With months till the 2016-2017 season, football fans and critics alike have April as their season of hope. In just a few weeks, the National Football League will be holding their annual draft day where fans from every team can rejoice at the future game changer and Hall of Famer who will be cultivating the entire franchise of their team. While many can question the true importance of the player, we have to understand the significance this gives to the real people that matter… the fans.
As stated in the beginning, the draft in itself is the entity of hope. It is the opportunity for various teams, regardless of their success or failures last season, to overcome their challenges with new and exciting prospects. In their eyes, this new young buck is the missing piece to the puzzle for Super Bowl glory. While it can be foolish to think one person can make a difference, let’s look back at history.
During the 2000 NFL Draft, the 199th pick in the 6th ground Tom Brady has been said to this day to be the best NFL draft pick of all time. While some people can question this, all you have to do is look at the man’s accolades and accomplishments. The records and trophies speak for themselves. In fact, throughout any sport, we have seen instances of that one player that have sparked and ignited not just the team, but also an entire city. For baseball, they had players like Derek Jeter or Tim Lincecum to answer the call for the World Series. The basketball, they had Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and now, Stephen Curry to shock the world. For football, well that question is just going to have to wait till the end of April.
Now, while we may not know who is going to be the next Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, college football analysis have pinpointed some great quarterback prospects. The first up is the one and only Jared Goff, an American football quarterback playing for the California Golden Bears. Already being courted by the Cleveland Browns, Goff has shows tremendous potential and talent that can be assimilated to the big leagues. Next up is Mr. Paxton Lynch, the Memphis Tigers starting quarterback. While struggling earlier in his collegiate career, Paxton was able to cultivate and revamp his game from throwing just nine touchdowns his freshman year to exploding on the national scene after leading the Tigers to an 8-0 start. Last but not least, we have Carson Wentz, the North Dakota Sate Bison starting quarterback. During his fifth and final year with the Bisons, Carson was able to finish with a career-high 335 passing yards. In addition, he was able to end on a high note by leading his team to their fifth straight FCS National Championship, running for two touchdowns and throwing for a third.
While it still may be early to see the caliber and contribution these three could potentially play in the big leagues, it is great to believe the impact they can make in changing the any team for the better.