The NFL Draft is a tentpole event for the National Football League, a special three-day weekend that is one of the most anticipated sports-related productions around. Part of the reason for the excitement for the event is rooted in the mystery of what will happen, as NFL teams select college prospects in hopes of finding the stars of tomorrow.
Spencer Anderson was a seventh-round pick in this year's NFL Draft as an offensive lineman who'd just finished his career with the Maryland Terrapins. Typically, such a late-round pick wouldn't generate much in the way of headlines, but the story around his selection illustrates just what makes the entire weekend so interesting.
Anderson, who was officially taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 251 overall, recently sat down on a team-related podcast entitled Three Point Stance to detail his draft story and NFL dreams. As he told his story, he had a hilarious story that not only included the Chiefs but it also detailed hanging up on head coach Andy Reid.
Spencer Anderson says he was on the phone with Andy Reid but he was taken by the Steelers instead.
“I was on the phone with Kansas City. Kansas City had the pick right before the Steelers and Kansas City had told me they were going to with me or a DB, if the DB went off the board, they were going to go with me. I was on the phone with Andy Reid, I was talking to him. … He was just like ‘sit tight.’”
The Chiefs had the selection on the clock at No. 250 overall, but it's important to remember the picks come fast and furious at that point in the weekend. A maximum of five minutes for each pick can be utilized but the rounds often move faster than that.
From there, Anderson says a couple of defensive backs were taken officially and he believed one of them might have been the Chiefs' preferred pick. Then with Reid on the phone, another phone number interrupted his call with Kansas City.
“Three teams before the Chiefs picked, I got a call from a 412 number — Omar. He put me on the phone with Coach Tomlin. He was like, ‘Hey, man, versatility is your calling card. … We’re going to go ahead and submit you with our next pick.’
“I obviously hung up on Andy Reid and then, all of the sudden, I believe his name was Nic Jones, he went right before me, and I was like, I guess they took him because I hung up,” Anderson said.
It's a hilarious story and it's made even more entertaining to think the Chiefs might have gone with Ball State cornerback Nic Jones instead of Anderson because he hung up on Reid. We're pretty sure the Chiefs got the guy they wanted all along, but Anderson's development with the Steelers will be a minor story worth following over the next few years. And maybe Anderson will get a chance to apologize to Reid at some point in the future.