Jadeveon Clowney goes #1 overall, local product Tom Savage selected.
Every year, college football players enter the NFL Draft in hopes of making their lifelong dreams a reality. With 32 teams and 7 rounds, 256 players get drafted by the end of the process. There was an air of excitement around the first pick in this year’s draft, as charismatic players like Johnny Manziel, Jadeveon Clowney, and AJ McCarron were all in the mix.
The Houston Texans had the first pick, and they chose South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. After a monster junior season, Clowney had a somewhat underwhelming senior year after having such high expectations going into the year. What will happen with Clowney’s pro career? Will he pan out and turn into a star? Or will he follow the path of other #1 draft picks like Jamarcus Russell and turn out to be a bust?
In other news, local product Tom Savage was also selected in the 4th round by the Texans. Savage, a quarterback, went to Cardinal O’Hara High School. His college career was unusual, as coaching changes led him to three schools, from Rutgers, to Arizona, and finally to Pitt. Savage has the opportunity to compete for a wide open Texans quarterback spot.
Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M fell to the 22nd spot, where he was picked by the Cleveland Browns. Manziel was projected at #1 on some boards, but character and maturity questions caused him to fall down. Manziel has been announced as the backup, but will certainly do his best to push incumbent starter Brian Hoyer, who started off hot but missed much of last year with injury.
In the last round of the draft, Missouri Defensive End Michael Sam was drafted at #249 overall by the Saint Louis Rams. Sam is the first openly gay player to be drafted into the league. As the draft went on, speculation began to emerge that Sam would go undrafted. However, the Rams selected Sam towards the end of the seventh round.
What players in this draft will go on to become the next Peyton Manning, the next Ray Lewis? With an abundance of talent in this draft much like every year, only time will tell which young players will find themselves among the NFL’s greats.
