PONTIAC, Mich. – A 6-year-old boy from Pontiac is becoming a bit of an expert on the NFL draft, and he thinks the Detroit Lions will surprise some people Thursday night with their first-round pick.
The NFL draft is at 8 p.m. Thursday, and viewership should be through the roof, considering it’s the only live sporting event for the foreseeable future.
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For Ayden Elcan, nothing is more important than football.
“He started watching a lot of football videos, games around when he was 2,” said Tyra Elcan, Ayden’s mother. “He started looking up on Google a lot of the teams. His cousin plays for the Pontiac Panthers. That got him involved and he started looking at teams in the NFL.”
Forget Mel Kiper Jr. and Adam Schefter, this kindergartner knows his draft info. When he isn’t watching football or looking up stats, Ayden is getting ready for his first season with the Pontiac Panthers.
His idol is another player from Pontiac: Penn State wide receiver K.J. Hamler.
Ayden got to meet Hamler a year ago. It was a surprise set up by his grandmother. Now that they’re friends, Ayden will be watching closely to see where Hamler lands in the draft.
“I think he’s going to go -- I will say the second round,” Ayden said. “I would say the Patriots probably, because they don’t have any good players.”
He said it’s pretty obvious Joe Burrow is going to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals. But his prediction for the Detroit Lions might be unexpected to some.
“I think they are going to get a quarterback,” Ayden said.
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Ayden’s mom said bedtime can be pushed back Thursday night for him to watch the first round of the draft. It’s expected to last until around 11:30 p.m.