Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 14: Draft Day (Brett)

As always for a weekend like this, the meeting room was filled with a whole lot of different elements. From all the workers in the management to the names of potential prospects on the board. There were a few cell phones on the desks along with multiple folders showing everyone's numbers from the NFL Draft combine. We also managed to order ourselves some food because we knew that this weekend, starting tonight, was going to be a busy one.

All day long, we had planned and practice for this moment. We went over everything that could potentially happen in the NFL Draft. We had to be aware of trade situations as well as potential steals in the draft. We also needed to be sure that we were on the phone with the players telling them that we were going to take them in the draft when they got there. We were not going to settle and we were going to be aggressive with our picks. In a season that was to come, it was make or break and we needed a lot of makes.

As soon as everyone was set, I gave a speech.

"Gentlemen, this is the biggest draft in our franchise history," I said. "We're either going to make a massive achievement out of this or we're going to live life like a bunch of people that couldn't get this job done. We need to step up our game this year because we have been blasted by the media for not doing shit the last few seasons. It's time to step up and it's time to stop being babies. This is it. Let's get to fucking work."

We watched the TV in the room as the commissioner welcomed everyone to the NFL Draft and declared that the team with the first pick in that year's draft, the Cincinnati Bengals, would be on the clock. We were slated to have the sixth pick in the draft and we knew who our target was going to be. We were going to take linebacker Troy Paulson from the University of Alabama. We needed help defensively and Troy was the guy that we wanted.

I had seen his footage and I had been in awe of the guy. The man was a freak of nature on the field. At six-four, two hundred and forty-five pounds, he led the nation in tackles and won three national titles with Alabama. He was also a Texas boy at heart and it would be nice for him to return home. His presence on the field would be the spark that we needed because we needed a whole lot of sparks.

A player like Troy should be taken number one, but Cincinnati was in need of a quarterback and they selected UCLA quarterback John Phillips with their first pick. Phillips was a great quarterback and had won the Heisman Trophy a few years back. Yet, he was blasted by Troy and the Crimson Tide in the semifinals. That's why I wanted Troy because he was willing to wreck havoc on the league's top stars.

The Las Vegas Raiders and the Cleveland Browns made their selections and the Arizona Cardinals were about to have their first draft choice at number four when I received a phone call from Brian O'Ryan, who was the general manager for our divisional rival Indianapolis Colts.

"Hey Brian," I said. "I'm not interested in being your secretary."

"I figured as much," Brian said on the phone in his deep, southern accent voice. "But I need a favor from you."

"What's up?"

"I understand you have the sixth pick and I wouldn't want to cause you any problems, but we have an interest in the safety from Oregon State, Jamareon Parker. He's really a great player and we like him. However, we're a few picks after Baltimore and they want him badly. So, I was wondering if it would be okay for you to trade the pick along with a few second rounders for this year and one for next year."

I looked at Indianapolis on the draft board and they were expected to pick seventeenth. I was really hesitant about making this move. One one hand, we would get more draft picks and that's what I wanted. On the other hand, I didn't want us to drop and lose our chance to get Troy. If we made the move, we gain more, but lose the picks. Yet, I wanted to see if there were any options."