2022 NFL Draft - Travis Parker

If you ask people their favorite sporting event of the year, you will likely get a mix of The Super Bowl, March Madness, The NBA Finals and The World Series.  But in my case the only possible answer is the NFL Draft. From my own humble beginnings watching the first round on TV and combing through the Sports Pages of the newspaper to see that the Titans added Lendale White in the second round of the 2006 draft to accompany incoming QB Vince Young, to attending the draft when it was in Dallas in 2018. I have certainly come a long way.

Over this same timeline, the NFL Draft has evolved into a media and entertainment spectacle and continues to grow in popularity yearly. In 2018, Attendance in Dallas was estimated at over 200,000 people. In the last pre-covid NFL Draft, attendance in Nashville was estimated at 600,000 people. Obviously, some things about the NFL Draft have changed in the time since. The NFL Draft in 2020 was conducted virtually, with 55 Million people watching it over the course of the weekend. 2021 brought the return of the live draft and it was conducted in the Cleveland/Canton Area. Attendance was limited due to protocols but still an estimated 160,000 people made the trip. The 2022 NFL Draft will be in Vegas and promises to be a spectacle once again, with indications that the Draft Stage is planned to be located on the fountain at the Belagio as was intended in 2020.

Even as the NFL Draft changes and evolves through the years, one question has always remained - WHO WILL MY TEAM TAKE IN THE 6TH ROUND THAT I WILL SENSELESSLY CONVINCE MYSELF IS A FUTURE HALL OF FAMER?

If you’ve made it this far in the post, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Just like you remember All-Pro Titans WR Tre McBride, Multi Time Pro Bowler CB Kalan Reed and of course, Hall of Fame QB Zach Mettenberger.

Joking aside, The NFL Draft has held a special place in my heart for over 15 years and that love has only grown.  I spend the better part of the year absorbing content and preparing myself for my favorite day. The next draft season starts as soon as the draft ends. Whether you’re listening to a Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. Draft Podcast, skimming a Daniel Jeremiah Mock Draft to see where he clearly gave your team the wrong player, reading a Matt Miller Scouting Notebook write-up or watching the guys at Rally Towel Sports talk about it online, there is no shortage of data and information to absorb. Tools exist to create your own Mock Drafts and allow you to find your own future Hall of Famers in the 6th and 7th round. (I included links to a few of my favorite Mock Draft Simulators below.)

The Draft has always been a time to get together with friends, talk about the players you want, look up YouTube highlights of the players your team drafts that you don’t know much about, eat greasy food and just get to enjoy thinking about the potential and future of your team. There is no added gameday stress, just hope.

https://www.pff.com/draft/nfl-mock-draft-simulator?ref=282ea1f2-25f4-4a44-8872-59769aa76808

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/mockdraft/