The National Football League (NFL) will be hosting their annual draft beginning on  Thursday, April 29, in Cleveland, Ohio. Last year, this draft was virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this year, it will fortunately be in person. The players, teams, and fans are all excited that this important ceremony will be in person this year.

Although this year has been difficult for sports in general, football seemed to be extremely impacted by the global pandemic. However, college football teams still managed to have a season and some players were riding on this. These college players have put in hard work for 15+ years to get to this special day — the day they get drafted by a professional football team. 

Not only are the players riding on being drafted, but the NFL teams are as well. Selling more tickets to the games and merchandise for players they drafted is crucial to these teams and can lead them to make millions of dollars. In order to sell a great deal of tickets and jerseys, these teams know they need to recruit the best of the best from these college teams. 

According to Dane Brugler from The Athletic, “It’s no surprise that Brugler, like the rest of the world, has Trevor Lawrence going to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 1 overall pick.”

Trevor Lawrence is a junior and quarterback for the Clemson University Tigers. He seems to be the talk of college football, and like Brugler said, the obvious first pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The second pick of the draft goes to the New York Jets. The Jets just recently traded their quarterback for multiple draft picks. They will definitely be on the hunt for a new quarterback, and the popular opinion is that they will draft Zach Wilson from Brigham Young University (BYU).  

During his annual pre-draft press conference with the media, Tom Telesco, the general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers states, “You can’t really look at one spot and say, ‘Hey, if we just fix this one thing, we’ll be playing for a championship.’ It doesn’t work like that. We’re looking to build the best, balanced football team that we can.” 

It is important to find balance when it comes to drafting, and Telesco recognizes this. There are players being drafted from all different colleges that play all of these different positions. Football is a team sport, so having one amazing player does not mean that the team will win every game. The players need to come together and be amazing as one, and this will lead them to the Superbowl. 

Coaches are also an important part of the process. If a team is coached by someone who is lazy, the players will not reach their full potential. However, if they are pushed by great coaches, they are bound to do well. Coaches help to bring teams together and lead them to success.

The aspirations these college players grew up with come to life when they are drafted into the NFL. The thousands of practices and games that they have attended will have finally paid off when this day comes.