NFL Draft leaves us with interesting summer questions

The NFL Draft is behind us, and all the remains until the sounds of training camp are the OTAs and a weekend of mandatory minicamps in mid-June.

It feels weird to look at the calendar and not have anything pressing to write about until then. But here we are. The days of summer — and baseball — are upon us. Still, for those who love football, there are plenty of storylines to chew on over the next three months.

We saw five quarterbacks go in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. The question is how many will end up starting at any point in September? Last year, Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson and DeShone Kizer all ended playing within the first five games. Notably, Kizer and Watson played in Week 1. Only Patrick Mahomes had to wait, and he played in just Week 17.

This time around, it would be a mild shock if Josh Allen doesn’t beat out AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman to captain the Buffalo Bills right away. The other situation to watch is with the New York Jets. Sam Darnold has some competition in Teddy Bridgewater and Josh McCown. However, if Darnold dominates in the summer, he’ll get the nod.

Staying in New York, what can Saquon Barkley do for the Giants? Instead of going with a quarterback, general manager Dave Gettleman opted for Barkley, a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. Pairing him with Sterling Shepard, Odell Beckham Jr., and Evan Engram, will New York be able to get back into the playoff race after a miserable 3-13 campaign?

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In the NFC, the Green Bay Packers finally seem to have figured out the secondary. After years of not being able to defend the pass, general manager Brian Gutekunst went out and drafted Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson with Green Bay’s first two picks, all while trading back and acquiring a 2019 first-round selection from the New Orleans Saints. Aaron Rodgers should be thrilled beyond words, and the Packers now may have a chance to compete in the brutal NFC North.

Finally, who ends up coming out of nowhere to make for a great camp story? Which third-round pick ends up being this year’s Kareem Hunt or Alvin Kamara? Which fifth-round choice turns into Antonio Brown or Tyreek Hill? Does one of the undrafted free agents end up having an enormous impact, a la Malcolm Butler?

We’ll find out soon, but not soon enough for the diehards who can barely contain themselves.