Thom Allison’s Weekly Round-Up: Draft week does not disappoint

Former British PM Harold Wilson famously once said “a week is a long time in politics”. We could easily apply his quote to the crazy world of the National Football League. 

UIn this new weekly column, we will take a light hearted look into some of the main stories and talking points from the past week, in order to provide a little relief in these football devoid times.

We will also strive to uncover those hidden gem stories that may have QB-sneaked under the radar over the past seven days. 

Draft Vegas

There’s only one place to start this week.

The NFL draft circus rolled into town and took up residency in Sin City. 

With no consensus first overall pick, a weak QB class and multiple players on the trade block there was a genuine sense of unpredictability.

Commissioner Roger Goodell took to the stage. Accompanied by the usual cacophony of boos, he would describe to the viewers at home as the ‘pantomime’ by NFL broadcast partners displayed levels of creative freedom usually only reserved for Russian State media.

We all expected a rollercoaster ride, and it did not disappoint. The Jaguars got the festivities underway by opting for the potential of Georgia DE Travon Walker over the production of Michigan DE Aiden Hutchinson. It was a move that had been mooted as we approached draft night. 

The first 10 picks flew by without many major shocks, before teams suddenly remembered that they were in Vegas. 

You can’t come to Vegas and not gamble. 

The Saints got the ball rolling by moving up from 16 to 11 in order to select Ohio State record breaking wide receiver Chris Olave. The move finally gives Jameis Winston that deep threat he can overthrow.

With a total of nine trades made on the first night, it all felt a bit manic, yes this was the NFL Draft, Vegas style. 

Big gambles reap big rewards for some, but huge losses for others.

The 2022 quarterback class have gone few and far between this week. Just one went in the first round.

We had to wait until the tenth pick in the third round (74th overall) before the next one was taken, with Desmond Ridder joining the Falcons.

Malik Willis had to wait another 12 selections until he was taken by the Titans. The Liberty star had been expected to be in play as early as the number two selection by many analysts. 

Shows how much we know!

Brown and Out

Amongst all the chaos of night one, a couple of stud WRs found new homes, neither of which was Deebo Samuel. 

Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown requested a trade at the end of last season. Now, his wish has been granted as he recouples with BFF Kyler Murray in Arizona. 

The Cardinals clearly felt compelled to plicate their unsettled signal caller. Hopefully this will reduce the likelihood of another public Instagram break up. 

Not to be outdone, the Eagles finally gave up on trying to draft a star receiver. Instead, they traded for one instead, snagging Pro Bowler AJ Brown from the Titans, in what may have been the biggest surprise of the night. 

Philadelphia promptly gave AJ the $100m contract he had unsuccessfully sought from Tennessee. Elsewhere, somewhere in Nashville, a dejected Ryan Tannerhill was getting the Titans offense together for a week of drills. 

Token Gesture

Every player in the draft has a value, and individual player values differ from team to team. 

However in regards to the top few picks, after months of testing and analysis, teams generally arrive at a consensus regarding a small subgroup of players who will be the first few names off the board. 

For that group of players, the stakes have never been higher. The finances involved are life changing.

So even up to the very last minute there is still time for the draftees to screw up.

Enter Laremy Tunsil. 

In 2016, Tunsil was in the conversation for the first overall pick, all the way up to minutes before the draft started. 

That’s when a video of Tunsil wearing a heavily adapted gas mask surfaced on Twitter, courtesy of Laremy himself. He would later go onto state he had been hacked.

In all fairness to Tunsil, famous people always do stupid things on social media. They are the ones at the highest of a hack, so his excuse was plausible. 

For Laremy, looking to go as high in the draft as possible, his stock tanked all the way down to 13. It wasn’t until the Dolphins grabbed themselves a steal, and a future 2x Pro Bowl LT. 

This week, Tunsil sought to recover revenue lost that night, auctioning off the video as a non fungible token. Auctioneers are describing as an “unique piece of draft memorabilia“.

Tunsil’s draft night escapades serve as a reminder to all future draftees. For him, this was a costly and somewhat brutal introduction to the world of professional football. 

However, the knowledge and experience undoubtedly made Laremy a stronger person, which latterly must help him overcome the devastation of a trade to the Texans.