I have teased stories several times, and this week I’ll tell a big one. It’s draft analysis time, so it’s only appropriate I share how I met my second-round draft pick. This works out double because Sunday was my daughter’s birthday. Misty, is my first-round draft pick, making my oldest the second round. My son is my third round, and we will address him at a later point – he gets more interesting by the day, so a good one is coming.
My daughter has been interesting from the get-go. I recently switched day jobs and now work with an old friend and former boss. Several of us were out for dinner last week, and he brought up the story. I sometimes forget how wild this whole thing was. Here we go.
I was at the tail end of a hiatus from the corporate world. My time with my job that moved me to Milwaukee ended in late February. Misty was working tons of hours at a downtown hotel, so I took to making frequent long trips back to Kansas to work with my dad. My primary task was selling roofing, and Hays was just out of a major hail storm. The affairs with manual labor were planting seeds. I made sure to be back up north in September because we had tickets to the Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR race, and I was not missing that. We get up and prep for the day on the morning of the race.
NASCAR is a tailgating atmosphere, and we game up for such things. We got our food plans around and then shifted to the cooler. I started loading all the beer I planned to take and looked up a spot to grab some Half Acre Daisey Cutter near the track. We are about the walk out the door when Misty’s mood shifts, and she starts pulling O’Doul’s beers out of the fridge. This throws me off. We had them for when her parents, who are long-time recovering AA members, visited. Not for us. I am too dumb to conclude, so she hits me over the head with the news that we will soon be parents.
The 2 seconds of shock immediately give way to complete joy. Misty and I are planners by nature, but we never really got around to finalizing the timing of this. It was strangely on brand. We made our way down to Joliette for the race and had a great day. We realized that we did not have health insurance on the drive home. I will not get into this any more than to mention that hospitals are not very good at taking payments that do not involve insurance.
About a month later, I started a new job working for the aforementioned friend (his name is Adam), and the insurance piece works itself out, and we are on the way to having a kid.
The first exciting part of this timeframe is the job itself. I was in a true road warrior sales role covering North America. I had that job for three years and can count on one hand the number of weeks I didn’t fly somewhere. The Southwest Airline Companion Pass is legit, and we used the heck out of it. I loved that job. Flying, staying in hotels, and learning everything about a new city are significant. The travel was a huge plus for me. Unfortunately, it was not the best for the family situation.
The other interesting thing for me was watching Misty navigate pregnancy. Her degree is in research microbiology (like most hotel general managers), so this was, in many ways, a research project. I had a blast watching her torpedo things like the no sushi rule. She concluded that the risk was nausea, which was already happening anyway, sushi was a significant part of our diets, and Japanese women have kids all the time. Another major conclusion she made centered around the birthing classes being useless. I have two kids and have not attended a session.
Our due date was May 24th. April hits, and we start planning the major things. My top priority was making sure I got off the road. The plan was for me to take a trip to Philly end of April and then a quick one to Phoenix first part of May. I was off the road 2+ weeks before the due date. Misty and I established this plan together. This new addition also meant a need for more space. A move from our apartment to a house was in order.
Oh yeah, we were moving too. This was not even a ‘jumping the gun’ thing as our lease was up at the end of April. We gathered some friends and moved the weekend of April 27-28. And by saying we, I am including Misty. No amount of telling her to sit down stopped her from carrying boxes. We get in, clear some boxes so we can sleep, and go back to work on Monday. Monday evening we visit the maternity ward to get our bearings of what arriving looks like.
Now that my patented, long-winded buildup for context is complete, we arrive at the story. I catch a late afternoon/early evening flight to Philly on Tuesday, April 30th. The trip was to see one of my biggest customers, and we had stuff on deck for first thing in the morning. I stayed at the Airport Hilton and got there in the 9 pm range. My standard plan was to get into the room and call Misty. She was wrapping her day and heading home from work, and a stop through the Burger King drive-through was in order. I planned to grab a small bite and a beer at the restaurant, so we planned to connect before bed.
There is one more quick note about my daughter. The recent ultrasounds showed her breach, which is the medical term for positioning feet first. That obviously does not work, so Misty’s directive from the OB was to get moving with massage and acupuncture to try and turn her. However, she was also to start wrapping her mind around a likely C section.
I make my way upstairs, change for bed, and give Misty a call. She sounds off. After pressing a few times, she admits to feeling like something is changing. I can hear her rummaging through unpacked boxes, which was her looking for towels because her water broke. And she wanted something to sit on when she drove herself to the hospital. I tell her to call a cab, but she does not listen. We hang up, and she heads to the hospital.
I open my laptop and begin frantically looking for the fastest way back to Milwaukee. I booked a 6 am flight that connects through Chicago O’Hare and lands in Milwaukee around 9:30 am. It sounds risky as all get out, but it was the best option. Shortly after, Misty called to tell me the doctors wanted her in the OR immediately for a C section. However, they agreed to hold off as long as possible for two reasons:
They did make it clear that once the labor threshold crossed, all bets were off.
I barely slept, which was a great way to start the life of not sleeping. My airport MO is to arrive 90 minutes at most before a departure, and that is just so I have time to slam a beer before boarding. I have Global Entry/TSA Pre, a sense of urgency, a lack of patience, and carry-on luggage. Pre 9/11, I would arrive at KCI 20 minutes before takeoff. This morning I was there by 4 am. No way I was leaving anything to chance. The flight was precisely 2 hours before landing in O’Hare at 7 am. An urge comes to mind: the connection to Milwaukee is not a good idea. I book a rental car as the plane taxis to the gate.
O’Hare is huge, and so are planes. It took me about 20 minutes to get off the plane, another 20 to get to the rental car shuttle, and another 20 to get off the lot in a car. I pulled into the West Allis Aurora hospital parking lot around 9:15 am. Feel free to do that math and map it, but know I was hauling a commodity.
I walk into the maternity ward shortly after arriving. The nurse at the first stand looks and me and says something to the effect of, “you’re the husband, um, Misty, follow me.” We walk to the room where Misty is, and she preps me a bit more. I will be scrubbing up immediately, and a doctor will be in to brief. I get about 2 minutes with Misty, and the doctor enters. He laid out the plan. They would take Misty to OR in 5 minutes, prep her, come back and get me, and we would have a baby.
My daughter Vivian was born at 9:54 am, and life has been a wild ride since. Misty and I heard all of our friends and cousins talk about how much life changed and how they never did anything after kids. Our goal was not to fall into that trend. The part that always bothered us was the perceived unhappiness or at least disappointment. Our goal was to keep doing things and bring her along. The agreement was to stop if things started going poorly. At two weeks old, Viv went to a baseball game at Wrigley Field. A couple of weeks later, we flew to Cincinnati for a Reds game. After that, we flew with her every couple of months until she turned two and was no longer a free lap child.
I have no idea if this makes us good or horrible parents, but it certainly made Viv a solid traveler. My job changed before we had our son in 2016, so the road warrior days went away. Two kids definitely put us at home more nights as well, but my son, Carter, has emulated his sister and become a solid traveler as well. Misty and I have always strived to not be the “tourists.” We research our destinations, work to fit in with the locals even if it’s uncomfortable, and act like guests. I think we have instilled that in our kids as well.
Thanks as always for hanging with me to the football talk. In the short column early this week, I made my stance clear: Veach and Co. did an excellent job. That goes for the whole offseason. The AFC Championship was a downright disaster, and rash moves would make sense in the aftermath. All of the AFC West teams shelled out big contracts as soon as possible, and attempts to follow would make sense. Instead, the entire CHIEFS leadership got to work, and their main job was ignoring the outside noise. The CHIEFS methodically went about intelligent, sustainable, measured business. I have mentioned the analogy of the drowning person. Instinct says to struggle, but physics says to calm. The CHIEFS stayed calm. No Broncos or Raiders picks in the first round resulted from their internal actions and struggles. They are still alive, but it is a result of not drowning yet.
In fairness to our division mates, the CHIEFS are responsible for them being in the drowning state. Eager fans of other teams were happy to see the CHIEFS run end in apathetic inactivity. Unfortunately for them, it was the CHIEFS slowly putting their foot on everyone’s drowning heads.
I love the draft results, and I will keep repeating it. How Brett Veach managed the 2022 Draft was a masterclass of discipline in the face of chaos. Blown marquee games aside, the League is chasing the CHIEFS. The latest trend is leaning into the offense and putting up crooked numbers. It is also trending to big, bold, splashy trades to catapult into relevance. This has always been a thing, but we are seeing a new gear. The CHIEFS have the best player in the most crucial position. A calm strategy is what will keep him there. This draft embodied the steady, deliberate execution of a well planned strategy. Here are my favorites in order:
Let’s get into my “why.”
Of all the picks, this was my favorite pick for who it is and when it happened. There were multiple mock drafts showing him to Kansas City, but they all had him in the first round. Fans and analysts were prodding the CHIEFS to go hard at adding a top-tier WR in the first round. It “HAD to happen” after Tyreek left. The WR run in the top half of the first round made it look borderline necessary. Moore fell because of his smaller stature and small school. Fortunately for him, the fall landed him in KC. This guy is a stud who brings sure hands and an inside threat, which will pair well with our offense this season.
This pick caught my attention first with the trade-up and then due to the position played. The CHIEFS top 3 needs going into the draft were CB, Edge, and WR. I was cool with either of the first but did not want a first-round WR. Part of that was the belief in the team already in the building, and the other half was not participating in that first-round run. The Washington Huskies stake the claim to top-tier CB development, and McDuffie was their star. Marcus Peters provides a good, recent look at what a Washington CB can come into the League and do. I was a huge Peters fan, so I hope McDuffie is him with a better attitude.
This guy was touted as the best fit for Spags’ scheme by all the evaluators. I did not believe he would still be available when we picked and considered it dead when we took McDuffie at 21. However, I also did not think the first round would play out like it did (One QB, two good edge defenders available in the 20s, etc.), but Veach read the room effectively. I am glad to see Spags getting tools, so he has a fair shake at making his mark. This draft as a whole was geared that way. The big difference is the implication. Last season, he signed a ton of WR talent to take away Daniel Jones’ excuses. For the Chiefs, the draft felt more like the D and Spags finally getting their turn at priority. The Greek Freak is a nickname that must stick.
The Big 10 Butkus–Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year was available at pick 103. Not sure exactly why, but here we are. Kiper had some interesting comments that probably provided the insight. He started by comparing him to a 1985-era pain inflictor and went as far as to call him a top 10 talent for that retro scenario. That sounds great to me!! Kiper’s other comment centered on Chenal being a run stopper and potential liability in coverage. It sounds like a worthwhile risk to bank on developing that skill.
I am going on a decade and a half in Big 10 country and have seen their pro offerings. Here are the things I have picked up about the conference:
Veach took two wreckers from successful Big 10 defenses. A couple more things about Leo. The Badger LB Corp calls themselves Death Row. That name is badas–, and the 2021 edition fits the mold. Extra points for Leo jumping the gun, using the term, and living to tell about it.
I have to give love to the DII guy. He was also the first pick from an HBCU since 2020. Deion Sanders is building a program that will be changing that metric soon.
This one is a shout to my Arrowhead Kingdom CHIEFScast guy Chris. He added a ROT as the 4th key need in our pre-draft discussions. Kinnard entered the 2021 season as an All-American. He will do one of two things: storm into camp and win the RT job or piss off Niang enough to slam the door on him. I could care less which one happens.
The CHIEFS went into the draft needing CB, Edge, and WR, and according to Chris Thomas, RT (I agreed, BTW). Veach had his checklist, and here is how I think he did.
The CHIEFS drafted 3, which is a good investment. News of Fenton rehabbing a shoulder and missing offseason training makes this look even better. I mentioned 2 in my above list. The third is Jaylen Watson from Washington State. His 6’2″ frame, 2 INT, and FBS leading four fumble recoveries landed him on the CHIEFS.
The mission for this crew is to all make the squad, and McDuffie will start game 1. The final move was the trade with Houston for Lonnie Johnson. The CHIEFS have options.
The Greek Freak is the get here. He will make the transition from destroying top-notch Big Ten offensive lines to wreaking havoc in the NFL. His mean streak and work ethic give him the shot, and he seems like a guy that makes his shot. The UFA tender placed on Melvin Ingram may be an even better move. By taking this action, Veach retains exclusive negotiation rights for a $4.4M salary. If things fall apart he gets a compensatory pick next draft. Ingram will be back and ready as soon as we get through this pesky camp and practice stuff. The dude’s a vet and probably doesn’t need it.
Veach addressed this position in 3 ways. The first was the patient, perfect draft pick of Skyy Moore, who has a shot to force his way into the starting lineup. The second is the further development of guys on the roster. Trigger warning for the Hardman and Gordon haters, but they can still provide impact. Gordon is finally getting a full offseason, and Hardman finally gets a chance to be the lead downfield burner. Don’t sleep on these two. The final move is signing UDFA Justyn Ross. This is a steal of the entire draft process potential. I guess the CHIEFS actually DID join that round 1 arms race after all.
Kinnard will get an opportunity to start at RT game 1. Your move Lucas Niang. The CHEIFS rounded out the draft by adding two safeties, an inside linebacker, and a super-fast RB. All profiled as best available, and all will have a shot a major playing time.
I have never met a sport I cannot get into. My mind is deep into the NBA and NHL playoffs at the moment. Here are my quick predictions for the finals of each:
See y’all next week!!
Josh Kingsley – ArrowheadOne
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