The NFL draft has become perhaps the most important annual sports activity that involves no activity on the field.
When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell strides to the podium Thursday night—shortly after 8 p.m. ET—to announce the first selection in the 2013 draft, he’ll be in front of a packed house at Radio City Music Hall in New York and over 8 million viewers on ESPN and the NFL Network.
Such viewership, not even including months of pre-draft speculation and post-draft analyses, makes the NFL draft a television powerhouse that approximates viewership for hallmark sports events such as the final round of the U.S. Open, the Indy 500, NBA playoffs and most NASCAR events.
Typically, given the geography, fans of the New York Giants and New York Jets dominate the live audience and annually provide collective groans or cheers depending upon the fan view of the choices made by team executives.
This year, it is likely that the most vocal of those reactions will come from fans of the Jets, who watched their team end a disappointing 2012 season plagued by the Mark Sanchez/Tim Tebow quarterback puzzle and are now debating the pros and cons of the recent trade of star quarterback Darrelle Revis to Tampa Bay for the Bucs 13th pick in the first round and a chump change pick in 2014.
Jets fans unhappy with current starting quarterback Sanchez may plead for West Virginia QB Geno Smith, but the Jets are most likely to grab LSU linebacker Barkevious Mingo if he’s still available.
After several years packed with quarterback talents including Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Cam Newton, Smith may be the only QB taken in the first round, with Matt Barkley of Southern Cal and Ryan Nassib of Syracuse slipping to Friday night’s second round.
Most of those considered in the “can’t miss” category in 2013 are beefy offensive and defensive tackles. If Kansas City doesn’t trade down, watch for Notre Dame’s Luke Joeckel or Texas A&M’s Eric Fisher to be called first by Goodell as the Chiefs try to keep new QB Alex Smith protected from the concussion problems that knocked him out mid-season in 2012.
The first round of the draft concludes Thursday night, rounds 2-3 are Friday evening and rounds 4-7 are Saturday afternoon.
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