Welcome to The Golf Album Blog’s First Annual PGA-NFL Draft. While it might seem counter-intuitive that the athletes from the PGA and NFL have overlapping traits, upon closer inspection there are numerous similarities. In addition, as the sport evolves toward team games (see The Saudi Golf League and the Woods/McIlroy high-tech TGL, official player drafts will likely eventually occur in the golf world. As the football world waits with bated breath for tonight’s’ 2025 NFL Draft, officially known to the league as the “NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting”, to be held for the first time in Green Bay, Wisconsin (no "frozen tundra” jokes here), we now turn the podium over to the Golf Album Blog’s First Annual PGA-NFL Draft. Here are the first 8 picks.
Pick 1: Tennessee Titans: After a 3-14 season, team needs for the Titans are plenty; but first and foremost is the need for a quarterback. Will Levis, selected by the Titans in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft, has largely been a bust, so the Titans need a player at the most important position in sports. Levis’ replacement must be a true #1 in talent, moxie, leadership and skill. Fortunately for the Titans, there is one golfer above all the rest that fits that description. PGA Commissioner Pro Tem Jay Monahan (soon to be replaced by LIV Golf head Yasir Al-Rumayyan, courtesy of the Saudi Public Investment Fund) strides to the podium and announces, “Good evening, golf and football fans around the globe. We are pleased to be here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With the first selection in the 2025 PGA/NFL draft, the Tennessee Titans select the 2025 Masters Champion, Rory McIlroy, from the Sullivan Upper School in Holywood, Northern Ireland.
(McIlroy strides on stage and momentarily doffs a Tennessee Titans cap before quickly replacing it with his omnipresent Nike cap.)
Pick 2: Cleveland Browns: The Browns have a major disappointment (of their own making) at the most important position in sports. Putting aside the moral implications, their trade for Deshaun Watson may be the worst trade in NFL history. In March, 2022, the Browns traded a 2022 first-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 first-round pick, a 2022 fourth-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Houston Texans to acquire Watson. To add insult to injury, the Browns then gave Watson a five-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $230 million.
The Browns need not just a savior at the QB position, but someone to push the memory of the Watson debacle into the background and bring a new message of hope to the franchise. There is one obvious choice, the golfer whose skills not only transcend the sport but also whose extraordinary media attention could blot out the sun with a (mostly) positive message. "With the next selection, the Cleveland Browns select Tiger Woods, Stanford University and Jupiter Island, Florida.
Pick 3: New York Giants: Big Blue has several significant roster problems that must be filled after losing a franchise-record 14 games. For example, the offensive line has been a drawback for several seasons. However, the biggest problem stands alone. In fact, as the old NFL saying goes, when you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have a quarterback. Ancient artifacts Russell Wilson and Jameis Wilson (average age, 33.5; collective NFL experience, 23 years) were signed during the offseason. However, by all appearance the Giants are not looking to draft a QB with this pick. With Cam Ward gone with the first pick as expected, their best bet is to pick a golfer who can shore up their offense and their defense, a golfer who is great from tee to green and also on the putting surface, a true two-way player. Commish Monahan intones, “With the third selection in the 2025 PGA-NFL draft, the New York Giants select the top-ranked – and best two-way - golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler.“
ESPN’S draft Guru Mel Kiper, known for his canny draft evaluations as well as the best hair in the business, excitedly notes his surprise that Scheffler lasted this long before being selected.
Pick 4: New England Patriots. Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio (to the crowded Yankees’ Hall of Fame in the Sky). Or Bill Belichick (to college football wearing Carolina Blue). Or the GOAT (to Sin City, but still with an interest in the NFL). Anyone, Bueller, anyone? This team had the worst offensive line in the NFL during the 2024 season. It ranked 31st in pass blocking and 32nd in run blocking last season, per Pro Football Focus. On defense, the Patriots were dead last in the league in sacks last season. Oh boy. Despite the many needs, first and foremost the Pats have to keep prize QB Drake Maye upright. So draft the golfer with size, long arms, good foot speed, long arms, a golfer that got that dog in him and long arms. There’s one golfer that fits that bill. "With the fourth selection in the 2025 PGA-NFL draft, the New England Patriots select the golfer standing 6 ft 1, and weighing in at (generously) 225 pounds, from Northern Ireland and the Athlone Institute of Technology, Shane Lowry"
Pick 5: Jacksonville Jaguars. Like those teams ahead of them in
the draft, the Jags have multiple needs to fill in the 2025 PGA/NFL Draft. Running
back would not seem to be a pressing matter, with star quarterback Trevor
Lawrence having a terrible year in 2024. However, the Jags hired new head coach
Liam Coen in the offseason. Before
joining the Jaguars, Coen served as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers in 2024. So boosting the offense should be top of mind for this
draft team led by Coen. The pre-draft buzz now has the Jags perhaps taking the top running back
in the draft, who is generally regarded to be Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty is described
by Danny Kelly (no relation, as far as I know) of The Ringer as having “… a
muscular, barrel-chested frame and runs with electric burst and rare balance…. He’s
a patient but explosive runner who lets his blocks set up and run lanes develop
before he hits the gas pedal and accelerates to daylight. He lulls defenders to
sleep with rocker-step and hesitation moves before exploding past them. … He
has loose, fluid hips and almost seems to disconnect his lower half from his
torso as he jukes, strafes, and absorbs contact without losing his balance. He
reportedly he has squatted
more than 600 pounds.”
Barrel-chested? Disconnects his
lower half from his torso? Can squat 600 pounds? One golfer jumps to mind. The Jags run to the
podium and select Bryson DeChambeau.
Pick 6: Las Vegas Raiders. New head coach Pete Carroll talks about “completing the circle of toughness” on offense, defense, and special teams. Carroll ran the “Legion of Boom” at his prior job in Seattle, and will strive to bring that attitude to Las Vegas. One golfer whose toughness is unquestioned. After years of frustration in golf’s majors, either coming oh-so-close (11 top ten finishes in 26 majors prior to 2024), while missing the cut or finishing in 35th or worse in 6 of those tournaments, this golfer broke through in 2024 with two major championships. “With the sixth selection in the 2025 PGA/NFL draft, the Las Vegas Raiders select Xander Schauffele."
Pick 7: New York Jets. The J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS are a M-E-S-S MESS MESS MESS. How did that experiment with Aaron Rodgers work out? And firing the head coach in the middle of the season? Now that Danny Snider has been banished to his mega-yacht in the Mediterranean (if the yacht isn’t named the “Good Riddance”, well, it should be) Woody Johnson appears to have assumed the mantle of the Worst NFL Owner (WONO). Perhaps the new regime (GM Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn) can right the Good Ship Green and White; Jets’ fans hope so. In the meantime, with team needs such as offensive line and wide receiver, the Jets go for the best athlete left on the board. “With the seventh selection in the 2025 PGA-NFL draft, the New York Jets select Milton Pouha "Tony" Finau, from West High School in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Pick 8: Carolina Panthers. To say the cupboard is bare in Carolina on both sides of the ball is the understatement of the draft, but let’s start here. The Panthers defense gave up the most points in NFL history last season (534). Woof. The Panthers need more help on the edge of their defense after adding two defensive tackles in free agency during the offseason. So the Panthers turn to the golfer with the size, speed and athleticism, and perhaps the smoothest swing on the planet, to anchor the Panthers’ linebacker position for years to come. With the seventh selection in the 2025 PGA-NFL draft, the Carolina Panthers select Ludvig Aberg, all 6’2” and 190 pounds of him.
Good luck to the NFL teams tonight. Enjoy the festivities, everyone, and I hope your teams select well.
© 2012-2025 R.E. Kelly
AMDG
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