Best Thing I Saw Last Week...the 2018 NFL Draft
Who is Philadelphia Eagles pick Matt Pryor and why is Paul Slater such a fan? Find out in this week’s “Best Thing I Saw Last Week!”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell walks on stage.
“With the 206th pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles select Matt Pryor. Offensive lineman. TCU.”
Oh, you’ve never heard of Matt Pryor? Well me neither, but I just found out that he went to Lakewood High School and I couldn’t be less ashamed to hop on his bandwagon.
If it weren’t for Lakewood athletic director Mike Wadley (or whoever runs the @LWoodAthletics Twitter account), I probably would’ve never known this guy was a Lakewood football alumnus. But shout out to them because now, all my chips are in and I’m adopting him as if he were my own brother.
“Alice, are you blind? Don’t you see the family resemblance?” (If you don’t get that reference, check your pulse).
The NFL Draft is a top-10 event of the year for your boy and I love all the theatrics. From Mel Kiper’s hair to Adam Schefter breaking the news that the first overall selection has been narrowed down to 14 different players. Nice scoop, Adam! SUUUUPER helpful.
But my FAVORITE part of the draft is finding out where the hometown boys are headed and having a rooting interest in those teams. Pryor is a 6-foot-7-inch offensive lineman weighing about 332 pounds and can play multiple positions on the line. I’ve done my research on the second-team All-Big 12 selection from TCU, so when his name comes up in conversation, now I can say, “Matt Pryor? Yeah, I know him. We grew up together in Long Beach.”
I’ve been doing it for years with guys like Joel Bitonio (Wilson), DeSean Jackson (Poly), and recently with JuJu Smith-Schuster (Poly), and John Ross III (Jordan). The good thing about being from Long Beach is that there’s so much talent here that we can basically be fans of every single team in the NFL. Browns? Yeah, their LG is ridiculously good. Steelers? HUGE fan. I basically taught that kid that wears #19 everything he knows about celebrations.
Call me a bad NFL fan. I’m rubber and you’re glue. Long Beach comes first and everybody else is number two.
Year after year, hometown kids are added to the list. Pryor’s heading to the champs. Lakewood alumnus Josh Fatu and Poly alumnus JoJo Wicker signed undrafted free agent deals with the Detroit Lions. And Poly alumnus Gerard Wicks signed a UFA deal with the New Orleans Saints.
Good luck fellas. You’ve got yourself a huge fan over here. Put the city on your back.
