NFL Draft Picks Hold Some Surprises

The 2012 NFL Draft was 26-28 April. For those who do not know what the draft is, it is where NFL teams pick college football players to play for their football teams.

“So, basically the NFL Draft is the second best thing to the actual NFL season because I get to see the new up-and-coming rookies going into the NFL,” FAHS senior and Steelers fan Gabby Starks said. “The Steelers’ picks were good but not what I was hoping for. I was hoping for the more wide receivers/running backs. Overall, all of the draft picks were good.”

The Indianapolis Colts had the first pick in the draft. Their 2011 season was pitiful with a record of 2-14. Part of the reason was Peyton Manning was not playing.  With Manning making the move to Denver, the Colts were in desperate need of a quarterback.

With their number one pick, the Colts chose Andrew Luck. Luck was the quarterback at Stanford for three years. He is a very talented player and has won many awards, broken records, and come in second in the Heisman voting twice, in 2010 and 2011.

The luckiest player selected was this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick of the draft, Chandler Harnish. Harnish was the quarterback at Northern Illinois for four years.

According to NFL.com, Harnish was the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the leading rushing quarterback in the country in 2011. He was also drafted by the Colts.

Although there were only 253 players drafted, many other college football players have been given a chance to play in the NFL as undrafted free agents. One player who is most likely to succeed is Derek Moye. He played four years as a wide receiver at Penn State. He is very talented player who did not have the best senior year due to the quarterback situation and a broken foot, but he managed a career record of 144 receptions, 2,395 yards, and 18 touchdowns. The dolphins snatched him up right after the draft.

The NFL season kicks off on 5 September. Look for these players to prove they belong in the NFL.