Lewis Cine was not surprised to hear his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft last month, but he did not expect to last until the 32nd overall pick. A team that was originally scheduled to pick five slots before that apparently told the former Georgia safety that he was their guy.
During a recent appearance on “The Richard Sherman Podcast,” Cine claimed the team that held the No. 27 overall pick in the draft assured him they were going to select him if he was still on the board. He says he was shocked when that team traded out of the first round. The Minnesota Vikings then took Cine with the final pick of the first round.
“I had a team at No. 27, they know who they are. I don’t have to say no names. It was at 27,” Cine said, via Chris Rosvoglou of The Spun. “The whole process, (they said) ‘If you’re there, we’re gonna pick you.’ They move down to the second round. I’m like ‘Damn, they just did me so dirty.’ And then at this point I’m like, ‘You know, if I don’t go (in the first round), it is what it is.’ I went to lay down and then I received the call and I was like, thank God I just got picked.”
Cine was obviously talking about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They originally had the No. 27 overall pick before trading out of the first round as part of a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bucs selected defensive end Logan Hall with the first pick in the second round.
Things change quickly during the draft. Assuming the Bucs did tell Cine they planned to pick him, the board probably did not fall the way they anticipated it would. That is why there are very few guarantees once the clock starts rolling.
Cine is not the first player who has been led to believe a certain team would draft him leading into the big event. We heard a similar claim from an All-Pro player recently. Those stories should be a lesson to players.
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