Overview
- Pat McAfee, a former Colts punter and current ESPN host, announced Indianapolis’ second-round pick in Pittsburgh, naming Georgia linebacker CJ Allen at No. 53 as the team’s first selection of the draft.
- He delivered an extended, crowd-facing intro that ran close to 90 seconds, called the Colts the “AFC South kings,” and capped the moment with a Bulldogs bark.
- He framed the pick within the team’s offseason, noting Indianapolis traded its 2026 first-rounder to the Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner and touting Gardner over this year’s first-rounders.
- He worked in bold lines about ending a 12-year division title drought and tossed off rhetorical references to Michael Pittman’s move to the Steelers and Daniel Jones’ Achilles injury as part of the show.
- Reaction online turned split within hours, with some praising the energy and others labeling the performance “cringe,” underscoring how the NFL’s use of celebrity pick announcers can draw attention and backlash at once.