Draft Week Film Room : The Journey of a Draft Pick

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We’re going to employ a loose interpretation of “film room” today and talk about a guy you’ve probably never heard of who had a rookie season that was equally unheard of. Not many players get drafted high, start their entire rookie season, and then win a Super Bowl. However, that was the case for Kelechi Osemele (nicknamed KO), and so we’re going to take a look at a few videos of his draft journey.

And really, isn’t it high time offensive linemen got a little love?

I think so.

Before:

Before the draft, players grind out a 4 month audition process after their college season ends. Between bowl games, all star games, and individual workouts with potential teams, these guys are hustling. Here’s KO during the Senior Bowl, just trying to get a job:

During:

All of the hard work comes to fruition once the draft arrives in April. As we learned on Monday, the war room is where teams make decisions about who to pick. It’s a high-intensity space, even though this peek into the the Ravens war room when they picked KO in the second round seems fairly stable. Maybe GM Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh were giving their collective adrenaline a break:

That’s exciting…but it’s about to get a lot more exciting outside the war room. When a player is surrounded by his closest friends and family and learns he’s going to play in the NFL? It’s going to sound like an air horn went off. No, really, just press play:

After:

During the season, KO played right tackle and started all 16 games. But once fellow lineman Jah Reid got injured, Osemele had to move to left guard during the playoffs – a complete side switch, as well as a position switch. His adaptation and performance during the Super Bowl earned him more than a few recognitions as the unsung hero of the Ravens Super Bowl run.

Not many rookies can say that, especially not many rookies on the offensive line. Way to go, KO!

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I’m pretty sure all of the rookies in Thursday’s draft would like to sign up for your ride.

Author: Beka

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