Philadelphia widely had been reported to be the favorite to land the draft, which had been held in Chicago. On Wednesday, ESPN reported that Philly officially will be named the draft host for 2017 on Thursday. The league has not made it official yet.
 | @AdamSchefter | |
Back in April, ESPN reported Philly was the leading contender to host the 2017 draft. On Thursday, it will become official. Philly, 2017.
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What we suspect: Philadelphia Eagles fans had better get comfortable and buy tickets for the second day, too. The Eagles traded their 2017 first-rounder to the Tennessee Titans in the Carson Wentz trade. So barring further dealing from the Eagles, they are on the outside looking in for Day 1.
Assuming the league does not change the format next year, Round 1 will happen on Thursday, April 27. Round 2 follows on Friday, April 28 and then Rounds 4 through 7 will finish up on Saturday, August 28.
By and large, the Chicago experience was a good one, with Grant Park (which was across the street from the Auditorium Theatre, where the picks were first announced) serving as a terrific bridge — aka, “Draft Town” — between the fans and the draft atmosphere.
It’s not known if Philadelphia will follow suit with an indoor-outdoor experience as well. The venue, or venues, is not yet known.
New York hosted the draft annually for 50 years straight, from 1964 to 2014. Prior to that, it was moved around to various cities — and in fact, Philadelphia (once home to the NFL offices) has hosted the second-most NFL drafts to New York, with 16.
But the last time it was there, in 1961, the draft was held at the Warwick Hotel. The hotel still stands, and it boasts of “more than 17,000 square feet of meeting space,” but we suspect the league’s nostalgia and desire to return there are, um, limited. (Trivia: Seven future Hall of Famers were taken in that draft — Fran Tarkenton, Bob Lilly, Herb Adderley, Jimmy Johnson, Deacon Jones, Billy Shaw and Mike Ditka.)
Incredibly early candidates for the No. 1 pick include Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett, Alabama left tackle Cam Robinson and Miami (Fla.) quarterback Brad Kaaya. Trust us — this list will change.
Penn State junior wide receiver Chris Godwin, who was born in Philadelphia, is a player on the rise who could be a high-round pick in the spring if he declares early.
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