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2017 NFL Draft: Happy Draft Day Eve

By Carter Breazeale

Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Keanu Neal (Florida) is selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the number seventeen overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Keanu Neal (Florida) is selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the number seventeen overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Keanu Neal (Florida) with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the number seventeen overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Keanu Neal (Florida) with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the number seventeen overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /

We’re nearly there, Atlanta Falcons fans. After months of prospect evaluations, mock drafts, and spirited debate, the 2017 NFL Draft is a day away.

It’s Draft Day Eve, where chaos reigns. Amid an influx of trade-up rumors, trade-down rumors, private prospect workouts and cryptic press conferences, a little over 24 hours from now we will have firm answers to all of the speculative questions.

Head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff, as is their modus operandi, have done well not to tip their hand. There’s smoke rising from Flowery Branch, but it might be the result of celebratory cigars as the duo has again confounded the fanbase and injected a heavy dose of intrigue into NFL Draft week.

What will Atlanta do with its first pick? Will the Falcons swap spots with Seattle to solve their pass rush woes, as Tony Pauline suggested yesterday? Does Atlanta trade out of the first entirely, acquiring an extra late-round pick to replace the one they surrendered in the Andy Levitre trade? Or do the Falcons hold-fast at 31 and make all of our pre-draft pontificating look a bit foolish?

This is what makes the NFL Draft a spectacle unlike other major league drafts. The jigsaw puzzle scenarios, the real-time war room scheming, the monkey wrenches thrown into a franchise’s plans as they watch their first-round target don another team’s cap.

It’s Big Time Drama for a Big Time League.

So enjoy it, Falcons fans. We’ve only got a day left to stoke the anxiety, contemplate the first round results, and conduct mock drafts until our heads spin off. It’s hard to believe, but we’re now coasting toward the start of the 2017 NFL season.

Must Read: Atlanta Falcons: Why Trading Down in the 2017 NFL Draft Makes the Most Sense

Happy Draft Day Eve, everybody. We’ll be here for celebration or emotional support tomorrow night.