Speaker 1: Drafted is a production of tree Fork Media, Clutch Sports Group,
Speaker 1: and I Heart Radio. Damn, he's really Draft Day Hall,
Speaker 1: We're really get crack. Welcome back to Drafted. I'm Steven
Speaker 1: Johnson and Alex Leatherwood is right, it's really finally drafted.
Speaker 1: In this fourth episode, we'll be riding along with Alex
Speaker 1: and DeVante Smith as the first round of the two thousand,
Speaker 1: twenty one NFL Draft commences, and at the moment Alex
Speaker 1: is in his car running some final errands before his
Speaker 1: draft party tonight at a beach house in Pensacola, Florida.
Speaker 1: His agent, Demarus Bilbo calls to touch base and offer
Speaker 1: his last minute thoughts. Yo, what's up, dB, how's it
Speaker 1: mort to be? It's been good, It's been good. I'm decided.
Speaker 1: One thing I want to tell you said, for everything
Speaker 1: you've accomplished in your career, Draft Knight has a funny
Speaker 1: way of making people feel like somebody else is better
Speaker 1: than them, or they're not good enough, or because you
Speaker 1: know they haven't done enough. You know, it's just it's
Speaker 1: not how it is. So with that being said, obviously
Speaker 1: this is a weird draft. I mean, you can go
Speaker 1: anywhere between nineteen or that's a huge gap. But you know,
Speaker 1: seeing time evaluations, seeing that processes and they and the
Speaker 1: draft board. So however, good phones. Just know that you know,
Speaker 1: as soon as the draft is over, it's back to
Speaker 1: aunt other word locky in showing the basis gast. You know,
Speaker 1: you gotta prove the guy that around you right and
Speaker 1: you gotta prove the one that you draft your own
Speaker 1: right right. Either way, you know you're gotta have an
Speaker 1: opportunity to do the bit about your dream. And just know,
Speaker 1: like we always talk about, regardless of because one of
Speaker 1: your regards pause behind you, you have an opportunity to
Speaker 1: fool that you are the best, right all right, man,
Speaker 1: So you need anything for me, no questions. I'm good, dog,
Speaker 1: I mean, oh, we gotta do his way now. That's
Speaker 1: just be comforted in the one day your life is
Speaker 1: gonna change. That was weekend and you know it's it's
Speaker 1: not where you start fish, all right? Bet that sounds good.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you, dB, all right about these past few
Speaker 1: months have been a never ending stream of questions about
Speaker 1: Alex's abilities and what position he'll play, and now he's
Speaker 1: facing a wide draft range projected somewhere between pick nineteen
Speaker 1: and pick forty. That's especially tough for a guy who's
Speaker 1: decorated as Alex, who won national championships, all conference honors,
Speaker 1: and even the Outland Trophy as the country's best interior
Speaker 1: a lineman. So to Marius worries the pre Deeft process
Speaker 1: might finally be getting to his client. You know, they're
Speaker 1: not just handing out Hasman Trophy Awards and Outland Trophy
Speaker 1: Awards and everybody know Alabama that's kind of like the
Speaker 1: thirty third NFL team right there. So these guys are
Speaker 1: practicing differently. So I think he felt that he had
Speaker 1: done he had achieved everything and accomplished everything that he
Speaker 1: could possibly do and still to be critiqued at the
Speaker 1: level he was and so you know, I think a
Speaker 1: part of that kind of got to him. You know,
Speaker 1: it's like, what more can I do? At this point?
Speaker 1: There truly is nothing more Alex can do. The draft
Speaker 1: is starting in less than an hour, so Alex heads
Speaker 1: back to the beach House to change and get ready. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: in Cleveland, Davante Smith woke up early, worked out, took
Speaker 1: a nap, put on a suit, and as now arriving
Speaker 1: downtown for the first round of the draft. Oh they
Speaker 1: got to Oh I thought they had you might know,
Speaker 1: you know, I got miked up. Man, They got me
Speaker 1: out here being a feed man. That's Davante. He's outside
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Brown Stadium walking towards the shuttle that will
Speaker 1: take him and his family to the green room. Security
Speaker 1: stops him and ask everyone for their passes. Yet, all right, hey,
Speaker 1: everybody else is hey? Everybody else's she's one. Yeah, they're waiting.
Speaker 1: She did have, so it looks like a lot of
Speaker 1: people who run away. Davante is talking to Garmet Mamalou,
Speaker 1: one of the members of his team at Clutch Sports.
Speaker 1: They're waiting for a few more people from their group
Speaker 1: to arrive. These last few hours are specially hectic, with
Speaker 1: extra security and COVID protocol thousands of fans arriving downtown
Speaker 1: for the draft kickoff in the NFL scrambling to broadcast
Speaker 1: their first ever hybrid in person and virtual draft. Here's
Speaker 1: DeVante's agent, Calton Crenshaw, a lifelong Cleveland resident and native,
Speaker 1: explaining this year's unique set up. It's probably like a
Speaker 1: quarter of a mile stretch of land, Like, you know,
Speaker 1: they had a bunch of stuff outside, and then there
Speaker 1: was a stage, and then there was like a large
Speaker 1: area that was like the super industrial tent. It was
Speaker 1: basically like a permanent structure, but it was a tent
Speaker 1: because they it doesn't exist. And um, that's the Graham Room, pods.
Speaker 1: All of that was inside of this tent area. Usually,
Speaker 1: the green room is a massive open lounge area near
Speaker 1: the stage with tables and couches with the top twenty
Speaker 1: to thirty prospects wait for their name to be called.
Speaker 1: In two thousand twenty one, everything is different, so like
Speaker 1: the draft, these they were bunker down like deep in
Speaker 1: the middle of the layout of the draft in this
Speaker 1: like little enclosed living room. This year's draft set up,
Speaker 1: it's carefully designed for COVID safety protocols. Almost everything is
Speaker 1: outdoors near the lakefront, in between the Brown Stadium and
Speaker 1: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's spaced out
Speaker 1: more like a music festival than a draft. So it's
Speaker 1: fitting that rock stars Kings of Leon finished their pre
Speaker 1: draft concert on the main stage as Davante, his family,
Speaker 1: Garme and Kelton take their seats in the green room
Speaker 1: and at the Pensacola Beach House in Florida. Alex Leatherwood
Speaker 1: settles into the couch with his family, watching as NFL
Speaker 1: Commissioner Roger Goodell steps up to the podium. Three three
Speaker 1: one NFL Draft is now officially owen, it's not like
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get pick number four. It's not like I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get pick number four, but it's probably gonna be
Speaker 1: anywhere from nineteen to twenty seven. As they look on,
Speaker 1: Alex tries to set expectations with his friends and family
Speaker 1: in the room they watched the Jacksonville Jaguars and make
Speaker 1: the first pick in the draft, selecting Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 1: Alex knows it's unlikely he'll be taken before pick eighteen
Speaker 1: or nineteen, and that he could end up being selected
Speaker 1: as late as pick forty, so he watches calmly as
Speaker 1: the first five picks roll off the board. Pick number
Speaker 1: six belongs to Miami and they need a receiver. Most
Speaker 1: people think this could be where Davante gets selected, especially
Speaker 1: since he played with the Miami quarterback in college. Davante
Speaker 1: watches and listens from the green room as the picks announced.
Speaker 1: Miami selects his teammate friend and fellow Alabama receiver Jalen
Speaker 1: Wantle DeVante steps out to hug Jalen. The show. Watching
Speaker 1: his teammate at the same position get picked ahead of
Speaker 1: him doesn't seem to bother Davante. He's as composed as ever.
Speaker 1: It's Alex who was surprised because Jalen missed the whole
Speaker 1: season with a broken ankle. Analysts are also surprised to
Speaker 1: see the injured receiver get picked ahead of the Heisman
Speaker 1: Trophy winner. Here's Alex watching from the Pensacola living room.
Speaker 1: Smitty is still on the board that happened up last
Speaker 1: year with like Judy and Ruggs and Ruggs one before.
Speaker 1: That's crazy, ain't it. I mean, like, to be honest,
Speaker 1: I think that was the only one he had though
Speaker 1: that like broken ankle, but that but that was kind
Speaker 1: of like a freak accident. Who it was crazy because
Speaker 1: like he walked off the pin. I'm looking at life, okay, Yeah,
Speaker 1: like we go we played the job like wand that's crazy.
Speaker 1: Teams are often undeterred by injuries like this as long
Speaker 1: as they believe in the player and their ability to
Speaker 1: fully recover within the coming season, and the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: clearly believe in Jalen Waddle. Next up at pick seven,
Speaker 1: the Detroit Lions take an offensive tackle the first one
Speaker 1: off the board, which is a good sign for Alex.
Speaker 1: He's generally ranked as the third highest offensive lineman prospect,
Speaker 1: so the earlier the other two players get picked, the
Speaker 1: earlier he will likely be selected. This puts Carolina on
Speaker 1: the clock at pick number eight. The Panthers are also
Speaker 1: rumored to be interested in DeVante, has evidenced by their
Speaker 1: head coach texting Celton last night during the Clutch dinner.
Speaker 1: So Calton and Davante both believe Carolina is going to
Speaker 1: pick him. Here, We'll be right back. With the eighth pick.
Speaker 1: In the two thousand twenty one NFL Draft, the Carolina
Speaker 1: Panthers select a cornerback instead of a receiver. Then it
Speaker 1: picked nine. Denver also selects a cornerback. That puts the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys on the clock with pick ten, a team
Speaker 1: without any need for a receiver. Here's Calvin and Davante
Speaker 1: shocking fall out of the top ten. That process was
Speaker 1: kind of stressful because you really never know, honestly in
Speaker 1: most in most cases, so it was definitely nerve wracking.
Speaker 1: That's a dupe. Thing about the NFL draft is super unpredictable.
Speaker 1: So when he went to Carolina, I'm like, all right,
Speaker 1: you know, we might go on a little slide here
Speaker 1: because I knew Philly was trying to move up. I
Speaker 1: knew Denver wasn't gonna take him, and I knew Philly
Speaker 1: was trying to move up. But I'm thinking at the board,
Speaker 1: I'm like, well, Ship, they're not gonna trade. The Cowboys
Speaker 1: are going to trade with a division arrival to let
Speaker 1: them get the player they want, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: So I was just like, well, I guess we're going
Speaker 1: to New York. At this point, I was just kind
Speaker 1: of like, we're going to New York. It is what
Speaker 1: it is. New York holds the very next pick at
Speaker 1: number eleven. The Giants need a receiver and have expressed
Speaker 1: interest in DeVante throughout the pre draft process. So Calton
Speaker 1: and DeVante and everyone else following the draft all assume
Speaker 1: DeVante will be playing for the New York Giants. But
Speaker 1: then DeVante's phone rings, I love yes, sir, A good
Speaker 1: playing your shaved? Thank you bad. I feel good. I'm
Speaker 1: ready to go to work. A surprise trade unfolds and
Speaker 1: it's the Philadelphia Eagles calling, And then DeVante's typical calm
Speaker 1: and composed way, he just quietly found out and shared
Speaker 1: that the Eagles are going to draft him lad place.
Speaker 1: So yeah, Brom, so proud of you. Ye grass bro,
Speaker 1: he says, God brother, let we say we'll get it, brother.
Speaker 1: What The Eagles make a trade with their division rivals,
Speaker 1: the Cowboys to jump up two spots to pick number ten.
Speaker 1: This puts them ahead of their other division rivals, the
Speaker 1: New York Giants, and allows them to select the player
Speaker 1: that Giants wanted, Davante Smith. This type of intra division
Speaker 1: first round trade almost never happens because now the Cowboys
Speaker 1: will have to play against Davante at least twice a year. However,
Speaker 1: in this instance, the Giants planned to select DeVante with
Speaker 1: the next pick anyway, so the Cowboys would have to
Speaker 1: face Davante twice the season regardless. That makes the trade
Speaker 1: a win win for Billy and Alice and a stunning
Speaker 1: blow to New York. The move also shocks teams and
Speaker 1: fans around the league. Only Davante seems stoic about it
Speaker 1: as he walks out to the stage to meet NFL
Speaker 1: commissioner Roger Goodell, who hugs him and hands him his
Speaker 1: brand new Philadelphia Eagles jersey. I'm gonna turn out by graduation.
Speaker 1: Thank you. See how you like this that look? Okay?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, for sure, there you go. Glad you're here, man,
Speaker 1: Thanks for coming. Thanks bad you need anything, you let
Speaker 1: me know, be right down the road. Now you're gonna
Speaker 1: have to get these Eagles fans. Man. We'll just hold
Speaker 1: that right here. I will take Okay, come on, guys,
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you, thank you. You got a great player,
Speaker 1: got a great kid. For important. Thank you need something,
Speaker 1: let me know. Okay, they're gonna take care of you.
Speaker 1: Takes to stand right here. It takes an We're gonna
Speaker 1: go backstage now, do a couple of interviews, and take
Speaker 1: some quick with your family. Davante heads backstage again, this
Speaker 1: time to do interviews for his new team and the
Speaker 1: local Aladelphia press. Meanwhile, in Florida, Alas continues watching the broadcast.
Speaker 1: He's trying to figure out what team might draft him
Speaker 1: based on how the top ten played out. Bro when
Speaker 1: the process first broke. When the process first started, they
Speaker 1: was working with me heavy, the Colts coaching me heavy.
Speaker 1: But like, really, bro, it really all depended on this
Speaker 1: top ten. I'll know what's gonna happen, like you got
Speaker 1: like you gotta see what's gonna happen with the Chargers,
Speaker 1: then Minnnnapolis, the air Raiders in Miami, because like Miami
Speaker 1: like me a lot. They said that they're gonna take
Speaker 1: me last year number eighteen them who else coach they
Speaker 1: like me, Feelers they like me a lot, Jaguars they
Speaker 1: like me a lot. And I feel like, worst case scenario,
Speaker 1: I'm going to Baltimore because they got two restaurant picks.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna go to Baltimore. But but ain't trying,
Speaker 1: but trying to go ahead late there's not enough money.
Speaker 1: But like like it all depends on what happened with
Speaker 1: like everybody else has been on the first contract. The
Speaker 1: difference between getting picked in the teens or falling to
Speaker 1: the end of the first round will be about five
Speaker 1: million dollars. That's why Alex was worrying about the money.
Speaker 1: So when the Chargers picked Northwestern tackle were Shawn Slater
Speaker 1: at thirteen, it's another good omen for Alex. The two
Speaker 1: highest ranked tackles are now off the board and he
Speaker 1: could be picked in almost any spot. Moving forward, We'll
Speaker 1: be right back. Alice continues watching the draft broadcast as
Speaker 1: the New York Jets trade up to pick fourteen. They
Speaker 1: select a guard from USC and now New England is
Speaker 1: on the clock, with Arizona in Las Vegas following with
Speaker 1: the next two picks. Hello, all right, yes, sir, yo,
Speaker 1: what's up? Coach? I appreciate the coach, Yes, sir, that
Speaker 1: sounds good. I appreciate it. Oh god, y what the PV?
Speaker 1: What TV? Alex realizes they still have to announce the
Speaker 1: pick on TV and that the broadcast will show him
Speaker 1: live when that happens. So he and Coral Silverberg, a
Speaker 1: member of his team at Clutch, scrambled to clear everyone
Speaker 1: out of the camera's path. Well that way, everybody go
Speaker 1: that way, go go go. Oh yes, Alex, Yeah, all right,
Speaker 1: here's Alex about getting that phone call from the Raiders.
Speaker 1: There was a coach Gruten's number, because he had called
Speaker 1: me like a couple of days before. They talk about something,
Speaker 1: and well, to be honest, what exactly what he said
Speaker 1: was kind of a blur because I was just laden talking.
Speaker 1: I'm just like yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, like agreeing
Speaker 1: with whatever he was saying, and I was just like, oh, Ship,
Speaker 1: I'm going to vegash. After the pick has been announced,
Speaker 1: Alex's older brother runs over to celebrate with Alex and
Speaker 1: their mom. Yes, I told you, Bro, I told you, Bert,
Speaker 1: I told you that. I mama moment I got told
Speaker 1: I told you, I told you. I don't need to
Speaker 1: cry and take it off. Take it off. Even though
Speaker 1: Alex can often be quiet and soft spoken, like his
Speaker 1: old teammate Davante, in this instance, the emotions are too overwhelming.
Speaker 1: It is like a dream come true. But I mean
Speaker 1: I knew it was gonna happen, just because like when
Speaker 1: I had set my mom to do it back when
Speaker 1: I was like fourteen, and I told himself, yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna like take his mission head on and I would
Speaker 1: be successful and things like that. I knew it's gonna happen.
Speaker 1: So it's really just like everything got planned and told
Speaker 1: myself that I was gonna do, like I already like
Speaker 1: lift through this in my head because I manifested it,
Speaker 1: worked at it and made sure that I wasn't gonna
Speaker 1: be denied. Here's jaretts Parks, Alex's teammate at Alabama, who
Speaker 1: watched his best friend's journey over the last four years.
Speaker 1: I couldn't do anything but break down in tears because
Speaker 1: I've just watched it up close, piece by piece, and
Speaker 1: that plan came to life, and to hear his name
Speaker 1: get called on that screen, it was just one of
Speaker 1: the amazing moments to just be there and witness and
Speaker 1: just be a part of. Back in the living room,
Speaker 1: Alex Jaretz and Alex's friends and family continue celebrating. We're
Speaker 1: going to Vegas. Bogus far, We're going to Vegas. It's
Speaker 1: so no state tax. Hey, we lit, we lit. All
Speaker 1: of Alex's pre draft dreams are coming true. He made
Speaker 1: it to the NFL, he became a first round draft pick,
Speaker 1: and he's playing for a franchise in Nevada. Well, there's
Speaker 1: no state income tax. The plan he's been executing for
Speaker 1: seven years straight is officially a succes us, And unlike DeVante,
Speaker 1: Alex wants everyone to know how he's feeling right now. Yeah,
Speaker 1: are we going to read? As Alex and his crew
Speaker 1: celebrate into the night, DeVante and his family drive back
Speaker 1: to the hotel in Cleveland to get ready for a
Speaker 1: celebratory dinner. DeVante's longtime mentor Vincent Sanders describes the moment
Speaker 1: before they head out. He's still a team to fan
Speaker 1: taking pictures of I'm at and I'm coming downstairs and
Speaker 1: I get off the elevator and I meet him and
Speaker 1: he was like to come out with So he's gonna
Speaker 1: meet him. You on elevator and go up to his
Speaker 1: own so you change on the way after. He's like like,
Speaker 1: I was like wow, well, like what he's like, dude,
Speaker 1: I just went t pick. I was like he was
Speaker 1: like tenths pick bro in NFL trap Like yeah. So
Speaker 1: we just sat there for a man room like like wow,
Speaker 1: we just what's saying that? It just was like like
Speaker 1: ship and then you could tell we foun that was it.
Speaker 1: It was down. Once they're quiet, moment of appreciation ends,
Speaker 1: Davante goes back to his room. He quickly gets ready
Speaker 1: for his celebration dinner. I kept my suit on, I
Speaker 1: grabbed my charger. We all went to a restaurant, just
Speaker 1: my family and things like that, the Klutch family of course,
Speaker 1: all of us on. We kind of celebrated by stayed
Speaker 1: probably ten minutes, ten fifteen minutes, and I went back
Speaker 1: to the hotel, went sleep because it was just like this,
Speaker 1: this is not me. I don't like being out. I
Speaker 1: don't like like big gatherers and stuff like that. So
Speaker 1: I got me some eat and then I left and
Speaker 1: just like all right, it's time for me to go.
Speaker 1: But like my my mom mightee like they stayed. They
Speaker 1: enjoyed it well, like I live. Davante said that his
Speaker 1: own celebration for only about ten minutes. Then the very
Speaker 1: next morning, he Vincent fly to Philly to meet his
Speaker 1: new coaches. Here's Vincent, So you wanted me to file
Speaker 1: them with it. So I filed and we get a
Speaker 1: we're gonna meet all the coaches and all that stuff.
Speaker 1: His first questions, I'm gonna get to our pad tonight
Speaker 1: to start starting to play. So they're like, you know,
Speaker 1: you ain't going out. I'm going like the room, so
Speaker 1: you know, you know people there looking like, yeah, right, whatever,
Speaker 1: you're going. You're the Smith. You just can't You're going.
Speaker 1: You can't blame the Eagles staff for being incredulous. The
Speaker 1: team planned to take Davante to a Philadelphia seventy sixers game,
Speaker 1: where he'd ring ceremonial bell before tip off as a
Speaker 1: guest of honor. Then they planned to sit him courtside,
Speaker 1: right next to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, and of course
Speaker 1: they assumed he'd go out on the town after that.
Speaker 1: Here's devote again. I mean, get to feel it, meet
Speaker 1: two coaches and things like they do some media stuff
Speaker 1: with them, and then just at I mean, I went
Speaker 1: to a basketball game bringing the bill. I didn't even
Speaker 1: stay for the game. I just run the bill and
Speaker 1: I left from me. He went to the hotel and yeah,
Speaker 1: straight in the playbook, straight to that room. I'm talking
Speaker 1: about straight to room. We got a restaurant. We at
Speaker 1: room service. When I came to his room was connected
Speaker 1: right next to buy Where I walked through the room,
Speaker 1: he was under the covers with a pencil in hand,
Speaker 1: the book in the op. He wasn't interested in courtside
Speaker 1: seats at an NBA game. He didn't care about being
Speaker 1: the guest of honor there or going to the hottest
Speaker 1: restaurants are Club in Philly. He just wanted to get
Speaker 1: back to football as soon as he possibly could. The
Speaker 1: same way you might love cake blue bell ice cream.
Speaker 1: He loves learning plays and that that's what he does.
Speaker 1: His mom, Christina, sums it up. Yeah, he didn't stay
Speaker 1: the whole game. He left and went back and he
Speaker 1: wanted to get He wanted to get into the playbook.
Speaker 1: But but that's him, you know, always trying to be
Speaker 1: one step ahead. Davante has proven as much as anyone
Speaker 1: in recent college football history, no matter how old you are,
Speaker 1: how tall you are, or how much you weigh, if
Speaker 1: you're one step ahead, it means you're open. So NFL
Speaker 1: defenders better get ready. The quiet, humble, one and seventy
Speaker 1: pound kid from a small town in Louisiana is coming
Speaker 1: for them, and they might already be a step or
Speaker 1: two behind him. Next I'm drafted. I started grooming him
Speaker 1: at an early age to play quarterback. Everything we did
Speaker 1: was football. In this off I realized that he had
Speaker 1: a chance to be somebody. That's how things are in Texas, right,
Speaker 1: it is really all about football. Well, I got death
Speaker 1: threads starting to seek for multiple years. Freshman year for sure,
Speaker 1: stopmore year ding a year and like, I've been booed
Speaker 1: in my own stadium multiple times. Yeah, he was booed.
Speaker 1: That's tough as a parent, you know, when you're sitting
Speaker 1: at a game a little over a quarter into the
Speaker 1: Auburn game and he got benched, but during the game
Speaker 1: getting booed, and as a parent, you know, it's tough.
Speaker 1: He's always considering like, Okay, now, how am I gonna
Speaker 1: make this better? How am I gonna make this better?
Speaker 1: He really is a lot of pressure. I said, Remember,
Speaker 1: Jim Ball can yell at you, but he'll never be
Speaker 1: as hard as your dad is. To me, it's one
Speaker 1: of the most remarkable things I've been a part of.
Speaker 1: Drafted is a production of tree Fort Media, Clutch Sports Group,
Speaker 1: and I Heart Radio. The executive producers are Kelly Garner,
Speaker 1: Lisa Ammerman, Eric Slott, Eric Weiner, and Sewn Titone. The
Speaker 1: series is produced and written by Eric Winer Garme Mamalu
Speaker 1: is our coordinating producer. Coral Silverberg is our associate producer.
Speaker 1: Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer. The show is mixed,
Speaker 1: edited and hosted by Me Stephen Johnson. Additional production helped
Speaker 1: from Tim Shower and Haley Mandelberg. For transcripts of the
Speaker 1: show and more information Undrafted, quote a tree Fort dot Fm,
Speaker 1: and for more podcasts from my Heart, visit the I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows,