What if an NFL Team Forgets to Submit a Pick? 🏷️

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In today’s newsletter:

🗞 The Big Story: What if an NFL Team Forgets to Submit a Pick?

📉 Biggest Loser: The Browns Spent $100K to Draft a Bust

🏆 Winner’s Circle: What’s Around this Ump’s Hand?

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What happens if an NFL team forgets to submit its draft pick?

Well, it’s only ever happened twice, but the last time it did, it changed the course of NFL history forever.

Budget Cuts: In 1998, a Texas businessman named Red McCombs bought the Minnesota Vikings for $206 million, but after reportedly losing money during two of his first three years owning the team, McCombs quickly started making budget cuts everywhere he could think of, which included:

Still, even all that pales in comparison to what he did next.

According to members of the Vikings’ front office, McCombs was looking to save some money in the 2003 Draft. So, he reportedly directed his staff to trade down from the 7th overall pick so he could pay his first-round selection a lower rookie salary. The only problem was that, come draft day, no one was interested in trading up to the Vikings’ spot.

In fact, it wasn’t until there were just 20 seconds left on the Draft clock that the Vikings confirmed a less-than-ideal trade with the Baltimore Ravens to move back three spots in exchange for a 4th and 6th round pick (or so they thought).

Butterfly Effect: Even though the Vikings called in the trade to the NFL desk in New York, the Ravens weren’t able to make their call in time, meaning the trade never went through. So, even though the Vikings’ front office kicked their feet back in relief, the reality was they were still on the clock when it struck zero.

This meant that the Jaguars and Panthers were able to make their picks before the Vikings realized what was happening and scrambled to make their selection at number 9.

2003 NFL Draft (Top 10 Picks):

*In place of Minnesota (time expired)

Now, in the end, the Vikings ended up getting the player they wanted for $3M cheaper: defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who went on to be a 5x All-Pro and 6x Pro Bowler.

However, the real impact of this draft was that the Baltimore Ravens (who were going to trade up for the pick) couldn’t get QB Byron Leftwich and were instead left to take a linebacker from Arizona State named Terrell Suggs. Making the next quarterback they drafted, the eventual Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco.

Talk about a butterfly effect.

The Cleveland Browns once spent $100K to figure out which quarterback to draft, but ended up listening to a homeless guy and picked one of the biggest busts of all time instead.

Let me explain.

Backed by Science: In 2014, the Browns were coming off their 6th straight losing season, during which they had rotated through 10 different quarterbacks. Luckily, they had two first-round picks in the upcoming Draft, and, eager to sure up the position, the team commissioned a study using advanced analytics to examine every quarterback from the last 20 years and determine the best prospect in the 2014 class.

Browns QBs from 2008-2013

In total, this study reportedly cost $100,000 and concluded that the quarterback they should select was Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater; however, obviously, the Browns didn’t pick him. So what happened?

Heed the Homeless: As ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio reported in 2014, Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslman was walking in downtown Cleveland after a dinner during the week of the Draft when he was stopped by a homeless man who recognized him and simply said, “Draft Manziel.” Evidently, this one interaction reminded Haslam about “how passionate Browns fans are and convinced him that they wanted Manziel.”

So, instead of going with the $100,000 study he had just commissioned, on opening night of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Browns used their 22nd overall pick to select none other than the Heisman Trophy Winner, Johnny Manziel, to be their next franchise QB.

Immediately, this decision appeared to pay off for Haslam, since the Browns reportedly sold 1,500 season tickets within 12 hours of the pick, but after being cut by the team just two years later, I’m sure the Browns wish they had picked one of the other three quarterbacks who went later:

Why does this MLB umpire wear a strap around his hand?

The Indicator: If you went all the way back to the beginning of pro baseball history, you’d know that before umpires even started wearing chest protectors, they were using a device called an indicator.

The earliest version, which was introduced in 1874, simply helped umpires behind the plate keep track of balls, strikes, and outs. And even as scoreboards have become commonplace across every level of baseball today, indicators are still used by every single umpire.

That’s why it’s so strange that this guy, an umpire by the name of Bruce Dreckman, wears wrist. straps

Borrowed Tradition: If these straps look familiar to you, it’s probably because they’re most commonly used by football officials who wear these elastic straps on each hand to manually keep track of the down and which hash mark the ball is on:

But according to my research, Dreckman is the only umpire in Major League Baseball who uses a similar system, which he seemingly picked up sometime in 2023 when he stopped using a traditional indicator.

Dreckman’s System:

Although it seems strange for Dreckman to go against over 150 years of conventional baseball wisdom, as one site pointed out, this way, he doesn’t have to look down to see what the count is; he just has to feel what fingers the straps are around instead.

Honestly, pretty smart.

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👋🏻 Happy Friday!

This is your annual reminder that you should just talk yourself into whatever your team does in the NFL Draft this weekend: