NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
In 2014, the football-loving world was introduced to a film that will forever live in the hearts of many whenever it’s time for the NFL Draft. Draft Day might not have been expected to be a hit at the box office; however, it is regarded as a cult classic in the sports movie genre.
Spearheaded by Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, and Chadwick Boseman, Draft Day took the cameras off the field and into the offices and inner sanctum of the owners, coaches, GMs, and the lives of the players, and offered insight into how they all tick. Draft Day worked because it was unexpected. Yes, maybe some of the trades were a bit unrealistic, but the foundation of the film was as good as we saw up to that point or even after. There has not been another movie that has hit that raw emotion. Jerry Maguire came close, but that was from an agent and player standpoint.
Once the end credits rolled and years passed by, the thought hit me. Why didn’t we get a sequel to Draft Day? Think about it, most fans would have loved to know if the Cleveland Browns amounted to anything after walking away from that infamous Draft with a load of talent.
What happened to Vontae Mack? Did he become the next Lawrence Taylor? He was the pick that Sonny Weaver wanted all along, and by the tape, Mack was the real deal to help lead the Browns’ defense. Sonny also drafted RB Ray Jennings, the son of a former Browns player. The defense has its new leader, and the offense has a new weapon, much to the joy of head coach Penn.
Aside from these two picks, did veteran QB Brian Drew have any success after dealing with injuries and rumors regarding his future with the team? The closest we came to any conclusion on Draft Day was at the end of the movie, as the team gets set to play their first game. But still, Draft Day was one of the movies that built you up for a Hollywood ending, but still left more on the table to be discussed later.
Let’s say they did make a playoff run, but things fell apart. Let’s also take into account that Weaver still managed to get his first-rounders back in that last infamous trade with the Seattle Seahawks. So, with the talent, even if they didn’t make the playoffs, they still have picks to reload next season and beyond. Weaver, by all accounts, should have been molded in the image of Howie Roseman, who runs the Philadelphia Eagles.
While the current Cleveland Browns have not been much to root for, at least in the land of Hollywood, they would have become contenders and maybe walked away with a few Super Bowl victories under their belt. I guess we’ll never know since we never got a sequel to Draft Day.
