Rick Spielman was “that guy” on Draft Weekend

I assume that just about everyone that reads this, at some point in their fandom, has been a part of a fantasy football league and the draft thats that are involved with that process. Having done that, we’ve all been in this situation.

You’ve just made your pick in whatever round. So, you decide to get up and grab some chips, maybe an adult beverage, or whatever. But the whole time you’re doing that, you’re thinking about who you’re taking with your next pick. You might even already have your next pick queued up and ready to go. The picks go by, and your guy is still there. So, you wait. . .and you wait. . .and you’re just one pick away from selecting the player that will undoubtedly lead you to fantasy glory.

And then the guy right in front of you steals your pick, he disappears from your queue, and you have to take a moment to process the whole thing. Because “that guy” stole your pick, that inconsiderate jerk.

Well, according to Eric Smith of the Vikings’ official website, Rick Spielman apparently had several instances where he played the role of “that guy.” How do we know? Well, apparently some of Spielman’s contacts with other teams told him as much.

“I think it’s funny because you get texts from your buddies. I won’t say teams or stuff like that, but I know three times [when] teams text you right away and say, ‘Oh, that was our guy.’ Guys that I am especially close with,” Spielman said. “But I do think you have to go off a little bit experience and instinct.

“Two of them we did the right thing for sure, I know that. Actually, three. I got three texts that were pretty interesting from some of my other buddies,” Spielman added. “It is a pretty small circle of people that you associate with, so we are pretty open and honest with each other.”

Spielman didn’t specify teams or individuals that made contact with him on this front, for obvious reasons. You never know the next time you’re going to have to swing a deal with someone, after all.

Now, obviously, the Minnesota Vikings (and the 31 other NFL teams that don’t matter quite as much) do significantly more planning for the NFL Draft than you or I do for our fantasy league. I hope so, anyway. . .if not, then either a) there are some lazy NFL teams out there, or b) some of you are really super obsessive about your fantasy football draft prep.

But, it is sort of cool to get an “inside look” at some of the lighter moments from this weekend’s draft. Hopefully Spielman will continue irritating other NFL personnel departments for quite a while to come.