Craig Carton can’t remember ever hearing this much optimism on the WFAN airwaves.
Just one day after the first round of the NFL Draft, both Giants and Jets fans have been widely celebrating their team’s picks, with both franchises having two top-10 selections, and Gang Green trading up for a third first-round selection, taking hyped edge rusher Jermaine Johnson.
Craig wanted to make sure the brakes were pumped just a tad, as nobody ever wins the draft on draft night.
“It appears that the Jets and Giants, according to this radio station and every single person that called in, had the greatest drafts of all time,” Carton said to open Friday’s show. “So we’re all winning Super Bowls. It’s gonna be great!
“I’ve worked at this radio station starting in 2007…in my lifetime of listening to this radio station since the day it started, I have never heard WFAN in the positive manner in which I’ve heard this radio station in the last 12 hours.”
Evan, tormented by the Jets for years, also wanted to make sure Thursday’s draft was put into perspective, and while that doesn’t mean he didn’t celebrate the job Joe Douglas and company did, he isn’t ready to crown Douglas and his new draft picks as the saviors who will finally bring Gang Green to the Super Bowl.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t love the drafts for either team, but we need to caution everybody,” Evan said. “We have to take a deep breath. We have no idea if Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner is gonna be the greatest cornerback in the history of football. We have no idea if Kayvon Thibodeaux is gonna be the greatest pass rusher. We have no idea if Evan Neal is gonna be Eric Flowers, Andrew Thomas, or D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
“On paper, yes, it was a good draft. But I have sat here for many years where we have said ‘Oh my God, can you believe Eli Apple fell to the Giants? Can you believe Prince Amukamara was sitting there? I can’t believe Leonard Williams dropped to the Jets!’ I’ve heard this before. I’ve seen this before. It doesn’t mean I’m being negative, it just means we have to take a deep breath.”
Given the fact that the Jets and Giants have had the worst records in football over the past five seasons, fans in New York have been starving for any shred of hope to cling to. Thursday’s draft may have given them even more than that, as many considered the two teams to be among the big winners of round one. That still needs to translate to results on Sundays, but for right now, the fans just have optimism and anticipation, which they haven’t had in years. So the overwhelming excitement is understandable.
“Jets and Giants fans got what they wanted,” Evan said. “So I think you combine that with the negativity of what you’ve seen the past decade, and I think that’s what builds up to this ultra-optimism.”
Follow WFAN's afternoon team on Twitter: @CartonRoberts, @EvanRobertsWFAN, @TommyLugauer, and @CMacWFAN
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