There are thirty-two teams in the NFL, and each team can interview a maximum of sixty rookies at the rookie training camp. There are a total of 332 rookies in the entire training camp.
This means that the most popular players, such as Cam Newton and Von Miller, may be interviewed by all thirty-two teams. It also means that the most unpopular players, such as Lu Ke, may only be interviewed by a handful of teams.
Furthermore, there is a difference in the quality of the teams that interview a player. This is due to a team's strength, a player's personal preference, and the issue of opportunity.
A team's strength is easy to understand. Every player longs to win the NFL's highest prize, the Super Bowl. Just like an NBA championship ring, even big-name players may take a pay cut to chase a championship. This is even more true for rookie players, for whom joining a championship team is a dream.
Second is personal preference. Every player has a favorite team, more or less. Thanks to the heritage of football culture, much like the club culture in European soccer, some players may have been fans of a certain team since their great-grandfather's generation, and their lifelong pursuit is to play for that team.
Finally, there is the issue of timing. For most rookie players, getting to play is the most important thing. For example, if you are a backup for Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers, you may waste three or five years on the bench and never get a chance to show your talent, disappearing from the league without accomplishing anything. But if you go to a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, or New York Jets, you could immediately become a starter and showcase your abilities on the field.
Teams have their choices, and players have their choices. It's a two-way process. Although teams have absolute control in the draft, the interviews at the training camp are a start. Everyone hopes for a good start.
After the scrimmage ended, the entire rookie training camp became a flurry of activity. Although the training camp was entering its final day, the busyness did not lessen; instead, it gradually reached a climax.
For the organizing committee, they had to arrange thirty-two meeting rooms to provide space for the thirty-two teams to hold interviews. At the same time, the average interview time for each player was five to ten minutes, which meant that sixty players would take at least eight to ten hours. The entire fourth day would be a nonstop rush, and the organizing committee had to handle catering, security, and order.
For the teams, they had to hold meetings to gather all the scouts and, along with the team manager and coaching staff, list the players they were interested in and send out interview invitations before 8 p.m. Then they had to prepare questions and focus points. This would be a sleepless night.
For the players, they needed to relax a little but at the same time feel nervous. On the one hand, they were waiting for interview invitations. On the other hand, they had to prepare for tomorrow's interviews, for which they had to wear suits. This was the only time they would wear suits during the entire training camp.
"How many?" Rahim Moore asked with a surprised look on his face, staring in disbelief at the sweaty Lu Ke. The exclamation came out without his control.
A bright smile also appeared on Lu Ke's face. "Fifteen."
After nightfall, he had received a total of fifteen team interview invitations. This was truly unexpected and a real surprise. Considering he had no college career and no high school game data, receiving fifteen interview invitations based on just two incomplete games and his performance in the rookie training camp was definitely a victory!
And let's not forget that Lu Ke was Chinese, and he was a quarterback, the most competitive and brutal position.
Marcus had a bright smile on his face. He walked over and bumped Lu Ke's shoulder. "I'm not surprised at all." Then he looked at Rahim. "Man, look at Bambi. The first thing he did after he got back today was go to the gym to train. He hasn't stopped training in these three days of the training camp. Haven't you heard? Everyone is talking about the story of Bambi and Watt. Those two are training maniacs."
Rahim pouted and complained speechlessly, "Are you sure they're maniacs? Not crazy people?"
Lu Ke frowned slightly and looked down at Marcus, making a disgusted expression. "Brother, have you been following my whereabouts? Otherwise, how would you know that I went to the gym as soon as I got back today? Could it be that you..." The deep gaze scanned Marcus from top to bottom, the insinuation was obvious.
Marcus immediately jumped up and pushed Lu Ke's shoulder hard, but because of the huge height difference, it gave the illusion of an ant trying to shake a tree. "Hey! Hey! Watch your mouth. How can you accuse me like that? I'm an innocent little white dragon waiting for my future wife to appreciate me. What if you scare them all away with that kind of talk?"
"Little white dragon?" Logan raised his eyebrows, a look of teasing on his face.
Marcus put his hands on his hips and deliberately pushed his waist forward. "What, you want to see?" As a result, no one was afraid of him. Instead, they all looked at him with an expectant expression. Marcus was in a difficult position. He stood up sheepishly, looked around, and then saw Lu Ke's half-smile. He widened his eyes and lifted his chin high... high, trying to keep his eyes level with Lu Ke's, but this was almost impossible. "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a little white dragon?"
"Are you sure it's a dragon? Not... a horse?" Lu Ke raised his right hand and put it on top of his head. Then he drew a line parallel to the ground and compared their heights. He moved his right hand down, down, and down again, finally resting it on top of Marcus' head. The meaning of this action was obvious: he was making fun of Marcus' short height, that he was more suitable to be a horse, not a tall one, but one that could be ridden.
In fact, Marcus was not short at 5.9 feet (180 cm), but in front of Lu Ke, he was a full 5.1 inches (13 cm) shorter. In addition, there was the matter of their physiques. Marcus was a running back, so his body was stronger and looked more solid. Lu Ke was naturally thinner, so he looked even taller. As a result, the visual difference became incredibly obvious.
"Haha!" Everyone in the room burst out laughing. Only Marcus was sullen, and his current actions were not helping at all. His chin was high up, making him look like a person from a land of dwarves looking up at a giant. This posture... "Bambi! You, you big deer! You're the same!"
"Big deer? What the heck is that?" Logan complained on the side, not giving him any face. "Are you talking about a giraffe?"
"No, I'm talking about a giant spotted deer!" Bambi was a spotted deer. Marcus yelled determinedly, "Big deer! And you, you're the same, you hairy freak!" After he finished speaking, Marcus even made a childish face, sticking out his tongue like an overgrown child.
"Then what are you? Stuart Little?" Lu Ke's retort instantly froze Marcus in place. Everyone else was roaring with laughter, and David Carter rolled onto the floor under the bed. The scene was full of life.
After the fun, Lu Ke's attention returned, and he asked, "What about you guys? How are your situations?"
"Twenty-one," Rahim said first.
"Twenty," Logan followed.
Rahim and Logan were originally the two most promising players from the Bruins. Rahim was a safety on the defense. This year, safeties were particularly scarce, with only fifteen rookies in total, so naturally, more teams were interested in him. Logan was a tight end on the offense. There weren't many tight ends this year either, but each team usually has three wide receivers and one tight end, so the demand wasn't as high. Relatively speaking, the number of teams interested in him was still a lot, but not as many as Rahim.
David looked at his teammates and hesitated, but Marcus immediately complained, "What's there to be embarrassed about? Even Bambi was honest. I got ten."
David was stunned. "Me too. Ten."
Marcus was a running back, and the competition for running backs this year was particularly fierce. He heard there were a total of thirty-two players. His overall ability wasn't particularly outstanding, and he wasn't a hot topic in the training camp, so it wasn't surprising that he was less popular.
David was a defensive tackle, the same position as JJ Watt. First, there were twenty-five rookies competing for the defensive tackle position this year. Second, this was one of the most competitive positions this year. About ten players were at a first-round level, but was it possible for ten teams to choose a defensive tackle in the first round? It was unlikely. Therefore, David's interview opportunities were slightly fewer.
"It looks like tomorrow is going to be a busy day!" Lu Ke said with a sigh. In addition to the five interview opportunities granted by the system, ten other teams had shown interest in him. This was truly a joyous occasion worth celebrating!
"Bambi, who's your home team?" Rahim asked curiously. Almost every player had a home team, but very few players actually got to play for their home team.
"Green Bay Packers," Logan answered instead of Lu Ke, and then he made a disgusted expression. "We all grew up in San Francisco, but his home team is the Packers. What kind of nonsense is that!" Logan rolled his eyes.
The area where San Francisco is located is called the "Bay Area." It's the second-largest metropolitan area in California after Los Angeles and includes important regions like San Francisco, Oakland, and Silicon Valley.
The NFL has two teams in this area, the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders, and of course, there are countless die-hard football fans there. The Green Bay Packers, on the other hand, are located in Wisconsin, which is across a large part of the North American continent from San Francisco and has no connection to it at all.
Lu Ke spread his hands and laughed. "The first game I ever watched was the Green Bay Packers. What am I supposed to do? Their team atmosphere and culture are just so captivating. Besides, the San Francisco 49ers are my second favorite team. I don't see any conflict."
"Blah blah blah." Logan still had a look of reluctance on his face, filled with disgust, which made everyone laugh.
Rahim asked again, "I mean, did you get an interview invitation from your home team?"
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