The 90th NFL Draft is April 24-26 and we will again see 32 players drafted in the first round —   lives will change and dreams will come true.  All of the players drafted in the first round will receive a phone call that will make all their hard work worth it.  But some people who are projected to be drafted in the first round won’t.

For example, Will Levis was a projected top-10 pick in the 2023 draft and slid all the way to the second round.  Dalton Wagner, from Spring Grove, now an offensive tackle for the Raiders explained the painful experience of waiting to be drafted.

“Honestly it sucks. You do get to a point where you’re like I don’t care where I go I just want to hang out with my family and chill out,” Wagner said. He had to wait till the 7th round to be drafted.

He also talked about the tension on  Pro Day at Arkansas University.

“There is nothing like it everybody is competing to get the opportunity to change their lives,”  Wagner said. “We’re still teammates so every time somebody was going through the drills we were rooting for them.”

But let’s focus on the big dogs of this year’s draft.  This is how the first ten picks will go:

1. Titans-Abdul Carter

The Titans will not make the same mistake twice and reach for a QB.  They’re going to take the best player in the draft who can have an immediate impact for their team.  Many people have compared Abdul to Micah Parsons who was also a Nittany Lion.

2. Browns-Cam Ward

The Cleveland Browns are desperate to find a QB for their franchise and desperate times call for desperate measures, so arguably they will reach on a QB.  Although prospect rank-wise it is a reach, it is the right pick for the Browns.

3. Giants-Shedeur Sanders

Just like the Browns, desperate times mean desperate measures — the Giants have not had a good QB in  five-plus years. After just releasing Daniel Jones after a bad start last year, they will take Sanders with the 3rd overall pick hoping to end their QB drought.

4. Patriots-Will Campbell

The Patriots have their guy at QB,  and they need to protect him at all costs.  Drake Maye who wasn’t even at QB for the whole year, was sacked a number of times which is not what you want. So they will take the best offensive linemen in the draft.

5. Jaguars-Travis Hunter

The Jaguars will take the Shohei Ohtani of football. Hunter plays offense and defense and he can do them well.  He was projected the number one pick in the draft a while ago but as the order changed he kept going down and ever since the combine,  in which he did not participate, he sunk, so the Jags get a steal at 5.

6. Raiders-Ashton Jeanty

With the trade for Geno Smith, they don’t need a QB, though they have other holes to fill. So they will grab the best running back prospect of the last ten years in Jeanty.  He was supposed to win the Heisman,  but he came up short to Travis Hunter, who will be picked just before Jeanty.  But the Raiders still have an instant-impact guy in Jeanty.

7. Jets-Tyler Warren

The Jets need to get Justin Fields some help.  The offensive line could be worse, so they don’t need to prioritize that line much with their first pick.  Also with Fields’ athleticism, he will be able to keep the sack numbers down.  So they will take Tyler Warren.  If you look back at Fields’ time with Chicago,  tight end Cole Kmet had his best years with Fields at QB. He utilizes his tight ends a lot, and Warren is a perfect fit.

8. Panthers-Mason Graham

The Panthers already have a powerful DT in Derrick Brown,  but this would solidify the defensive line because Graham is super versatile and can play anywhere on the D-line.  He is the best DT in the draft and the Panthers gave up 3,000 yards last year,  they need some help.

9. Saints-Malaki Starks

Starks is one of the better safety prospects in the last ten years.  He is a hard-hitting safety on the Georgia Bulldog defense.  He is a smart player he played well in the playoff games this year,  not allowing a single completion in those playoffs.  The Saints need some youth on that defense as well, everyone is getting old and they need to freshen up a bit with this pick.

10. Bears-Kelvin Banks Jr.

Even though the Bears have put much money into the offensive line,  they will take another player to solidify one of the best O-lines in the league.  This would make their O-line one of the top five paid in the league.  To be good in this league you need to have a good O-line and that is just the truth. They have the QB,  let’s see if they can make that big jump to next year.