The Sports Xchange

CHICAGO — Auditorium Theater was sparsely filled 40 minutes before the 2015 NFL Draft, and probable top pick Jameis Winston and potential No. 2 pick Marcus Mariota were miles from the festivities.

Winston stayed close to his hometown of Hueytown, Ala., with hundreds of friends and family, and Mariota stayed in Hawaii to take in the draft with the community he credits with raising him to manhood.

The first draft outside of New York in a half-century was very well received by locals.

The “Draft Town” blocks away in Grant Park was a popular destination for fans of all teams — jerseys from every team were visible, including a brighter, neon take on the Cleveland Browns uniform with M-A-N-Z-I-E-L scripted on the back.

The draft spans the next three days in Chicago.

After the first round Thursday and two more Friday at Auditorium Theater, the league is taking the draft outdoors in the middle of the Draft Town set. Picks will be announced in an airplane hangar facsimile in the middle of green space in the park with a large stage and hundreds of seats. Weather is expected to be balmy for Chicago this time of year — 70s after the mercury fell shy of 50 on Thursday — as rounds 4-7 roll on Saturday.