Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 172 171 Turbulent Undercurrents

Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons.

All these teams had issued interview invitations to Li Wei, with draft picks ranging from high to low, covering every base.

Undoubtedly, Li Wei became the busiest figure in the entire training camp, barely touching the ground, unable to stop even to drink water.

This was indeed a bit of a surprise, shocking perhaps too strong a word. People could foresee the league's curiosity about Li Wei, but to this extent?

Before the Rookie Training Camp, discussions about Li Wei in the NFL were certainly not few, and one particular view was very popular:

It wasn't that Li Wei wasn't exceptional, but that Saban's system fully utilized Li Wei's capabilities.

There are many reasons why the position of running back is in decline in the Professional League, including injuries, the dominance of passing, and others, such as the offensive system.

Running back is a position highly dependent on teamwork; a good offensive line is responsible for paving the way for the running back, and wide receivers and tight ends are responsible for breaking up the play, allowing a running back to forge a path through packed defenses. Otherwise, even a powerhouse like Henry can be overwhelmed.

For this reason, a strong ground attack team usually has a top-tier offensive line and tactics laid out by coaches to facilitate breaking up the field.

Alabama Crimson Tide Storm was just such a team.

Li Wei's excellence was undeniable; but was this excellence wholly reliant on the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm's offensive system? After switching to a different team and system, would Li Wei struggle to adapt, then expose all his weaknesses? Wouldn't any average running back perform outstandingly within the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm?

Ultimately, having entered the football field for just a single season, with such few reference samples, these concerns were only natural.

Kamara's provocation stemmed from this view.

Especially since Li Wei missed other training camps, remaining a mystery, which only fueled this opinion. People generally believed that Li Wei feared that exposure of his weaknesses would affect his draft position and thus uniformly declined all training camp invitations.

But!

In the Rookie Training Camp, Li Wei fully demonstrated his abilities, from injury assessment to the Frederick Test, from physical data to reception tests, finally revealing the brilliance that Burns initially saw in him, making Li Wei once again the undisputed focus among the rookies.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Then, chaos ensued.

In fact, not only the teams, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was also in action—

Since taking over in 2006, in just ten years, Goodell had doubled the market value of the NFL, and the worth of the thirty-two teams had also risen with the tide; and with foresight, he had laid out his strategy in the global market early on, ambitiously wanting to start a craze worldwide.

In 2016, among the world's wealthiest professional clubs, the NFL cornered half of the top fifty slots, with twenty-six teams making it into the top fifty, and the Dallas Cowboys were champions for three consecutive years.

No wonder Goodell's support rate among team owners had reached a new high.

It was obvious to any ordinary team manager, and Goodell had no reason to miss it; he was also behind the scenes, fanning the flames. Everywhere one could see news about Li Wei, his exposure reaching an unbelievable level, but Goodell's real cleverness was not in these efforts.

—Running back.

Goodell packaged the sale, pushing the rivalry of the three great running backs—Fournette, Li Wei, and McCaffrey—to the pinnacle.

Because Goodell knew that in recent years, the League had completely focused on the passing game, causing the value of running backs to continuously decline, with teams becoming increasingly stingy in using high draft picks on running backs; but now, Goodell needed the teams to be braver and bolder in choosing Li Wei, relying solely on Li Wei's strength might not be enough.

Thus, they needed to reawaken the value of running backs, make fans believe that a running back is an indispensable piece in the struggle for the Super Bowl, and give team managers the courage to boldly use high draft selections on running backs.

In no time, there were intense debates surrounding the three great running backs, and consequently, other running backs also received more attention.

Simultaneously, Goodell once again personally visited Hua Xia, generously issuing a call to heroes, enthusiastically inviting Chinese media to Philadelphia, the venue for this year's draft, to broadcast the draft up close, witnessing history—

All of this, everything was in promotion for this year's draft.

Without any surprises, Li Wei was certain to be picked, and once picked, it would be a historical moment.

The only suspense now lay in whether he could be selected in the first round, or to be more precise, at what position and by which team he would be selected?

The heat was rising, growing more intense, and now that the atmosphere had been built up to this point, it should... not... flop, right?