Written by Kevin Seifert at ESPN.com
So yeah. Even the smartest NFL pundits were convinced that the 2017 NFL draft would open with a boring run of defensive players. Instead, it started with fireworks and was completely drunk by 12 picks in.
Three lopsided trades for quarterbacks, two rule-breaking selections of running backs and an unexpected run of receivers dominated what was a thrilling 90-minute scramble. Let’s unpack the action and run through the rest of the top takeaways from Day 1.
1. Felony — but necessary — robbery for QBs
The San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns all pulled massive heists on quarterback-desperate teams. Five years from now, someone will write a great book on who, what, how, when and, most importantly, WHY.
The 49ers stole two third-round picks and a fourth-rounder from the Chicago Bears, who wanted to move up one spot for North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. The Bills pilfered extra first- and third-round picks from the Kansas City Chiefs, who just had to have Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes. And the Browns looted the Houston Texans for a 2018 first-round pick to ensure they could grab Clemson’s Deshaun Watson.
It’s easy to criticize the Bears, Chiefs and Texans for giving up so many extra assets, especially in a year when the quarterback class seemed particularly questionable. As ESPN senior analytics specialist Brian Burke noted, each of the trades weighed heavily against them in terms of fair-market value.
But if any position is worth overpaying, selling out, or getting robbed for, it’s quarterback. This year, the market was so furious that three teams traded up in the first round for a quarterback for the first time in history. In the long run, it will matter not how many assets were required to make the deal. The leverage point is not the trade itself, but two other factors: evaluation of the player and the franchise’s capacity to develop him.
In other words, if you like a quarterback, do whatever you can to get him. If you want to get cute — if you only want one at the exact price you establish and consider yourself disciplined when you shy away from aggressive bids — you become…
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