If you ask NFL Media Executive Producer Charlie Yook when his team shines brightest during the NFL Draft, he will say that it is in the moments you cannot prepare for. He told Richard Deitsch that a perfect example of that during the 2022 NFL Draft came when the Tennessee Titans traded AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“We’re all reacting, just like everyone’s reacting, and A.J. Brown is a representation of that. We don’t feed the analysts anything in advance,” Yook said. “Their reaction is natural. I don’t want to use the word scrambling, but we are moving as fast as we can because the body of the draft is still going on.”
That spontaneity was perfectly captured when Rich Eisen announced the trade to the panel. Daniel Jeremiah responded with a simple “Wow!”
There was plenty of action and reaction that added to the atmosphere of the moment, and Yook and his crew tried to capture it all. Among them was a shot of a Titans fan dancing in celebration of getting the 18th overall pick. Eisen was quick to note that fan probably had no idea about AJ Brown. Also, when the Titans used that pick to select Treylon Burkes out of Arkansas, Jeremiah showed on screen that the NFL player the Arkansas receiver was most comparable to was Brown.
Yook explained that trade and moments like it present a challenge. The broadcasters have to acknowledge the huge news that has just broken while also focusing on the Draft itself. There is another team on the clock after all.
“In the truck it is controlled chaos, and those are things I watch back later,” Yook said.
