We live in an era with more information than ever available to us, thus belying the scary realization that people sound dumber than ever.

Common sense suggests that more information would allow for deeper forms of critical thinking. Instead, we're awash in the convenience of hot takes, which have all the depth of a roadside puddle.

As Geno Auriemma once said: "One of the problems with the Internet is every stupid person who didn't know they were stupid now knows they are stupid because the Internet has given them an opportunity to prove it."

Take, for example, the story of AJ Dillon, the New London kid they are now calling "Quadzilla" with the Green Bay Packers. Dillon, whose quads are big enough to have their own four-wheel drive, used them to trample the Tennessee Titans in the snow on Sunday night.

Watching Dillon run like a locomotive was no surprise to our corner of the world. But it was to others, who bought into the hot takes around draft time. Seems many of the NFL Draftniks — guesswork from people with dubious credentials at best — thought the Packers took Dillon too high, creating choruses of careless criticism.

Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus (draft guide) said, "His combination of size and speed makes for one of the best truck sticks you'll ever see. That being said, the truck stick isn't much of a consistent weapon in the NFL. You need a few more tools in your toolbox at the running back position to succeed. Dillon's agility and ability to make sharp cuts is sorely lacking. Outside of goal-line or short yardage situations, I'm not sure Dillon brings much to the table."

Joe Marino, The Draft Network: "His blend of size, speed and power made him a difficult challenge as he ripped through ACC defenses. With that said, his next level projection isn't that exciting. Dillon's lack of technique pressing the line of scrimmage is concerning and he won't be able to shred NFL defenses just because he is big and fast."

Wrong.

Yet somehow, this whole NFL Draft thing has become a cottage industry. Fans listen to these people as if their pronouncements are the modern day Beatitudes. Good lesson here, apparently. Say something with conviction — even if you are full of prunes — and people will listen anyway.

Dillon has spent much of his rookie season behind Aaron Jones, one of the NFL's best, meaning he probably wasn't going to play much anyway. Later, he got derailed by a bout with COVID, a perfect storm to perhaps reinforce what the draftniks said about him.

Ah, but now after his last game — 124 yards, two touchdowns — the Sporting News has Dillon as a "new iteration of Derrick Henry."

From a draft bust to the new Derrick Henry. All in one night. Houdini should be taking notes somewhere.

Dillon should be a cautionary tale about how we process the information we receive. Throwing it against the wall and seeing what sticks is nothing new. But giving these NFL Draft people one more second of your time is as useless as heeding those recruiting rankings for high school kids.

The dumbing down has even befallen fans of the football Giants this week. Some have gulped enough of the Kool-Aid to believe it's better to lose to Dallas on Sunday and not win the NFC East because they'll get a better draft choice.

As if the No. 8 pick, for example, is destined to be better than the 19th.

Somebody, please. Make it stop.

I'd be perfectly fine with beating Dallas and giving a young team the experience of the playoffs during the developmental process. And then rolling the dice with a (gulp) lower draft pick. But then, you know, call me kooky, call me crazy.

I'm not sure when critical thinking took a swan dive into the morass. But at least the lack of it here gives us a good "I-told-you-so" about Dillon. Nothing he did Sunday night surprised any one of us.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro