The first round of the draft was over, and the biggest surprise came with the twenty-sixth pick.
The Baltimore Ravens, who were supposed to make the pick, ran out of time, repeating the mistakes of the Minnesota Vikings from years ago. They missed their pick, which allowed the Chiefs, who were originally at the twenty-seventh spot, to pick first. During the live broadcast, when it was confirmed that the Ravens had run out of time, the entire studio was in an uproar, and the whole country gasped in shock, while Ravens fans were in a state of despair.
In the end, the Kansas City Chiefs selected wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin, and the Baltimore Ravens then selected cornerback Jimmy Smith.
But other than that, the first round of the draft was pretty uneventful overall. There was no mention of Lu Ke's name, Logan's name, or any of their other teammates' names.
For Logan, the fact that no tight ends were selected in the first round was great news. It was highly likely that Logan would be selected in the second or third round. But for Lu Ke, the fate of a quarterback was much more difficult.
As predicted, this was a great year for quarterbacks, and many teams were in desperate need of one. Four quarterbacks were selected in the first round. In addition to the first pick, the Carolina Panthers, the Tennessee Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Minnesota Vikings all selected quarterbacks.
This also meant that the competition for quarterbacks would become even more intense, and other teams in need of a quarterback would become even more cautious.
On a side note, Richard Sherman, who was arrogant and self-proclaimed as the best cornerback in the league at the rookie training camp and was always at odds with Lu Ke, was also not selected in the first round. To be precise, three cornerbacks were selected in the first round, but he was not one of them.
The draft lasted for three days. The first day was for the first round, the second day was for the second and third rounds, and the third day was for the remaining four rounds. The level of public interest decreased exponentially.
For the people who were just watching for fun, the first round was the only thing worth paying attention to. Even for hardcore fans, they might not stick around for the live broadcast and would just wait for the team to officially announce the results of all seven rounds.
But for the teams, scouts, and players themselves, the first round was just a reality show—it was still just a "show." The following rounds were their lives, a real-life event that would change their destiny.
On the second day, Lu Ke and his parents went to the Newmans' house to watch the second and third rounds of the draft.
Less than half an hour after the draft started, the Newmans' house erupted in a chorus of groans.
First, the Cincinnati Bengals selected quarterback Andy Dalton with the thirty-fifth pick in the second round. Then, the San Francisco 49ers selected quarterback Colin Kaepernick with the thirty-sixth pick in the second round.
"You have to be kidding me! You've got to be f***ing kidding me!" Logan was the first to jump up and scream angrily at the TV screen as if he could go through the screen and have a direct conversation.
Then, Austin also jumped up. "What was Trent Baalke thinking? Kaepernick? He actually picked Kaepernick? Jesus Christ! We need a quarterback, a real quarterback, and he chose a mobile quarterback over a great pocket quarterback like Lu Ke? Why not just choose a running back instead?"
Even Julia started to mutter, "Are you kidding me? One Newton was enough, and now there's another Kaepernick? What's wrong with the league? Are these coaches all out of their minds, treating the NFL like the NCAA? Goddammit, Jim Harbaugh! He spent four years at Stanford and developed Andrew Luck, and now you're choosing Kaepernick! Jesus Christ! I'm so mad!"
Jim Harbaugh, the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was the coach at Stanford University before this season. Andrew Luck was his prized protege—Andrew was a classic traditional pocket quarterback with some running ability, but he was nowhere near Aaron Rodgers, let alone Cam Newton.
On a side note, Colin Kaepernick was a quarterback from the University of Nevada and a representative of a mobile quarterback. In his senior season, he had twenty-one passing touchdowns and twenty rushing touchdowns.
The main point was that the San Francisco 49ers traded up nine spots with the Denver Broncos to get the pick, and then they snatched Colin Kaepernick. This move showed that after the Bengals selected Andy Dalton, the 49ers felt pressure and made a move early, which meant that Kaepernick was a player they had targeted long ago. This was the most shocking part.
Two quarterbacks were selected in a row, and one of them was by the San Francisco 49ers. But Lu Ke's name was still not called.
This also meant that the possibility of Lu Ke playing for the San Francisco 49ers was pretty much gone. No team would be stupid enough to select two quarterbacks in the same draft. With only seven rounds, why would they waste two spots on a quarterback?
So, everyone started to pound their chests in frustration, and even Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning were filled with regret. As for Lu Ke, he was the calmest. He looked at everyone wailing in frustration with a look of surprise, and a ridiculous sense of humor washed over him, causing him to laugh uncontrollably.
Seeing the carefree Lu Ke, Logan threw a pillow at him. "How can you still laugh?"
"What else am I supposed to do? Cry?" Lu Ke's retort made everyone pause. They then thought about it and realized it made a lot of sense, and everyone burst out laughing.
But soon, good news came from the second round of the draft. After trading their pick with the San Francisco 49ers, the Denver Broncos, who were now picking with the forty-fifth pick in the second round, selected safety Rahim Moore from UCLA. They then immediately completed another trade with the Miami Dolphins and continued to draft with the forty-sixth pick in the second round, selecting offensive tackle Orlando Franklin from the University of Miami.
Rahim Moore became the first player from UCLA to be selected in this year's draft, finally breaking the school's losing streak.
Lu Ke and Logan both jumped up and high-fived each other, genuinely happy for their teammate. However, this joy was only the prelude to the real celebration that was about to come.
With the eightieth pick in the third round, the San Francisco 49ers traded up with the Jacksonville Jaguars to get the pick first and selected tight end Logan Newman from UCLA! This was the fourth tight end to be selected in this year's draft.
"Ahhhh!" The whole house erupted in cheers. Logan raised his hands high and ran around the room screaming. No one could catch him. After running three laps, he stopped next to the TV screen, clenched his fists, and cheered with gusto. "Ah!" Every muscle in his body was cheering and celebrating wildly.
Not just Logan, but everyone else also jumped up. Lu Ke was even more excited than if he had been selected himself, and he pumped his fists. "This is what I'm talking about! This is what I'm talking about!" Everyone was hugging, yelling, and celebrating with each other. The deafening cheers made the whole house shake.
This was what it meant to be overjoyed. It wasn't just because Logan was selected early in the third round, but also because he was picked by the San Francisco 49ers, the team Logan had always dreamed of playing for!
At the rookie training camp, Logan's interview with the 49ers hadn't gone well, and he had been depressed for a long time, thinking he had missed the opportunity to play for his favorite team. But today, the 49ers had decisively made a decision and, by trading up their pick, had snatched Logan before anyone else. This was undoubtedly a dream come true.
This was true for Logan, and even more so for Austin. So, they all went crazy!
After screaming, Logan's excitement still hadn't completely been released. He ran and slammed into Lu Ke, hanging on him like a koala. "Bambi! I did it, I did it! I'm a 49er! A 49er!"
The term "49ers" doesn't mean forty-nine people. It's a name for the gold prospectors who came to Northern California in 1849. After a large amount of gold was discovered in California in 1848, people from all over the world flocked to the Sierra Nevada Mountains near San Francisco the following year to pan for gold. So, the gold prospectors in San Francisco at the time were collectively known as the "49ers." Later, when San Francisco got its own football team, they named it the "49ers," carrying on the history and origin of the city.
Now, every San Francisco football player and fan proudly calls themselves a "49er."
Even so, Logan still hadn't released all his excitement. He ran out of the house and shouted loudly, "I'm a 49er!" Then, the neighbors on the street started to cheer and celebrate. "Congratulations!", "Way to go!", "Go, Logan, go!"...
The whole street went into party mode, and every neighbor was celebrating wildly.
After a long time, the celebration finally ended, and Logan ran back. He hit Lu Ke twice on the chest. "Man, you can make it into the league! Believe me, if I can, there's no doubt you can! And when we meet on the field, I won't go easy on you."
Lu Ke burst out laughing at the confident declaration.
But reality is much harsher than dreams. The third round of the draft was over, and Lu Ke was not selected. On the third day, the fourth and fifth rounds passed, and Lu Ke was still not selected. In the sixth round, running back Marcus Lynch was selected by the San Francisco 49ers, and then defensive tackle David Carter was selected by the Arizona Cardinals.
Now, only the seventh round was left.
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