The broadcast of the Draft becomes a bit of an event in of itself. In some aspects, the little things of the Draft deserve awards of their own.
The NFL Draft is a long event. Just this Thursday night alone, the entire spectacle boiled down to a man taking almost four hours to read 32 names while getting booed.
Because of this, the broadcast of the Draft becomes a bit of an event in of itself. Whether it’s one fascinating storyline, something strange going into the background or the infamous “player left in the green room,” there always something more going on. In many cases, they start to take the attention away from the actual football operations. Plus, who are we to withhold the credit that these elements deserve? In some aspects, they deserve awards of their own.
With that in mind, here’s our list of the NFL Draft Day 1 Superlatives
“The Rob Gronkowski/Aaron Hernandez Steal of the Day Award”
Winner: Jarvis Jones, Pittsburgh Steelers
Let’s be clear, we have no clue who’s going to be a true steal. However, there are certain instances that may you go: “They got THAT guy, THERE?” This was the case with the Pats threats at tight end. They didn’t fit a need, but they were too great a value to pass up.
The addition of Jones to a well-coached Steelers defense is a scary prospect for AFC opponents. Sure, he didn't test well in pre-draft workouts, but neither did the recently departed James Harrison. It's possible that the Steelers had their next great defender fall into their laps.
“The Sebastian Janikowski Reach of the Day Award”
Winner: E.J. Manuel, Buffalo Bills
No one truly knows how good a career a player will have. That’s why this isn’t called the Ryan Leaf/JaMarcus Russell Award. However, it’s pretty obvious when a team could have traded down or waited a round to pick a player.
Not too long ago, Manuel was projected as a Day 3 pick. Now, he's the only quarterback to be selected in the first round. He may end up being with the selection, but he definitely elicited the biggest "huh?" response from viewers.
“The Aaron Rodgers Award for Getting Stranded in the Green Room”
Winner: Geno Smith
While this award could also go to former Notre Dame star Brady Quinn, it is Rodgers that will be most remembered for being left to dry on draft day. Of course, he then went on to prove every team that passed on him wrong.
It’s only fitting that this award goes to a quarterback, especially one who was still expected to be in play in the top three. Compounding the comparisons between Smith and Rodgers’ falls is that fact that, around pick 25, Rodgers sent a tweet to the WVU product that read “Hang in there Geno, ‘good things come to those who wait’ - Paul Tagliabue.”
“The Julio Jones/Robert Griffin III Trade of the Day Award”
Winner: St. Louis Rams
Sometimes, a player is just worth it. In the cases of Jones and RG3, that was pretty apparent. While time will tell whether this pick was a good one or not. It sure looks great right now.
The overall theme in this draft was that there were no explosive playmakers, except for Tavon Austin. For a while, he'd been discounted for being too small, but teams have apparently wizened up to the whole size things (See: Welker, Wes). Now, the Rams have what is likely to be the top receiving threat from this draft to help out quarterback Sam Bradford.
“The Al Davis Memorial ‘40-Chaser’ Award”
Winner: Oakland Raiders
Before it became a recurring punchline during the draft, the former Raiders GM/owner’s emphasis on speed and the vertical passing game was revolutionary and led to great success in Oakland. With that in mind, there’s always someone who falls in love with a 40-time.
The Raiders have moved on from the days of selected the Fabian Washingtons and Darius Heyward-Beys of the world. However, that didn't stop them from chasing a player with a solid 40-time that they'd fallen in love with: D.J. Hayden out of Houston. Like past years, the speedster was once considered a risky pick. However, this was lauded as a solid pick by experts and could be a sign of better things to come in Oakland.
“The Joe Thomas Weird Draft Day Activity Award”
Winner: Manti Te’o
ESPN went all out in covering the fact that eventual No. 3 pick Joe Thomas went fishing on draft day. It wasn't terribly entertaining, but it was something.
Meanwhile, the most significant draft-day activity chosen by a top prospect was probably Manti Te’o choosing to do nothing. Instead of attending the draft in New York or having a camera in his house, Te’o elected to stay out of the spotlight, which was probably the best decision for him. For ESPN and other outlets, though, there was clearly a desire to shift the narrative to one of the most controversial names in the draft, a production move made much more difficult with no camera on him during the event.