Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 1592 - 1591: Underlying Currents Surging

The 2020 draft unfolds slowly yet smoothly—

With the first overall pick, the Cincinnati Bengals select the Louisiana State University quarterback Joe Burrow, which was an expected outcome.

With the second pick, the Washington Football Team selects Ohio State University’s defensive end Chase Young.

It was a bit surprising they didn’t choose a quarterback, given that after Alex Smith’s near-fatal injury in the 2018 season, he missed the entire 2019 season and was still in the process of recovering to return to the field. The Washington Football Team had no suitable starting quarterback but chose not to take risks.

However, Chase Young is unquestionably one of the most talented and anticipated rookies in this year’s draft, combined with the increasingly valuable defensive line position. This choice by the Washington Football Team received applause, marking a rare sensible decision by them.

With the third pick, the Detroit Lions select Ohio State University’s cornerback Jeff Okudah.

After the rookie training camp, a small group of team managers heard rumors that Li Wei was not optimistic about Okudah’s professional prospects, sparking a heated discussion.

Now, it seems, these team managers generally believed that Li Wei was too young and lacked experience. They thought it unnecessary to idolize the young three-time champion or take Li Wei’s every word as gospel, remembering that Li Wei was an outsider who had only been involved in football for four years.

Therefore, the team managers stuck to their judgments, believed in Okudah’s talent, and believed that the Detroit Lions made an excellent decision.

Everything went by the book, without surprises, shocks, or unexpected upsets.

Was it because the pros and cons of the rookies’ rankings reached a consensus among all teams?

No, certainly not. It was because after the offseason arms race, every team was fully prepared and wary of their competitors’ smoke bombs, ultimately trusting their judgment, leading to a more cautious and careful approach to drafting, revealing a slight tension in the calm atmosphere.

As expected, the names of the popular and focal players were called one after another—

The University of Alabama’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was selected fifth overall by the Miami Dolphins.

The University of Oregon’s quarterback Justin Herbert was selected sixth overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.

Clemson University’s linebacker Isaiah Simmons was selected eighth overall by the Arizona Cardinals.

And so on, and so forth.

It’s noteworthy that, like Okudah, Simmons also overcame the "Li Wei curse." Despite being criticized by Li Wei, he was unaffected and was called early, making him the first linebacker selected in this year’s draft, enjoying high prestige and a seemingly bright professional future.

Not just them, another player Li Wei didn’t favor, the University of Alabama’s wide receiver Rags, also welcomed his highlight moment.

Before the draft, Rags stood shoulder to shoulder with two other wide receivers.

One was his teammate at the University of Alabama, Jerry-Judy, and the other was the University of Oklahoma’s wide receiver Hediy Lamb.

You could even add Louisiana State University’s wide receiver Justin-Jefferson to the mix. These were the young wide receivers receiving a lot of attention.

Among them, scouts generally believed that Judy and Lamb were more comprehensive, while Rags was unmatched in speed. However, in terms of draft rankings, Judy and Lamb were both expected to go higher, with Rags and Jefferson also likely to go in the first round, just slightly later.

The result!

The first surprise of this year’s draft arose, an unexpected surprise.

The Las Vegas Raiders selected Rags with the twelfth overall pick, making him the first wide receiver selected in this year’s draft.

Rags was ecstatic!

Now it seems the so-called "Li Wei curse" was not a misfortune. Instead, Li Wei’s attention brought these young players additional focus. Team managers noticed their talent and ability, believing that Li Wei’s words were nothing but distracting smoke bombs, refusing to be dominated by the fear of the Kansas City Chiefs, timely and decisively stepping up and showcasing the courage to change the league landscape before the season.

So, was it possible that Li Wei and the Kansas City Chiefs ended up worse off for their attempts?

Moreover, it triggered a chain reaction—

Rags was selected early with the twelfth pick, and immediately after that, the Denver Broncos selected another University of Alabama wide receiver, Judy, with the fifteenth pick, which caused Lamb’s draft rank to plummet.

Lamb, who was favored to be in the top ten and even projected to be the first wide receiver selected this year, found himself benched, watching as his competitors’ names were called one after another, not just himself but also stirring much discussion among the team managers:

"What’s wrong with Lamb?"

Did the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos discover a fatal flaw in Lamb?

Rumors began spreading across the league, with some even dragging Li Wei into it.

"Li Wei curse," look, the players Li Wei wasn’t favorable of got selected one by one, and correspondingly, the players Li Wei favored, Lamb and Hertz, vanished.

Was it Li Wei’s infamous comment that played a role, or was it a sub-battlefield where league teams united against the Kansas City Chiefs?

Buzzing with activity, riotous and boisterous, all sorts of theories flew around, the phones in the teams’ war rooms rang incessantly, and unseen smoke filled the air—

It was only then that the draft’s reality set in, chaotic, urgent, and full of surprises, with everything needing a decision at lightning speed.

Just then, Goodell announced another name, "...Hediy Lamb, wide receiver..."

Everyone fell silent: Dallas Cowboys? It was the Dallas Cowboys!

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t lack wide receivers; in their draft needs, wide receivers weren’t even in the top five. They had more pressing needs.

However, when the Dallas Cowboys saw Lamb fall, standing right in front of them vivid and real, they had no reason to pass up the opportunity.

With the seventeenth pick, the Dallas Cowboys decisively selected the University of Oklahoma wide receiver Lamb.

Hah!

The league was astir with exclamations, truly a tale of twists and turns, a sudden turn of events with must be measured in mere seconds, prone to deviation at any time.

While everyone was focusing on the Dallas Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings were in disbelief—

No way? No way!

Did no one notice Louisiana State University’s wide receiver Justin-Jefferson?

Although people said, Jefferson’s outstanding stats were mainly due to Burrow’s passes. Without Burrow, Jefferson’s production might plummet; still, Jefferson’s talent and quality were obvious. Couldn’t team managers see his route-running capability and the talent to break through with the ball?

No! Way!

The Minnesota Vikings, using the 22nd overall pick they received from the Buffalo Bills in a trade, selected Jefferson without hesitation, overjoyed—

The San Francisco 49ers were dumbfounded: Uh, so what about us?