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NFL Draft

Jaguars Ready to Rock with Lawrence

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CLEVELAND – The Jacksonville Jaguars made it official last night when the 2021 NFL Draft started to Rock n’ Roll in the City of the Rock Hall of Fame. The Jags selected Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick of the annual college draft.

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The 6-foot-6 Lawrence is the team’s first choice under new head coach Urban Meyer and immediately is expected to make an impact as a starter.

Lawrence, the Heisman Trophy runner-up went (34-2) as a starter at Clemson and led the Tigers to the national championship as a freshman in 2018. He passed for 10,098 yards, 90 touchdowns with only 17 interceptions. He also ran for 18 touchdowns.

Lawrence was the first of five quarterbacks selected in Round 1. Immediately following his selection at No. 1 overall, the New York Jets – after their dismal 2-14 2020 season – picked BYU QB Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall choice. The San Francisco 49ers moved up to No. 3 via trade and selected QB Trey Lance of North Dakota State while the Chicago Bears grabbed Ohio State QB Justin Fields at No. 11 overall, four picks before New England closed-out the rush on quarterback selections when they picked Mac Jones of Alabama.

NFL Draft: A Return to Normalcy & Uncertainty

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CLEVELAND – Although it seems like a century ago, it was just a year back when we were welcomed into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s basement man-cave to watch the NFL Draft unfold pick-by-pick. The surreal feeling of disconnection to the normal man-hugs and NFL Draft-niks reaction was lost to the pandemic we were just beginning to understand.

Tonight?

It’ll be like Mardi Gras in Cleveland, if that would ever be a thing.

NFL Draft pundits are predicting a quarterback class like none other. The focus on the more well-known position of QB could shift a more deserved spotlight away from the amazing Alabama Crimson Tide football program when the 2021 NFL Draft begins tonight.

The defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide Class of 2021 (and their young peers) will challenge the record for first-round picks in a single year. ‘Bama Quarterback Mac Jones, Heisman Trophy winner in WR DeVonta Smith,  his fellow WR Jaylen Waddle and RB Najee Harris lead the talented departing crew of Alabama Coach Nick Saban‘s vast resourced expected to be gobbled-up by NFL player personnel departments from Miami to Seattle.  All will be among the first-rounders.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have the No. 1 overall pick and awaiting for selection are five quarterbacks projected to be selected in the top half of the first round. The Jags seem set on Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, but Zach Wilson (BYU), Alabama’s Jones, Trey Lance (North Dakota State) and Justin Fields (Ohio State) are likely to be part of a record QB haul in Round one.

If the Jaguars select Lawrence first overall, he’ll be the 26th quarterback to go No. 1 since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Quarterbacks have gone first each of the past three drafts and Lawrence is listed as a -10000 favorite to go No. 1 and make it four in a row. Only twice in NFL draft history quarterbacks have gone 1-2-3, most recently in 1999 when Tim Couch (Browns), Donovan McNabb (Eagles) and Akili Smith (Bengals) were the top players drafted.

Only one time in draft history (2018), were four quarterbacks selected in the top 10, and never with picks 1-4. The Falcons hold the fourth overall pick and choosing an heir apparent to Matt Ryan is under consideration. That No. 4 overall pick is the crossroad of the 2021 NFL Draft as Atlanta could trade down and gather additional picks by dealing the No. 4 pick to a QB-needy team such as the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos or Chicago Bears.

The Patriots lost Tom Brady and his Super Bowl winning ways to reigning NFL champion Tampa Bay and Brady’s replacement in New England, Cam Newton, didn’t pan-out to be a playoff-bound QB for Bill Belichick and the Pats.

The record for quarterbacks drafted in the first round is six, set in 1983 with a class of John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien. Of course, the poor New York Jets came away with O’Brien that year.

Those same J-E-T-S will be selecting at No. 2 this season and they recently dealt their “franchise QB” of the 2018 NFL Draft, Sam Darnold, to the Carolina Panthers who are coming off a QB trade of their own, having dealt Teddy Bridgewater to Denver on April 28.

To say uncertainty is the name of the NFL Draft in 2021 is an understatement for all draft.

 

VKTRY Worn by 100+ NFL Prospects

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MILFORD, CT – (Official News Release) – VKTRY GEAR recently announced that a record number of NFL top prospects will be wearing their carbon fiber insoles as they go through their on campus Pro Days in the coming weeks. The NFL Combine has moved from Indianapolis to local workouts due to COVID 19 restrictions. Over 100 prospects from more than 60 schools will be wearing VKTRY Insoles in this critical stage of career preparation.

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“Many of our relationships with NFL stars began at the Combine where athletes experience +9.3% added explosiveness from their VKs,” said VKTRY CEO Steve Wasik. “Most athletes see significant improvements in the broad jump, the vertical jump and their time in the 40. They really feel the difference and understand how VKTRY Insoles can help them get an edge both at the Combine and on the playing field. Athletes also appreciate the improved injury protection with VKs, recently proven by one of the top athletic research facilities in the world, the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut.”

Amongst those athletes using VKTRY Insoles for their Pro days are projected first round picks: Alabama Running Back Najee Harris, Florida TE Kyle Pitts, Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley, Miami DL Gregory Rosseau, Miami DE Jaelen Phillips, and LSU WR Terrace Marshall. Players from every Power Five Conference will be using VKTRY Gear for the first time during their Pro Days.

Made from aerospace-grade carbon fiber, VKTRY Insoles store and return energy to the athlete. They also provide a “spring-like” effect to improve shock absorption and reduce the load and stress on the athlete’s body. In independent performance testing, athletes wearing VKs increased their broad jump by an average of +4.0”, their vert by +1.6” and improved their 40 times by 0.12 seconds.

VKTRY was created and founded by Matt Arciuolo, Certified Pedorthist for the USA Olympic Bobsled and Skeleton teams. The product design evolved following the Olympics and Arciuolo received a product patent in 2015.