The NFL Draft happened from Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City Missouri. The NFL Draft is for college football players that are trying to fulfill their dream to be picked and play in the NFL. It happens annually and is beneficial for teams that were not very good last year because they can pick players that will better their future as a team. 

This year the Carolina Panthers had the first pick of the Draft. They got this pick from the Bears in a trade where the Bears received DJ Moore, the ninth and sixty-first picks in this year’s draft, a first-rounder in 2024, and a second round pick in 2025. The Panthers picked Bryce Young, a quarterback from the University of Alabama. He has been one of the best passers in college football over the last two seasons. He won the Heisman Trophy in the 2021 season. George Rouse, a football fan said “Bryce Young is the most talented quarterback in this draft.” The Houston Texans had the second overall pick and they took quarterback CJ Stroud from Ohio State University. He has been a Heisman finalist in both of his two seasons in college. He is a very good pocket passer and has shown that he can scramble. 

There were some surprises in this draft. One surprise of this draft was the Houston Texans made a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for the third pick. The Texans gave up the twelfth and thirty-third picks in this year’s draft, and a first-round pick and third-round pick in the 2024 draft. The Texans were able to draft Will Anderson Jr with that pick. Gavin Brown, a football fan said “I was surprised at the moment, but it made sense later that the Texans did it.” This was a big surprise but wasn’t the biggest surprise of the draft because Will Levis was projected to be the fourth pick. He fell out of the first round. Brown said, “ I was surprised when he fell out of the first round and didn’t go to the Colts.” While Wesley Collins, a football fan thought differently saying “I think Bijan Robinson was the biggest surprise because the Falcons aren’t very good and need to fill other holes before running back.” There were some surprises in this draft, and we don’t know until these guys play if they will pan out. 

After the draft is over people pick who they think won the draft. This usually factors in all the trades, and draft picks of the draft. The two biggest winners of the draft were the Eagles and the Seahawks. Collins said, “I think the Eagles had the best draft because they drafted Jalen Carter at six and Nolan Smith at thirty.” These players fill holes the Eagles had in a team that made it to the Super Bowl last season. 

This draft was filled with lots of talent and a good time for teams to pick future starts. Also, the draft was filled with surprises and picks that were expected. We won’t know how well the picks went until we see them play on the field next season.