The draft pad that launched a thousand tweets.
Kliff Kingsbury didn't just show up (virtually speaking) to the NFL draft on Thursday, he flexed on the entire league with his luxurious home war-room setup. This year's format has undoubtedly made for the most intimate draft ever by providing viewers an inside look at the respective homes of draftees and front-office executives alike. But in a sea of basements, makeshift backdrops and contrived home offices with spotty Wi-Fi, one man's setup made all the others look quite, well, sad.
It all started when the Cincinnati Bengals were about to select Joe Burrow No. 1 overall, and the Arizona Cardinals decided to hit us with a tasteful tweet showing off their draft digs. Why did they do this seven picks before the Cards were on the clock? Because a war room like this waits for no one.
War Room 2.0 pic.twitter.com/aCh3GYPVCG
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) April 24, 2020
Is that a lit fire pit in the background? How many pools does he have out there? Do all NFL coaches live like this?
Apparently, we weren't the only ones in awe of Kingsbury's swagged-out spot. Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes took note of his former Texas Tech coach's pad and felt inspired, tweeting:
I'm trying to have a crib like Kliff! 😂😂😂
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) April 24, 2020
This prompted former Cardinals star Tyrann Mathieu to chime in with a pointed revelation:
No wonder they couldn't afford me anymore lmao
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 24, 2020
The Honey Badger -- and I cannot stress this enough -- don't care.
Mathieu's former Houston Texans teammate Deshaun Watson also got involved, turning to emojis to express his thoughts on the matter:
— Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) April 24, 2020
Same, Deshaun. Same.
Then Watson's teammate J.J. Watt came through with the only analogy that matters:
Kliff is living like Gordon Bombay when Hendrix put him up in that Malibu house. #MightyDucks https://t.co/Cr7dvnyUXu
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 24, 2020
We were going to go with Peloton commercial, but now that Watt mentions it -- the Gordon Bombay vibes are strong.
Our own Bill Barnwell couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between Kingsbury's quarters and those of Cincinnati's Zac Taylor:
compare and contrast pic.twitter.com/MQc8DdO2iq
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) April 24, 2020
If anybody needs car insurance, Taylor is your guy. Kidding, but you can't deny the salesman vibes are strong.
Then, on Saturday, just when we thought the sports world had moved on to more pressing matters, like dissecting CeeDee Lamb's phone snatch or how Bill Belichick's dog was drafting for the Patriots, the internet used one carefully constructed LEGO replica to pull us back into the Kingsbury vortex:
Kliff Kingsbury's modern Arizona home inspired us to build this Lego version for the #NFLDraft. How did we do? @NFLDraft @AZCardinals @LEGO_Group @espn @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/lvNUAIBvlH
— Lori Johnston (@fastcopy) April 25, 2020
Twitter remains undefeated.
If only NFL draft grades were based on war rooms, Kingsbury and the Cardinals would have it in the bag.