Two NJ natives selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft

The football world was swirling last night as the 2022 NFL Draft got underway. A flurry of trades, as well as a series of defensive/offensive line selections, marked the headlines of the night.

Lost in all the pomp and circumstance were two college football players from New Jersey finding their first NFL homes.

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Wide receiver Jahan Dotson, born in Newark, NJ, and played football at Penn State, was selected 16th overall by the Washington Commanders. Scouts say the receiver is known to be a scheme-friendly playmaker capable of filling a variety of roles as an inside-outside threat.

This pick could prove to be paramount for the Commanders as their current standout wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been the subject of trade rumors for much of the offseason.

While Dotson played spent most of high school attending Nazareth Area High School in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, he also spent a year attending Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey.

Four picks later in the draft, New Jersey was heard from yet again. This time at the quarterback position.

With the 20th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected perhaps the successor to future hall-of-famer Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback Kenny Pickett.

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Pickett was born in Oakhurst, NJ, and attended Ocean Township High School. At OTHS, Pickett led the Spartans to the New Jersey Central Group III semifinal as a junior. After high school, Pickett went on to play for the University of Pittsburgh. So making the jump from college to the NFL shouldn't be too much of an adjustment in terms of moving to a new place.

Scouts like what Kenny Pickett has to offer, saying Pickett is a pro-ready QB1 with the potential to take snaps as a starter early in his career.

If the scouts are correct, it won't be long until New Jersey's newest NFL players are making a splash on Sunday afternoons.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 producer, writer, and host Joe Votruba. Any opinions expressed are his own.

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The 2002-2003 New Jersey Nets: The last time the NBA Finals came through NJ

In 2012 the Nets made their Brooklyn debut, but before that, New Jersey was the home of the Nets dating back to 1977.

The franchise was born in 1967, under the name the New Jersey Americans. They played their games in Teaneck as part of the American Basketball Association. One year later they moved to Long Island, becoming the New York Nets.

It was there the team won two ABA championships in 1973-74 and 1975-76. The very next year the Nets, along with three other basketball franchises, were absorbed into the NBA as part of a merger deal, abolishing the ABA.

When the Nets first moved to New Jersey, they played their home games at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway. Then in 1981, they moved into the home many of us remember them in the most, the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford (later named the Continental Airlines Arena, then Izod center).

After years of losing, The Nets made it to two straight NBA Finals in 2001-02 and 2002-03. In 2002-03, the final time they sniffed the championship, the team lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

It would be the last time the Nets sniffed the title, but their efforts added them to New Jersey lore forever.

Every NJ pizza joint Barstool's Dave Portnoy has reviewed

Dave Portnoy, commonly known as El Presidente, is the founder of Barstool Sports. Somewhere along the way, he decided to start reviewing local pizzerias, and the concept took off. Here is every New Jersey pizzeria Dave has stopped in, along with the score he gave them.

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