants then become the envy of every other team in the league as they can sit and wait for QB-needy teams to trade with them to jump ahead of the Miami Dolphins' pick at number five. With the draft capital that the Dolphins have built up over the last couple of seasons, I could even see them trading up to three to get their hands on their QB of the future, Tua Tagovailoa. Either way, I think we'll see early action at the top of the draft as teams clamber to secure the future of their franchise.
2. Tua Tagovailoa Ends Up Having a Better Career Than Joe Burrow
Now this one's going to take time to develop, but I'm simply using Tua's college career as a yardage marker for this prediction. In his freshman year, he came into the National Championship game and defeated Georgia to take home the title, replacing fellow 2020 draft prospect Jalen Hurts at half-time. Meanwhile, Burrow bounced around a little, before settling at LSU and struggling somewhat in his first season with 16 TDs and 5 INTs. Compare that to his 2019 season, which saw him light up college football for 60 TDs and 6 INTs, and there's no doubt that Burrow has shown an ability to improve, but there's just something about the way that Tua carries himself which makes me think he'll be the standard-bearer for the quarterbacks of the 2020 draft class.
3. The New England Patriots Choose To Bolster Their Defence
Last season, the Pats had a suffocating defense, which carried Tom Brady and a slightly stagnant offense to the AFC East title once more. In this draft, I can see Bill Belichick going one of two ways: either he stacks the defense with as much talent as possible to try and carry the Brady-less Pats to a division title, or he bolsters the offensive line to give their future quarterback (who I think will come from the 2021 draft class) as much protection as possible. More likely though is that Belichick leans on his past as a defensive coordinator and gets the best player available to boost his already impressive squad.
4. No More Than One RB Will Go On Thursday Night
The running back position has been increasingly devalued as the game has got faster, and more of the focus has moved onto edge rushers, offensive tackles, wide receivers, and cornerbacks. Even the selection of Saquon Barkley at number two overall a couple of years ago is regarded as a reach in some circles, as the production of the running back compared to the wear-and-tear just doesn't match up. There's only a few spots where I can see DeAndre Swift landing in the first round this year, and the two most likely of those belong to the Miami Dolphins' third and final pick at 26, and the Kansas City Chiefs with the final pick of the round. From a purely selfish, football-watching point of view, I'd rather see him succeed with Andy Reid in Kansas City, where Kareem Hunt flourished with Alex Smith under center, so who knows what's possible with Pat Mahomes, a first-round running back, and Andy Reid's offensive scheme.
5. Seattle Won't Pick at 27
This one's pretty simple. Since John Schneider became Seahawks GM in 2012, the team has never picked at the same spot, trading out of the first round altogether in 2013, '14, '15, and '17, and bouncing around to pick up more capital in the other years of his reign. This one seems like a pick out of thin air at first, but once you read into it, it's probably the most likely of all of these predictions to actually come true.
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