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- The Miami Dolphins are pulling out all the stops for what will likely be a meaningless pick in the 2022 NFL Draft
- The team will announce a late-round pick from the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil
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The NFL has done a phenomenal job drumming up excitement for the draft (even though it failed to figure out a way to efficiently use a boat to transport players to a stage in the middle of the Bellagio Fountains despite having two years to do so), and all eyes will turn to Las Vegas on Thursday night for what promises to be one of the more unpredictable first rounds in recent memory.
Barring some inexplicable development, all of the highly-touted prospects in this year’s class will be off of the board by the time the third round wraps up on Friday, and I have a hard time imagining even the most diehard NFL fans won’t have something better to do with their time than watch with bated breath when teams start deploying their triple-digit picks when the weekend kicks off.
However, that hasn’t stopped the Dolphins from attempting to drum up some excitement with a fairly elaborate plan that was unveiled on Tuesday. According to Pro Football Network’s Matt Cannata, Miami has tapped an unnamed Brazilian celebrity to announce one of their late-round picks from the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue that stands tall over Rio De Janeiro, and the iconic landmark will be illuminated with the team’s colors when the sun sets.
One of the #Dolphins Day 3 picks will be announced from the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A Brazilian celebrity will announce one of the team's late-round picks. On that night, the statue will be lit up in aqua and orange. pic.twitter.com/rzIk2etLva
— Matt Cannata (@CannataPFN) April 26, 2022
That seemingly random stunt is the product of the franchise being granted the rights to an “International Home Marketing Area” in the South American country last year. It’s certainly an intriguing concept, but plenty of fans jumped at the opportunity to make some jokes after hearing about the news.
Notre Dame has touchdown Jesus so now the Dolphins have incompletion Jesus. https://t.co/fN4mk3pVXz
— Brian McBride (@BrianLMcBride) April 26, 2022
For years @god hasn’t been on our side. Maybe this will change things
— JT Poston (@realjtposton1) April 26, 2022
It’s just really funny to me that they’re illuminating a gigantic statue of Jesus Christ and one of the modern wonders of the world, thousands of miles away in a different country and continent, to celebrate the Miami Dolphins’ seventh round backup tight end selection https://t.co/KNTkih8zSD
— Ron Bon Jovi (@theross_man) April 26, 2022
Hell of a way to announce a new punter
— JB (@JB0123wxyz) April 26, 2022
The Dolphins will be one of ten teams announcing a pick from an international location, but none of them have unveiled a plan that comes close to matching the ambition of Miami’s.