SI:AM | Grading the First Round of the NFL Draft

Plus, two big trades that rocked the first round.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I haven’t been this excited about the Giants in a while.

In today’s SI:AM:

🏈 The defense-heavy NFL draft

🎶 Another early exit for the Jazz

⚽ The NWSL’s 10th anniversary

Will the Jaguars’ gamble pay off?

The first two picks of the first round of the NFL draft last night went as many expected them to. Georgia’s Travon Walker went first to the Jaguars, who had been rumored to be targeting him for the past week or so, allowing the Lions to take a hometown product many considered to be the best player available, Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson. After that, the moves were more unpredictable.

But while the names coming off the board may have been a surprise, the larger themes of the draft were consistent with what experts had been predicting all along: Defense ruled the night, and the quarterbacks fell.

The first five picks were all defenders, the first time that has happened since 1991, when the draft opened with six picks on defense. Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr wrote last week about why pass rushers would be a point of emphasis, and the league’s GMs proved him right. Hutchinson and Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux (who went to the Giants at No. 5) were hyped as two of the top prospects in the draft. Kevin Hanson gave Detroit an A+ for the Hutchinson pick, not just because of his talent but because he fills a need for a team that struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks last year. He also gave the Giants an A for picking Thibodeaux, writing that “double-digit sacks should become the norm for Thibodeaux relatively early in his NFL career.”

But what about Walker at No. 1? That’s more of a gamble. While Hutchinson’s and Thibodeaux’s college production made them safe choices at the top of the draft, Jacksonville is betting on Walker to take a leap once he gets to the NFL. He’s a stout run defender but had only 9.5 sacks in three college seasons. The Jags are hoping that his raw physical tools (a 4.51 40-yard dash at 272 pounds and the longest arms of any edge rusher likely to be drafted this year) can translate into better pass-rush success, but that’s not a guarantee. That’s why Hanson gave Jacksonville a B- for the pick. (See Hanson’s full first-round grades here.)

Two other position groups went in bunches in the first half of the round: offensive tackles (three between the sixth and ninth picks) and wide receivers (four between eighth and 12th picks). But let’s turn our attention to the quarterbacks, because everyone always wants to know about the quarterbacks.

This year’s QB class was widely regarded as a weak one, so it wasn’t a surprise that we had to wait until the back half of the round for one to be taken. Still, it was a bit of a surprise that only one (Pitt’s Kenny Pickett) was chosen. Pickett gets to stay in Pittsburgh after the Steelers took him at No. 20. They were also rumored to be interested in Liberty’s Malik Willis but went with Pickett after the Saints, another QB-needy team, took receiver Chris Olave and offensive tackle Trevor Penning with their two picks ahead of the Steelers.

That leaves Willis still on the board as Rounds 2 and 3 begin tonight. Hanson ranks Willis as the third-best player available right now. First on that list is another surprising first-round snub: Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean. He was a terror in college but is a bit undersized (5'11", 229 pounds), which is probably why he’s fallen this far. He won’t have to wait long to hear his name called as the draft restarts tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.

The best of Sports Illustrated

As the NWSL prepares to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Emma Baccellieri zeroes in on one team in today’s Daily Cover: the Washington Spirit, who won the championship last season amid chaos off the field.

Conor Orr wrote more about the draft than any person should, so I’ll just link to his author page instead of one individual post. … Rohan Nadkarni argues that the Jazz don’t need to tear down and rebuild after being eliminated by the Mavericks. … Chris Herring diagnoses what the Bulls need to do this offseason to take the next step. … Molly Geary spoke with some of the only players who remain in the NWSL from its inaugural season to illustrate how far the league has come in 10 years.

Around the Sports World

The other big news to emerge during the draft was a pair of trades for wide receivers: The Eagles got A.J. Brown and the Cardinals got Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. … Travon Walker was reportedly involved in a “serious” car accident at some point before the draft. … Even without Nakobe Dean, Georgia’s defense set a record with five players going in the first round. … Miami basketball player Isaiah Wong is threatening to transfer if he doesn’t get a bigger NIL payment. … Khris Middleton will reportedly miss the Bucks’ second-round series against the Celtics.

The top five...

… moments from last night’s first round

5. Chris Olave’s dad’s suit and hat combo

4. Lamar Jackson’s reaction to the Ravens’ trading his No. 2 target

3. Make-A-Wish kid Sam Prince’s unbridled enthusiasm while announcing the Giants’ first pick

2. Utah’s Devin Lloyd lifting Roger Goodell off the ground after being picked by the Jaguars

1. Kenny Pickett’s emotional reaction to learning he’s staying in Pittsburgh

SIQ

When was the last time two defensive players were taken with the top two picks in the NFL draft? (Caveat: before 2022, when five defenders were taken to start the draft.)

Yesterday’s SIQ: From 2000 to ’21, which draft saw the most picks go by without a quarterback being selected?

Answer: 2000. Chad Pennington went 18th to the Jets. Tom Brady went 199th to the Patriots. Only three quarterbacks were taken in the first four rounds of the draft that year: Pennington and third-round picks Giovanni Carmazzi and Chris Redman.

Last night’s first round surpassed that record, with Pitt’s Kenny Pickett falling to No. 20.

The latest the first quarterback came off the board was in 1997, when Jim Druckenmiller went 27th to the 49ers. That draft produced just one consistent NFL starter—Jake Plummer, who was picked by the Cardinals in the second round. The only players from the ’97 draft who went on to attempt more than 200 passes were Plummer, Koy Detmer and Danny Weurfel.

A draft like this year’s where quarterbacks fall is rare. Since 2000, QBs have been selected first 16 times. The only other recent draft like the ’00 one was ’13, when Florida State’s E.J. Manuel was the first quarterback taken at No. 16 by the Bills. Geno Smith went to the Jets in the second round and Mike Glennon to the Buccaneers in the third before a run of QBs in the fourth round.

From the Vault: April 28, 1969

Sheedy & Long

Did Elgin Baylor and Jerry West know this photo was being taken? West looks like he’s taking a mugshot, and I don’t know why Baylor’s mouth is half open. Excellent photography has been a hallmark of Sports Illustrated since 1954, but this cover just feels awkward.

The strange thing about the photo is that it was shot by two of SI’s favorite outside photographers of the late 1960s. The Southern California–based duo of Jack Sheedy and George Long had an unusual partnership, always sharing photo credits (as “Sheedy & Long”) and taking assignments interchangeably. It made things a little confusing for George Bloodgood, SI’s picture editor at the time, as Garry Valk wrote in the publisher’s letter in the March 24, 1969, issue of the magazine:

“[E]nter Bloodgood, sprinting into his office from a planning session. ‘Get me Sheedy and Long,’ he barks to his secretary. The phone rings. ‘Did you say Sheedy Ann Long?’ says the operator. ‘She....’

‘No,’ says Bloodgood, patiently. ‘It’s Sheedy and Long.’ In Los Angeles the girl comes on and says, ‘Sheedy and Long. You want Mr. Sheedy or Mr....’ ‘Well, which one is in?’ says Bloodgood. ‘I'll put him on,’ she says. Pause. ‘Hello, Jack? Err, uhh, George? Who is this?’ says Bloodgood. And from the other end comes a sigh; they have been through it all before. ‘Does it matter?’ the voice says. ‘We're interchangeable. Some days I'm Sheedy and some days I'll be Long.’

Bloodgood didn’t really care which man he got to take the photos. When SI called the men’s office in 1965 to get Sheedy to photograph Senator Robert Kennedy on the first ascent of the mountain in Canada named after his brother John, Long answered and accepted the assignment instead. According to Valk, Long was on the road “minutes later … after stopping at a store to buy a jacket and scarf.” Long went all the way from Los Angeles to the Yukon-Alaska border, and only one of his photos made it into the magazine: a black-and-white shot of the climbing party from a distance.

Sheedy & Long shot nine SI covers between March 1968 and March ’69. In the issue that Valk’s letter appeared in, they had a four-page spread of photos of the annual raft parade on McKenzie River in Oregon. Those pictures turned out a lot better than the one of West and Baylor.

Check out more of SI’s archives and historic images at vault.si.com.