The National Football League (NFL) draft took place in Pittsburgh, Pa. from April 23 to  25, where each team had seven rounds to select college players to acquire new prospective players, bolstering their rosters

A total of 257 players were drafted after trades, discussions and surprises. Around 805,000 fans from around the country attended the draft, breaking the record for in-person attendance, while 13.2 million fans tuned in on television for the first round.

The first round of the draft began on April 23 with the Las Vegas Raiders choosing former Indiana University Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first pick. The selection of the Heisman Trophy winner came as “no surprise.” The draft continued with the New York Jets selecting Texas Tech University edge rusher David Bailey. With the third pick, the Arizona Cardinals selected University of Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. The Tennessee Titans selected Ohio State University wide receiver Carnell Tate and the New York Giants selected Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese to round out the top five.

Other notable moves in the first round came from trades and surprise picks. The Kansas City Chiefs traded later picks with the Cleveland Browns to get an earlier pick, with which they selected Louisiana State University cornerback Mansoor Delane, while the Dallas Cowboys did the same with the Miami Dolphins to secure Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. Downs was described by many as “perfect” for the Cowboys’ defense, but often regarded as out of their reach in mock drafts, leading people to call the pick a “steal.” 

A notable controversial pick in the first round was the Los Angeles Rams selection of University of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who was expected to be picked later in the draft. Another similar pick was the Cardinals’ early selection of Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick. Choosing a running back early in the draft is generally disrecommended and considered foolish because of the nature of the position. Love also received a record-setting contract before ever playing an NFL game, leading to criticism of the Cardinals’ decisions, especially because they are a rebuilding team that does not need to spend big money on a player whom they will not be able to use effectively.

On the other hand, University of Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy fell to the fourth round of the draft due to injury concerns in his knee despite being regarded as a potential first-round talent. Louisiana State University quarterback Garrett Nussmeier also fell to the seventh round after concerns about health, performance and accountability.

Matthew Feeler, the school’s Introduction to Business and Marketing teacher and varsity football defensive coordinator, shared his thoughts on the draft.

“I think it was really cool to see [Mendoza] go number one overall,” Feeler said. “I think that’s the right guy. I think he has the right attitude and has carried himself with the right character throughout the whole process.”

Coming from a coaching background, the draft was a special event for Feeler because he had worked with drafted players and got to see them make it to the next level.

“I was really watching [University of] Oregon,” Feeler said. “I … worked at the Oregon strength and conditioning program … My guys, a couple of them got drafted. Most notably … I got to work with [safety] Dillon Thieneman pretty closely with his group, and seeing him get drafted in the first round was really, really cool.”

Cosmo Fornaro (10), a Chicago Bears fan, shared his thoughts on the Bears’ selection of Thieneman and their draft picks overall.

“I think the Bears did pretty well,” Fornaro said. “Thieneman definitely fell a lot, so we were really lucky to get to choose him, I think he’s going to be a great addition to the team. Our other picks were solid … I think [the Bears] can definitely build off of this. We already have a solid team, solid draft picks from last year, so this year we can keep improving, especially on the defensive side.”

Fornaro added that he was confused by the Rams’ early selection of Simpson.

“I guess the Rams have a reason,” Fornaro said. “In case [quarterback] Matthew Stafford gets injured, but I don’t think Simpson should have gone that high. He should have gone to a team that really needed a quarterback.”

Sebastian Iniguez (11), a Seahawks fan and a defensive end on the varsity football team, said the Simpson selection was “pretty funny.”

“I thought the Seahawks addressed the running back need pretty well,” Iniguez said. “I saw a lot of people saying that [Notre Dame running back] Jadarian Prince was not a good pick and that [the Seahawks] reached for a backup running back, but Jadarian Prince would have probably been one of the best running backs at any other school if he hadn’t been playing behind Jeremiyah Love.” 

Iniguez is “just hoping the Seahawks end up doing pretty well.”