Najee Harris and Other Draft Day One Observations

I never thought that I would have done this, and I don't believe that I had ever done it before, but last night I turned on the NFL Draft at 8:00, and I stayed with it up until the Steelers made their pick at slot number 24, three hours and twenty minutes later. It helped to have the distraction of social media and the ability to make humorous (one hopes) comments with other losers/geeks football fans who were doing the same thing.

Anyway, as you might expect, I have some comments to offer.....

I am thrilled - THRILLED - with the selection of RB Najee Harris of Alabama by the Steelers.

He comes from a big time college program, and he has excelled at the very highest level of the college game.  He addresses a serious need of the Steelers.  I watched his Zoom call with local media this morning, and he seems to be a very nice kid.  And if you like omens....the Steelers have an excellent record when selecting running backs named Harris in the first round.   

As for me, I always liked watching him play at Alabama, and I absolutely fell in love with him when I watched him make this jaw-dropping play against Notre Dame last season:

Also, Marilyn loves cheering "Na-jee, Na-jee, Na-jee" when she watched him play, so he's got that going for him, too.

Of course, all draft picks are great on Draft Day, and you really do have to wait until they get on the field against real live NFL players, but on Draft Day, you've got to be optimistic, so welcome to Steelers Nation, Najee Harris.

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Five quarterbacks were selected among the first fifteen picks:

1. Trevor Lawrence, 1, Jacksonville
2. Zach Wilson, 2, NY Jets
3. Trey Lance, 3, San Francisco
4. Justin Fields, 11, Chicago
5. Mac Jones, 15, New England

Lawrence was a no-brainer, of course, but the selection that intrigues me the most was the selection of Alabama's Jones by Bill Belichick and the Patriots.  Scouts weren't as big on Jones as they were the four QBs who went ahead of him, but he was the guy who led Alabama to an undefeated season and the CFP Championship, and someone was throwing the ball to those two first round receivers at 'Bama.  Critics site that he wasn't good at his pro days, and to that I say, to Hell with Pro Days, I saw Mac Jones play in real football games, and he is going to the greatest coach of the 21st century.  If I was a Patriots fan, I'd be feeling pretty good about that selection.

Of course, the chances are also pretty good that one or two of these guys will turn out to be ordinary NFL QB's, at best, and might turn out to be complete busts (think Jamarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf), not that I wish that on any of them.  

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Can you believe the people that turn up to sit in the audiences at these things?  The outfits, the face paint, the outlandish hats and headgear.  I wonder what some of these people do in real life.  Are any of them doctors, lawyers, CPA's, or high powered business executives?  What if you were in need of delicate heart surgery and found out the day before the operation that your surgeon is the guy who wears a dog mask in Cleveland, or one of the dudes in the garish green and white Jets stuff, or the guy with Iron City Beer cans welded to a construction worker's hard hat? 

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I started watching ESPN, but as soon as I saw that Mike Greenberg was the anchor and Booger McFarland was on the desk, I went to the NFL Network and stayed there, not that their gurus were any more rational than Mel Kiper Jr.

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Apparently, at some point, and I am not sure when this happened exactly, and new position came about in football called "edge rusher" or, more simply, "edge."  That being the case, I suggest that the NFL call this guy in to host next year's Draft festivities.