Packers
03 Apr 2025

Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Detroit and Green Bay have benefited so far

Cliff Christl

Packers team historian Cliff Christl has assembled an oral history series on the NFL Draft, highlighting significant and noteworthy years as a prelude to Green Bay hosting the 2025 draft in late April. New installments will be posted most weekdays. For access to the full series thus far,click here.

2015

The 80th NFL Draft was held in Chicago from April 30 to May 2, 2015. It marked the first time the site of the draft was determined by public bids from different cities with plans to promote it as a three-day fan festival.

The brain trusts of the 32 NFL teams convened at their own facilities like they had done since the 1960s to decide on their selections and relay the names to their representatives at draft headquarters. In Chicago, those reps were assembled at what the league called, "Selection Square," located on Congress Plaza along Michigan Avenue.

The names were then promptly relayed to NFL officials and announced to the crowd across the street at the Auditorium Theater at Roosevelt University. A 10-story granite and limestone building completed in 1889 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975, the Auditorium Theater could hold roughly 3,000 fans.

The new three-day format called for the first round to be held on Thursday, the next two rounds on Friday and the final four rounds on Saturday.

On the first day, the draft started at 7:05 p.m. (CDT) and ended at 10:14. The second day, it started at 6:05 p.m. and ended at 10:15 p.m. The final day, the draft ran from 11:05 a.m. to 5:31 p.m. The total time was 13 hours, 45 minutes.

The first draft festival for fans was held in what was called Draft Town, set up as an interactive theme park in Grant Park, which covered more than 300 acres close to Lake Michigan and north of Soldier Field.

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Why did the NFL take its draft on the road?

The draft had been held in New York over the previous 50 years mostly in large banquet rooms at several different hotels, but more recently in larger public venues. For example, the previous nine drafts had been held at Radio City Music Hall, a 6,000-capacity theater within Rockefeller Center, in midtown Manhattan.

However, by 2013, it was becoming clear that the NFL was outgrowing the Radio City venue. Furthermore, the 2014 draft had to be moved back two weeks into May, delaying the league's offseason schedule, because of a different kind of scheduling conflict at the theater.

At the same time, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell envisioned an opportunity to turn the draft into more of a public extravaganza by moving it elsewhere and promoting it as a mega-sized celebration of the league's biggest and most captivating offseason event.

Over the previous 35 years, the draft had become more of a made-for-TV event. Taking it outdoors and inviting the masses also created opportunities to better monetize it. In 2014, the NFL Draft was watched by 45.7 million fans. Now, thousands more were likely to attend it in person.

Soon thereafter, Chicago and Los Angeles emerged as the two finalists out of 15 cities that expressed interest in hosting it. The announcement, awarding it to Chicago, came on Oct. 2, 2014. Back in the days when the draft was held in the secrecy of a hotel ballroom, Chicago had hosted it seven times, but not since the 1964 draft, which was held on Dec. 2, 1963.

Goodell (Associated Press, June 8, 2014):"We're looking at ways to make the draft more exciting for our fans. We are looking at a lot of options, perhaps expand the number of days or moving it around."

NFL senior vice president of events Peter O'Reilly (Chicago Tribune, April 30, 2015):"Moving the draft out of New York after 51 years to Chicago gave us a chance to reimagine what the draft could be, which had been the theater experience really only in Radio City Music Hall. For us, it's filling the voracious appetite of the NFL fan during the offseason and doing it in fun and unique ways making the investment and really building out Draft Town."

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (USA Today, April 29, 2015):"This was a unique opportunity for us to host a major sporting event and to showcase the visibility of the city as a world-class city. You can't buy this type of advertising for the city around the globe, around the country."

Don Welsh, CEO of Choose Chicago, the city's nonprofit tourism agency (Chicago Tribune, April 30, 2015):"In the absence of having a Super Bowl, this is the NFL's biggest event. To get an event like this proves that Chicago can do anything in the world of sports."

Not surprisingly, the league's decision to put the draft up for bids and demand certain criteria from the host city also invited criticism. There were critics who questioned the economic value of it and pundits who satirically mocked the entire process.

Allen Sanderson, University of Chicago economist on whether the draft would be a boost to the city's economy (Chicago Tribune, Feb. 14, 2015):"No chance in hell."

Sports columnist Bernie Lincicome (Chicago Tribune, April 19, 2015):"The NFL draft does not need its own town. It does not even need its own auditorium or its own stage. The whole thing can be done by phone or, in this age, touch screen It doesn't take three days; we used to do it at recess."

In the end, the reimagined draft and its related activities drew an estimated 200,000 people to Chicago's Loop and had an economic impact of $44 million based on separate studies. With good reason, it was hailed as a success by organizers and critics alike. According to Nielsen ratings, 8.8 million television viewers watched just the first night on ESPN and NFL Network.

NFL vice president of corporate communications Brian McCarthy (Chicago Tribune, May 4, 2015):"I would safely say it far exceeded our expectations. It was fantastic. In many ways, it was Super Bowl-like. It was the Super Bowl of the offseason."

Sanderson (Chicago Tribune, July 26, 2015):"A lot of things broke well for the city. I think it definitely was good for the city."

Best laid plans often go awry

On draft night 2015, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht no doubt fantasized about winning a Super Bowl sometime in the near future when he used the No. 1 choice overall to select quarterback Jameis Winston of Florida State.

"Anytime you get an opportunity to get a franchise quarterback and we are very confident he is a franchise quarterback it excites you," Licht said on draft night.

As it turned out, the Buccaneers did win a Super Bowl within the next five years. It just so happened to be with a different quarterback.

The Bucs captured Super Bowl LV with 43-year-old Tom Brady as their starter.

Tennessee likely entertained similar thoughts when it resisted a trade offer from Philadelphia and selected another quarterback, Oregon's Marcus Mariota, with the second pick.

In the end, after going 1-2 in the draft, Winston (6-4, 231) and Mariota (6-3, 222) each lasted only five seasons with their original teams and had losing records as starters before moving on. Winston was 28-42 in his starts with the Bucs. Mariota was 29-32 as a starter with the Titans.

On one hand, Winston was a physically striking prospect who was 26-1 as a starter at Florida State. On the other hand, there were scouts who expressed concerns about his long release, footwork and 18 interceptions as a senior. Plus, he brought some baggage with him, including an alleged sexual assault and a shoplifting citation.

Nevertheless, the Bucs were willing to take their chances on his downside.

Licht (Orlando Sentinel, May 1, 2015):"You have to let the process play out with all players. We checked a lot of boxes with Jameis. It's been quite some time. We wanted to make sure everybody in the building was on board."

Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith (Orlando Sentinel, May 1, 2015):"In the end, we were going to select Jameis Winston. It wasn't that hard of a decision."

Licht (Tampa Tribune, May 1, 2015):"That's one of the things with Jameis that set him apart. He can play in some pressure now. He plays best in the clutch. You can see that on film and you can see that in games. The more pressure, the better he plays."

Meanwhile, the Titans, coming off a 2-14 season, were desperate for a quarterback and had set their sights on Mariota during the pre-draft process.

In 2014, they had started three different quarterbacks: Jake Locker, their No. 1 choice in 2011 who turned out to be a bust; Charlie Whitehurst, originally drafted by San Diego in 2006, but someone who had started only four games in the eight years since; and rookie Zach Mettenberger, a sixth-round draft choice.

Titans general manager Ruston Webster (Nashville Tennessean, May 1, 2015):"Every minute we spent with (Mariota) it just felt better and better. I think our whole room, coaching staff and scouts, the whole group, was extremely excited. In the end, I think to a man, in the draft room, with our coaches, it was unanimous."

The Titans reached that conclusion only after engaging in serious trade talks with Philadelphia.

Coach Chip Kelly, who had just completed his second season with the Eagles, coveted Mariota. First, he contacted the Bucs about trading for the No. 1 pick. Striking out, he focused on trying to swing a deal with the Eagles. Not only that, he was ready to pay a king's ransom in exchange.

In 2012, when Kelly was coaching at Oregon, Mariota was a freshman, yet started at quarterback and led the Ducks to a 12-1 finish.

Since taking over the Eagles in 2013, Kelly had led them to back-to-back 10-6 finishes but lost in the wild-card round the first year and didn't make the playoffs in his second. His quarterbacks were Nick Foles for most of 2013, and both Foles and Mark Sanchez in 2014.

Seven weeks before the draft, after gaining full control over the Eagles' football operation, Kelly had acquired Sam Bradford, the first overall choice in the 2010 draft, in a trade with the St. Louis Rams. Nevertheless, Kelly was still willing to swing for the fences to land Mariota.

According to the NFL Network, Kelly offered the Titans two first-round choices, a third-round pick, defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, cornerback Brandon Boykin, linebacker Mychal Kendricks and more presumably Bradford for the No. 2 choice. Fox Sports reported Kelly's offer was two first-rounders, a quarterback and another player.

Kelly (Portland Oregonian, May 1, 2015):"Marcus Mariota is going to win multiple Super Bowls."

Kelly (Philadelphia Daily News, May 1, 2015):"We had a conversation with both teams in the front. But it was way too steep for us to do anything. It didn't really get very serious, to be honest with you."

Kelly, a day later on his pursuit of Mariota (Trenton Times, May 2, 2015):"If the price was right for (swapping first-round picks), yeah, I would have switched picks in a second."

Sometimes the best trades are the ones a team doesn't make.

In the Eagles' 2017 Super Bowl season, Cox was selected to his third straight Pro Bowl since the proposed 2015 draft-day trade; Kendricks started at linebacker; and the 20th overall pick would have been sacrificed in the deal and left the Eagles without Nelson Agholor, who led their wide receivers in catches with 62.

If the other first- and third-round selections would have been relinquished in the 2016 draft it might have prevented the Eagles from making the five-for-one picks deal that allowed them to draft quarterback Carson Wentz. Although he lasted only five seasons in Philadelphia, he was 11-2 as a starter in 2017 until suffering torn knee ligaments.

A year of lean pickings

Today, 10 years after the 2015 draft, only four of the 32 first-round choices had made Associated Press All-Pro and only seven were multiple Pro Bowl selections.

The most decorated of the first-rounders were Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper, drafted fourth by the Oakland Raiders, and Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff, taken fifth by Washington. Each had been named to five Pro Bowls.

The four players who had made AP's first-team were Scherff, Clemson outside linebacker Vic Beasley, Georgia running back Todd Gurley and University of Washington cornerback Marcus Peters. Beasley was drafted eighth by Atlanta; Gurley, 10th by the Rams; and Peters, 18th by Kansas City. Gurley and Peters were named first-team twice; Scherff and Beasley, once.

While Minnesota missed on the 11th overall selection, Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes, it arguably reaped the biggest harvest on the second and third days. It landed UCLA inside linebacker Eric Kendricks in the second round, Louisiana State defensive end Danielle Hunter in the third round and Maryland wide receiver Stefon Diggs in the fifth round.

But it was the host Bears who ended up with the biggest bust of the draft: West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White.

Taken with the seventh overall pick, White looked to have it all. He was 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds. He also was coming off a breakout season with the Mountaineers, catching 109 passes for 1,447 yards and 10 TDs. One AFC offensive coordinator told the Chicago Tribune that White was a cross between two of the best receivers in the game at the time, Larry Fitzgerald and Julio Jones.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace (Chicago Tribune, May 2, 2015):"He's a playmaker. I love the fire and energy he plays with. And you see it on tape. But then you meet him in person. He's one of the guys we brought in here (for a pre-draft visit) and he's highly intelligent. We're really jacked about this."

But White couldn't stay healthy.

As a rookie, he suffered a stress fracture in his left shin during OTAs and never played a down. In 2016, he broke his left fibula and suffered ligament damage in his ankle in the fourth game and didn't play again. In 2017, White fractured his shoulder blade in the opener and missed the remainder of the season. He played in nine games in 2018, his last season in Chicago, but was the fourth wideout and caught only four passes.

Before the 2019 season, White signed with Arizona as a free agent and was cut in training camp. From 2020-22, he spent partial seasons with San Francisco and New Orleans, catching a total of three passes.

White's final career stats: 28 catches for 397 yards, a 14.2 average, with zero touchdowns.

Up Next: Green Bay

Since Chicago, other cities to have served as host of the traveling draft were Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City and Detroit. This year it will be held in Green Bay.

Of those nine cities, with some of the most rabid fan bases in the NFL, Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville, Kansas City and Green Bay have never hosted a Super Bowl and except for maybe Nashville are longshots to have the opportunity in the near future. Green Bay, basically, has no chance.

But hosting the draft has become the next best reward, especially for NFL cities rarely, if ever, blessed with mid-winter sunshine and warmth and lacking in hotel accommodations or whatever.

Packers president & CEO Mark Murphy, when Green Bay was named as host city (May 22, 2023):"This is an incredible day for the Packers, greater Green Bay and the entire state of Wisconsin as we are excited and honored to be selected to host the 2025 NFL Draft. The Packers have a rich and proud history that goes back to the early days of the NFL and are the only community-owned team. That connection to our league's heritage combined with the great passion Packers fans will bring will make the draft a memorable event for those in attendance and NFL fans watching around the world."

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