· Follow the first round of the NFL Draft as it unfolds
· Share your take on Twitter @Paolo_Bandini
· Or email paolo.bandini.freelance@theguardian.com
· Want to ask a Jacksonville Jaguar a question? Do it here
7.51pm ET
So, what about Houston, then? Will they trade down from No1? At this rate, probably not. They've definitely been trying, but the price for trading up to that spot has grown so high in recent years as to make it really quite hard to justify. Washington gave up three year's worth of first-rounders, as well as another second-round pick, just to move up from No6 to No2 in 2012.
The move allowed them to select Robert Griffin III, a move that many might still consider to have been worthwhile, despite this difficult last year. But I'm not sure there are any players at the top of this draft who inspire quite that level of desperation.
7.48pm ET
Our first tweet of the evening comes from my colleague Hunter Felt.
For the tenth straight year, my first and only prediction tonight for the NFL Draft is that the Patriots will trade down. @Paolo_Bandini
7.45pm ET
While I have your attention, let me take this opportunity to tell you about the live chat we'll be having with two Jacksonville Jaguars players on Monday. Johnathan Cyprien and Dwayne Gratz will be online from 2.30pm BST (9.30am EDT), to answer your questions about life in the NFL. And you can start posting your questions for them right here.
7.40pm ET
Has anyone seen that Draft Day movie, by the way? Is it as bad as I imagine it is?
7.38pm ET
No fewer than 30 aspiring NFL players have been invited to attend this year's Draft, so we can all look forward to the awkward sight of at least one or two optimistic young men in brand new tailored suits dying inside as they slide painfully down the order.
They're being introduced right now on stage at Radio City Music Hall to a backdrop of cheesy house music. A little disappointed by the lack of fist pumping right now.
7.36pm ET
So, who will be the No1 pick? Where will Manziel wind up? How exactly will Jerry Jones ruin things for Dallas this year?
I made my predictions in this first-round mock draft, but you can tell me yours by email at paolo.bandini.freelance@theguardian.com, on twitter @Paolo_Bandini, or by posting them in the comments section below.
7.25pm ET
Remember when the NFL Draft wasnt really that much of a big deal? No, us neither. But that time did exist, and in the grand scheme of things it was not even all that long ago. The first time that ESPN pitched the idea of televising the Draft back in 1979, their proposal was voted down by team owners on a unanimous verdict of 28 to none.
Who, after all, would even want to watch? On the surface the Draft is actually pretty boring, a group of middle-aged men in suits taking turns to walk to the front of a hall and hand over a sheet of paper to a similarly attired colleague, who then reads out the name that they have written down.
Continue reading... Reported by guardian.co.uk 5 hours ago.
· Share your take on Twitter @Paolo_Bandini
· Or email paolo.bandini.freelance@theguardian.com
· Want to ask a Jacksonville Jaguar a question? Do it here
7.51pm ET
So, what about Houston, then? Will they trade down from No1? At this rate, probably not. They've definitely been trying, but the price for trading up to that spot has grown so high in recent years as to make it really quite hard to justify. Washington gave up three year's worth of first-rounders, as well as another second-round pick, just to move up from No6 to No2 in 2012.
The move allowed them to select Robert Griffin III, a move that many might still consider to have been worthwhile, despite this difficult last year. But I'm not sure there are any players at the top of this draft who inspire quite that level of desperation.
7.48pm ET
Our first tweet of the evening comes from my colleague Hunter Felt.
For the tenth straight year, my first and only prediction tonight for the NFL Draft is that the Patriots will trade down. @Paolo_Bandini
7.45pm ET
While I have your attention, let me take this opportunity to tell you about the live chat we'll be having with two Jacksonville Jaguars players on Monday. Johnathan Cyprien and Dwayne Gratz will be online from 2.30pm BST (9.30am EDT), to answer your questions about life in the NFL. And you can start posting your questions for them right here.
7.40pm ET
Has anyone seen that Draft Day movie, by the way? Is it as bad as I imagine it is?
7.38pm ET
No fewer than 30 aspiring NFL players have been invited to attend this year's Draft, so we can all look forward to the awkward sight of at least one or two optimistic young men in brand new tailored suits dying inside as they slide painfully down the order.
They're being introduced right now on stage at Radio City Music Hall to a backdrop of cheesy house music. A little disappointed by the lack of fist pumping right now.
7.36pm ET
So, who will be the No1 pick? Where will Manziel wind up? How exactly will Jerry Jones ruin things for Dallas this year?
I made my predictions in this first-round mock draft, but you can tell me yours by email at paolo.bandini.freelance@theguardian.com, on twitter @Paolo_Bandini, or by posting them in the comments section below.
7.25pm ET
Remember when the NFL Draft wasnt really that much of a big deal? No, us neither. But that time did exist, and in the grand scheme of things it was not even all that long ago. The first time that ESPN pitched the idea of televising the Draft back in 1979, their proposal was voted down by team owners on a unanimous verdict of 28 to none.
Who, after all, would even want to watch? On the surface the Draft is actually pretty boring, a group of middle-aged men in suits taking turns to walk to the front of a hall and hand over a sheet of paper to a similarly attired colleague, who then reads out the name that they have written down.
Continue reading... Reported by guardian.co.uk 5 hours ago.