The pick is in, Rios delivers on NFL Draft Night

I asked Sports360az spring intern Daniel Rios to be part of our NFL Draft show. Having done NFL Drafts for almost 40 years, I know a “draft nick” when I meet one. Daniel Rios correctly predicted 25 of the 32 first round picks on Round One. Guys like Joel Buschbaum, Bill Werndel, Mel Kuiper, and Todd McShay just needed an opportunity to show their stuff. Last night Daniel delivered in a high pressure environment. I asked him to write about his first night of being a “draft nick”. If he so chooses, he will have many, many more…

Around two months ago, I was at the NFL Scouting Combine. An absolute dream came true for me as a student reporter and simply as a fan of the NFL draft. I’ve watched the event for years growing up, and the draft has been my favorite sporting event for years on end. A few weeks later, Brad Cesmat asked me if I was interested in doing a live draft show with him and Brian Urlacher at Harrah’s in Ak-Chin. Immediately in my head, I asked myself, “No way he believes I can do this, right?”
But he did.

Leading up to the scouting combine, I was casually scouting players just for fun; it’s something I do on the side every year. Getting to know a draft class is fun because of the infinite storylines that come with every class. The intriguing players you learn about, and honestly, the best part of it all, each player gets the chance to make their dream come true. Once the opportunity at Harrah’s was officially on my radar, I started fully scouting this class to prepare 50 potential players to be selected on day one of the draft. This was the hardest thing I’ve had to do in terms of work. Writing for Cronkite News, StatePress and the Walter Cronkite Sports Network, having 21 credits this semester in school, and going to the gym daily. It was a grueling and draining final semester in college. But at the end of the day, if I had to cover a game, or I was stuck doing homework assignments or just returning from a late-night gym session. One thing that always excited me was that I got to watch a film about prospects once I finished all other responsibilities.

Brad was kind enough to give me reps on his show every Monday for about a month before the draft, discussing topics surrounding it. I’m used to chopping it up with friends or tweeting out opinions, so this was something entirely different for me, and as you can imagine, my first couple of appearances weren’t good. I honestly felt down on myself because I’d heard people I looked up to in the draft media industry, and they made it seem so easy to talk about topics, but when I spoke, it felt like I was rambling on about nothing. But I stuck with it, and by this past Monday, I felt like I had my best appearance ever. I stuck with it and was confident because it’s essentially just talking ball with people you like, and that’s what drove me to love the NFL as a kid.

Now, draft night is a night I’ve prepared for for months. As I entered the Harrah’s and saw the stage, I thought, ‘Man, there is no way I’m going to do this,’ honestly, I started off rough, I feel like. It’s an environment I wasn’t used to, but I settled in. I started getting some picks right, and my confidence grew slightly. Then Brian came, and we began to talk about picks. He worked the crowd great along with Brad, and everything became more natural as the night went along. I am just talking about players, selections and the quarterbacks slipping. It was a great experience
because it felt so natural being up there and talking about these players I’ve studied for months.
My delivery towards the end should’ve been better, and I could’ve gone more in-depth on some guys, but for the environment we were in, it wasn’t necessary. I’m just hard on myself a bit.But the draft ended, and I walked off the stage; my friend Sammy Nute congratulated me for doing a great job, and I was pumped. Everything I did and talked about felt natural. It was the quickest three-hour time period that has ever gone by for me.