Let the Circus Begin
The 2011 NFL Draft is upon us, with the first round kicking off tomorrow at 8 pm in the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The second and third rounds kick off at 6 pm on Friday, and the last three rounds are set to go at noon on Saturday.
The Draft starts with Carolina, Denver, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Arizona making the first five selections, with Cleveland, San Francisco, Tennessee, Dallas, and Washington rounding out the top ten.
The middle of the first round has Houston, Minnesota, Detroit, St. Louis, and Miami in the 11th-15th spots, followed by Jacksonville, New England (from Oakland), San Diego, the Giants, and Tampa Bay in the 16th-20th spots.
The 2010 playoff teams round out the Draft, starting with Kansas City, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Seattle, Baltimore, Atlanta, New England, Chicago, and the Jets picking in the 21st-30th spots, respectively.
The AFC Champion Pittsburg Steelers pick at number 31, with the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers picking last, at number 32.
It will be interesting to see how the Draft plays out in light of the topsy-turvy NFL labor situation, with draft picks being banned from signing their rookie contracts until a new labor agreement is in place with the league and owners. Draft “experts” have all kinds of daily-changing opinions on who will be drafted where and what holes teams need to finally be a contender, but I’m going to make it simple and just say that, like always, the NFL Draft is nothing more than a circus.
Let the show begin.