Calvin Jahnke

2014 NFL Draft

This years draft was the 79
th
in the National Football Leagues long tradition of teams
selecting their players for the upcoming season. Officially titled the NFL Players Selection
Meeting, the draft is usually held in late April, but was postponed due to a scheduling conflict
at Radio City Music Hall, where the event was held. As per usual, the team with the worst
record had the first pick. From there, the team with the second worst record had the next pick.
This pattern continued through seven rounds. In addition to this procedure, teams can also
trade their slots throughout the year for other players from different teams.
The first team to pick was the Houston Texans. They selected Jadeveon Clowney, a
heavy favorite to be picked first in the draft. Originally from South Carolina, he stayed in his
home state for college, attending the University of South Carolina and playing defensive end.
He broke records including quarterback sacks with 13 and tackles for a loss with 23.5 per year.
ESPN called him one of those rare game-changers on defense, an attribute that surely helped
his selection by the Texans.
College players can also leave college early in order to enter the National Football
League. This year, 98 underclassmen did this, setting a new record. 14 of these were even
drafted in the first round alone. The Southeastern Conference had the most first round
selections with 11, in addition to the first two overall picks. For the first time since 1937, there
were no players from the Texas Longhorn selected.