NFL Draft stuff

One of the sporting events I look forward to the most each year is the NFL Draft.

When I lived in Texas, a buddy and I competed on first-round draft picks. We would each write down our picks for the entire first round and tally them up and see how we did.

I wasn't always that good at that. But back then, when I was single and had nothing else to do, I would buy a six pack of beer and some Chinese food and watch the draft all day Saturday and all then again on Sunday.

These days, the NFL Draft starts on Thursday with Round 1 then goes to Friday for Rounds 2 and 3 and then finishes on Saturday with the final 4 rounds.

This year's draft will be even different yet because of COVID-19. It will be all virtual and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the picks, and get booed, from the comfort of his own home.

There is so much intrigue with this year's draft. How many of the QBs will get pushed up into the top 10? There are 4 elite OT and 3 elite WR. How many of them will go early?

I can guarantee this. Quarterback Joe Burrow will go No. 1 and edge rusher Chase Young will likely get picked second. Versatile defensive stud Isaiah Simmons, cornerback Jeff Okudah and defensive tackle Derrick Brown are all popular picks to go in the top 10 as well.

In my opinion, offensive linemen Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills and Mekhi Becton and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa all will be off the board early.

The run on wide receivers could come at 11-12-13 with the Jets, Raiders and 49ers. The consensus top three guys are Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III and Ceedee Lamb. The order in which draft experts and probably GMs and scouts have those three differ some.

I like Jeudy as my WR1 but it could come down to fits with each team. Ruggs' speed would be lethal in SF for Kyle Shanahan. Lamb also would help the 49ers in the red zone.

The Jets could go WR or OT depending on who is still on the board. I think the Raiders take the best WR available no matter what.

My favorite team is the 49ers. They traded DeForest Buckner for the 13th overall pick and also have pick 31 after losing in the Super Bowl. And yes, I am finally over the loss but it took longer than it should take a normal 39-year-old man.

At 13, rumors are rampant about what the Niners will do. I have thought all along that it would be either Jeudy, Ruggs or Lamb. But they might try to find Joe Staley's eventual replacement if a guy they like is there at 13. The other options would be cornerback C.J. Henderson or defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, although the latter is being mocked in the top 10 by some.

San Francisco is in a really good spot though. They can add elite talent at 13 and then trade back at 31 to obtain more picks. If they don't go WR at 13, then trading back at 31 and zeroing in on wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. would be smart. I think he is being criminally underrated in this wide receiver class.

The wide receiver position is the most intriguing of the draft. It's DEEP. There are legitimately seven guys who could be first-round picks in Jeudy, Lamb, Ruggs, Justin Jefferson, Denzel Mims, Tee Higgins and Brandon Aiyuk. Jalen Reagor, KJ Hamler, Laviska Shenault and Pittman round out the top of the class.

Anyone else get super fired up for the NFL Draft? What is your team and who do you want them to take? Who is the guy being mocked to your team that you absolutely hate.

As a sports fan living in Iowa, the Iowa Hawkeyes have been my team since I was a youngster. The Hawks should have a named called early in Wirfs, who is either OT1 or OT2 in this year's draft.

Many draft experts have mostly mocked Wirfs to the Giants at 4 or the Cardinals at 8. But he could go 9 to the Jaguars or 11 to the Jets, too. After wide receiver, the OT group is very intriguing.

Other Hawkeyes expected to hear their names somewhere in the draft are edge rusher A.J. Epenesa, safety Geno Stone, quarterback Nate Stanley and cornerback Michael Ojemudia.

Epenesa is all over the board. Going into his junior season, he was being talked about as a top 10 pick. While Wirfs improved his stock at the combine, Epenesa hurt his stock. He is now being mocked as a late first round pick and some even think he could fall out of the first round.

Put on the tape and let that be the final decision. He was nothing but productive as a pass rusher at Iowa. And his ability against the run improved, too.

Epenesa could come off the board at 23 to the Patriots, 27th to the Seahawks or 29th to the Titans. I could also see him go to the Ravens at 28 or the 49ers at 31 - if they make that pick and took a receiver at 13.

Don't expect to see Stone, Stanley or Ojemudia come off the board before Round 4. We have been surprised before but it feels like Stone and Ojemudia are fourth- or fifth-round picks and Stanley likely goes in the final two rounds if he's picked at all.

There's always a first-round surprise. Will that be Jordan Love going in the top 15 because of a trade? Will Justin Herbert fall out of the top 10? How far will Tua fall? Are teams worried about his health?

We are less than two weeks away. And because we are all stuck at home, this year might be the best draft yet. There won't be any reason to not watch now.