Will any player go through draft night Waterloo like a hot mom this year?
The Saints spent eight draft picks to trade upwards to select Ricky Williams with the fifth pick
Although this story has been around for 23 years, looking back now may surprise you. In the 1999 Draft, New Orleans Saints head coach Mike Dietka "fell in love" with University of Texas star running back Ricky Williams. However, Williams's draft prospects at the time were basically locked in that he would be selected with the top five picks, and the Saints only held the 12th pick in the first round. So what to do?
So, after seeing that none of the top four teams had chosen Williams, Dietka gave his decision: get Williams at all costs. The Saints gave up all their draft picks for the entire 1999 draft: the 12th pick, the third pick, the fourth round pick, the five-round pick, the six-round pick, and the seven-round pick. And that's not all, they also sent the first and third round picks for the 2000 Draft, just to get the No. 5 pick to choose the favorite Williams!
However, the beginning of the story is dreamy, and the ending is sad. While Williams became the NFL's star running back a few seasons later, the Saints only had a poor 3-13 record this season, and head coach Dietka was also sacked. Even more tragically, the first-round pick they gave to Washington in 2000 turned out to be a top pick.
The draft countdown ran out and the Vikings slipped down two picks
We all know that at the draft, each team has 10 minutes to decide who to choose. But do you wonder what if the countdown runs out and you haven't made a decision? At the 2003 draft, the Minnesota Vikings tried it out by example.
At the time, the Minnesota Vikings were holding the no. 7 pick in the first round, but just as the countdown began, they received a call from the Tenth Pick Baltimore Crows, who offered to make a deal with the Vikings, with 3 picks going up to pick quarterback Byron Leftwich. The phone call blew the Vikings' draft room into flames, and the general manager struggled to make up his mind whether to trade with the crows.
By this time, however, the countdown was over and the Vikings missed their draft pick. Behind him, the Jaguar, who had been the 8th pick, immediately jumped to the 7th pick and directly selected Leftwich away. And that wasn't the end of it, the ninth-picked Panther also picked Jordan Gross ahead of the Vikings. At this point, the Vikings, who had failed in the trade plan, suddenly woke up and selected defensive striker Kevin Williams with the ninth pick, while the Ravens in the tenth pick chose the rushing passer Terrell Sagas.
Ironically, however, Gross, Williams, and Sargas all later became star players on their respective teams, and were all selected for the NFL several times. But seventh-placed quarterback Leftevic ended up in the crowd. Huh, Leftevich? Isn't the name a bit familiar? Yes, he is the current Pirates offensive coordinator, Brady's right hand man.
Dragon Brother Hot Mom suffered a draft night Waterloo
Do you remember that at last season's National League division round, the number one packer in the National League fell in front of the 49ers? But this is not the first time Aaron Rogers has been hurt by the 49ers. As early as the 2005 draft, the top favourite Rogers was hurt by the hometown team 49ers. At the time, the 49ers, who were on the pick, did not choose local kid Rogers, but another quarterback, Alex Smith. The other teams behind the 49ers were not cold to Brother Long, so Brother Long sat in the draft room for almost a whole night until the packers with the 24th pick finally selected him.
Coincidentally, there was Lamar Jackson sitting in the draft room all night. And he really sat from the beginning to the end. It wasn't until the final pick in the first round that the Ravens traded for the 32nd pick from the Hawks and ultimately chose Lamar Jackson. What's even stranger is that the Ravens originally had the No. 25 pick, but instead of choosing hot mom, they chose the near end of the line Hayden Hirst, and this move almost made hot mom need to wait until the next day to be selected.
Belicek transformed?
With the arrival of the new crown epidemic in 2020, the draft has also shifted from offline to online. As a result, all kinds of interesting scenes are also emerging. Among them, the most classic is this scene: the Patriots hold the No. 37 pick in the second round, and when the camera is given to patriots coach Bill Beliček, the picture is a husky sitting in a chair. One can't help but wonder: Is this a husky or a belizeck transformation?
Will there be a similar famous scene in this year's draft?