Its that time of the year again.
Fans of terrible NFL teams are never more optimistic than in the first days of the free agency period and in the immediate aftermath of the annual draft in April .
Did your NFL team have a terrible year while barely registering as a professional sports franchise? Well never fear Jets fans, New York has two picks in the top-10 and four picks in the top-40.
Meaning the team has four chances to pick an NFL-ready difference maker in a span where most teams only have one pick and some teams have none.
Fans of teams with a lot of draft capital have reason to be optimistic.
While the NFL isn't like the NBA where a single high draft pick can change the entire trajectory of a franchise, having young players who can contribute to your team ( and who just happen to play on cheaper contracts) is a reason to be optimistic.
Fans of the Las Vegas Raiders may not have a ton to be excited about since the team's first pick doesn't come until the second day (third round) of the three-day event, but the NFL Draft is a big deal for people who live in Clark County and fans that will be visiting Sin City, the host of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Mo' Visitors Mo' Problems During NFL Draft
NFL fans will descend on the parking lot behind the Westin, off Flamingo Road, to watch the draft from the NFL Draft Theater and Draft Experience that is being set up there.
To facilitate this, the city is is closing large portions of the Las Vegas Strip to between the Bellagio and The Cromwell. The road closures in the area around the Bellagio and the Linq have been in place for a couple of weeks and will continue through May 6.
People who live in a destination cities understand the gift and the curse that comes with hosting big events. The economic boost is weighed against the logistical nightmare that comes along with hosting.
Last year, 160,000 people attended the NFL Draft in Cleveland, according to the Associated Press, despite inclement weather during the proceedings and the Covid-19 pandemic.
"While these road closures are significant, I believe they directly translate into jobs and opportunities for our local community and for the destination as a whole,” said Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft, according to the LV Review-Journal.
“I’m hopeful that the impact will be mitigated by the months of communication with stakeholders and transportation alternatives that have been established.”
Kansas City is on deck for next year's draft and it's Detroit the year after that.
While KC and The D are fine cities, they ain't Vegas. Las Vegas is built for big events where potentially hundreds of thousands of people will visit.
