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The draft is very, very close now. It’s so close we could taste it, if we had any desire at all to do so.
The Atlanta Falcons won’t be on the clock for a few hours yet—barring a trade up, of course—but there’s plenty to discuss in the run-up. There’s rivals set to draft (the Buccaneers, in particular), players we all like who will be disappointingly snapped up by other teams, and the prospect of a great player falling all the way to #26 to entertain us. Therefore, we’ve set up this tracker to give quick analysis on selections and help those of you without access to a TV to keep up with everything going on.
Don’t forget, too, that in one hour we’ll kick off our Facebook Live draft show, where you can interact with your favorite Falcoholic personalities (those exist, I assume) and watch us make wild predictions that are proven to be wrong minutes later. Also, we’ll be drinking.
Live Updates
10:44: We’re nearly there. The best players remaining are receiver Calvin Ridley, defensive tackles Maurice Hurst and Taven Bryan, cornerbacks Mike Hughes and Isaiah Oliver, and edge rusher Harold Landry. Let’s see who they get.
10:10: Highlights: The Packers got Jaire Alexander, a dynamic if smallish cornerback who will supplement a typically awful secondary, and the Bills traded up against to get Tremaine Edmunds, one of the best players available.
9:42: The Saints traded a first next year to go get Marcus Davenport, for some reason.
9:26: And I cut off the last update because the Bucs surprised a bit, taking Vita Vea at #12. Vea’s a very good defensive tackle, but I’m not sure DT was TB’s biggest need. Still, their line is looking formidable.
9:22: Well now, what’d we miss? The Cardinals traded up to get Josh Rosen, who I think might be the best quarterback in this class, and the Dolphins got cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick.
9:01: Georgia product and excellent linebacker Roquan Smith is off to the Bears, who are building quite a squad in Chicago.
8:57: The Broncos land Bradley Chubb, the best defensive end in the class, and continue to build that dominant defense. The Colts got the class’s best guard in Quenton Nelson, an excellent pick for a team with a scuffling line. And then the Bills traded up to #7 to take Josh Allen, which felt inevitable.
8:36: Denzel Ward is a really good cornerback, but the #4 overall pick? That’s the first true surprise of the night, and the Browns are banking on Ward being great.
8:29: Fell behind! Saquon Barkley to the Giants is interesting, because the team around him is so lousy that it may limit his upside early on. Then Sam Darnold to the Jets. Darnold could be the best quarterback in this class, but he’s got issues with turnovers and will need some work to become great.
8:17: The Browns kick things off by taking Baker Mayfield #1 overall. He’s a supremely accurate, brash quarterback who seems uniquely qualified to lift the veil of failure off Cleveland. I hope he does so.