Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 180 179 The Biggest Winner

Missouri, Kansas City, Old Oak Tavern.

Undoubtedly, it was the city's most loyal and popular Chiefs fan base. On game days, the tavern would be packed with fans, making the exciting matches even more enjoyable due to the shared atmosphere; if the Chiefs were playing away, then the tavern would be completely swamped.

Today was no exception.

Even though it was just the Draft Day, fans were still dressed to the nines in anticipation, each wearing jerseys gathered together to watch the live event.

However, the mood in the tavern was somewhat subdued.

David Anderson, the owner of the Old Oak Tavern, could have retired long ago, but he loved staying at the bar, loved discussing everything about the Chiefs with the fans, loved sharing the joy of victory and the bitterness of defeat with everyone.

Together, they waited, waited for the team's second Super Bowl Championship Trophy since 1969. Forty-seven years, almost half a century was about to pass, but Anderson still vividly remembered that night—

He was eight years old, not even knowing what football meant, but he witnessed the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Minnesota Vikings and winning the Super Bowl with his dad, grandpa, brothers, and sisters.

That was the Kansas City Chiefs' first and so far only Super Bowl.

From that day on, they had been waiting, they had been fighting.

"Hey, cheer up, everyone cheer up!" Anderson banged heavily on the bar counter, shouting, "We did great work, we chose a fine player, a player capable of shouldering the team's responsibilities, we should trust Coach Reed's judgment."

In the crowd—

"Yes, David, I know, yes, Li Wei is an excellent player..."

"But a running back?"

"Exactly. We used our top draft pick on a running back? It's not about being disappointed, but was it really necessary? And at such a high cost."

"What about the salary cap? The cap for the third overall pick isn't a small number."

"Moreover, I can't understand, do we really need a running back? To the extent of a first-round pick? To the extent of trading up? Without Charles, the other backup running backs could take on the responsibilities."

Chattering away, armchair coaches, everyone had their own opinions.

This was a very common view among Kansas City Chiefs fans:

Li Wei is good, without a doubt an excellent choice, but at such a cost? And for a unique first-round pick, is this really okay?

Even if Veach maneuvered, shifting the cost of trading up onto the Chicago Bears, in the end, the salary cap for the third pick still fell on the shoulders of the Kansas City Chiefs. In the different plans discussed during the offseason, choosing a running back in the first round wasn't even part of the blueprint.

Now, the Kansas City Chiefs' move was final, today's draft had nothing to do with them anymore—round two and three were tomorrow, rounds four through seven the day after. However, precisely because of this, having the first round of the draft end so anticlimactically sparked even more debate.

Profit, a real windfall.

By this time, the Old Oak Tavern finally realized—

Everything was planned.

Clearly, the Kansas City Chiefs were considering both the present and the future, preparing to build around Li Wei and Mahomes.

Now, looking back at the Kansas City Chiefs' choice of Li Wei with the third pick, things finally started to make sense.

Anderson raised his glass high; he didn't intend to say the nonsense like "I told you so" or "We should have trusted Coach Reed." He simply stated,

"To Li Wei and Mahomes!"

The tavern erupted into cheers.

In the Baltimore Ravens' war room, Harbaugh turned to Newsome, unable to suppress his laughter.

It wasn't until now that Reed's grand blueprint was finally fully revealed. They had hoped to pick up Li Wei later, not realizing someone else had bigger plans.

"Indeed, the older the ginger, the spicier it gets."

Newsome couldn't help but rub his hands together, "But, Watson still hasn't been chosen."

One draft strategy is to select the best remaining player.

Does that now mean Watson?

But Harbaugh was very calm, "The Kansas City Chiefs passed over Watson to choose Mahomes. I trust Reed's judgment, even if Watson falls into our lap, there's no need to choose him. Let's stick to the original plan."

"Besides, I feel that other teams are probably secretly delighted thinking they can snatch him up. I... wish them luck."

This time, Harbaugh was right—

With the twelfth pick, the Houston Texans finally declared Watson's name, ending his nightmarish evening. Braving further descent into the abyss, Watson arrived late, becoming the third quarterback selected.

Even though he was finally chosen, Watson could not muster a smile, really couldn't smile, with his shoulders slumped and a dejected face as he took the stage. He was like a puppet left to be manipulated; he couldn't understand how he had slipped so far.

Everyone's focus was on Watson, so much so that Solomon Thomas was quietly forgotten.

Thomas, the defensive end from Stanford University, once predicted to be a top-three pick, was now completely overlooked.

Confusion was written all over Thomas's face: The rookie Li Wei got picked early, but what about me? What about me!