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The Year in Social Media

Cleveland Browns WR Odell Beckham
Photo: USA Today Sports Images

We run The Year in Quotes in every edition of Football Outsiders Almanac. As a companion piece to this year's edition of Year in Quotes, we've decided to compile some of our favorite social media posts from the past year in our first-ever Year in Social Media. You can find this year's Year in Quotes, along with much more, in Football Outsiders Almanac 2020.

HAVE A DRINK ON ME

-- 2019 was the summer full of NFL quarterbacks chugging beer, so Bleacher Report's The Lefkoe Show took the liberty of ranking each passer by the ultimate metric: fastest beer chug.

-- However, there was one major omission from these quarterback power rankings: Tom Brady. Brady submitted his tape at the Patriots' Super Bowl ring ceremony, where he handily beat offensive lineman David Andrews.

NARC

-- Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt does what only J.J. Watt could do on Twitter: he ruined the ending to the film Dodgeball by citing a rules violation by the underdog Average Joes team. What a jerk.

CALLING YOUR SHOT A FULL EIGHT MONTHS BEFORE THE SUPER BOWL

-- Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where he was introduced to a Chiefs fan with a full Mahomes "Champ Stamp" tattoo across his lower back. Not sure if this tattoo counts as a true Super Bowl prediction, but the "Champ Stamp" looks pretty good in hindsight.

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY GRUDENS

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Gruden cloned himself (via @frankcaliendo)

A post shared by The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) on

-- Impressionist Frank Caliendo and Oakland Raiders head coach John Gruden in the same room together? I'll tell ya what, man.

YUP, STILL GOT IT

-- Retired running back Marshawn Lynch was known for eating bags of Skittles on the sideline -- now he's got a whole truck full of them.

THE POWER'S GONE TO HIS HEAD

-- Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien cut a reporter in the middle of a press conference. Scary times in Houston!

TURNOVER CHAIN EAT YOUR HEART OUT

-- Considering all the sideline props teams have used to motivate players, this one might take the 'cake.

CLOUT IS THE NEW AUTOGRAPH

-- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. shares a moment with a young Browns fan, eventually agreeing to follow the boy back on Instagram after the game.

AUTOMATIC

-- The Russell Wilson-to-Tyler Lockett connection was so consistent for the Seattle Seahawks last season that this elevator door feels like a pretty accurate comparison.

THERE ISN'T A FLAG IN THE RULEBOOK THAT COULD MAKE UP FOR THIS TAUNTING

-- New Orleans Saints defenders went after vertically challenged Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen in what could be one of the more disrespectful on-field interactions I've seen this side of Michael Crabtree's snatched chain.

ONCE A BUC, ALWAYS A BUC

-- Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy could not make his son's Senior Night, so a couple of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates took his place.

HIPS DON'T LIE

-- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's pregame routine went viral during Sunday Night Football, viral enough that San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa put his own spin on it during Monday Night Football.

I'D (STILL) UNIRONICALLY BUY THAT GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE JERSEY

-- Sunday Night Football's social media team made up mock NFL uniforms to match some of the more popular Thanksgiving side dishes. Whose team are you on?

LOOK! TWO OVERRATED THINGS FROM THE '90S!

-- The Dallas Cowboys weren't the first team to drop a Friends-related hype video this year, but theirs definitely felt the most fitting.

I, FOR ONE, WELCOME OUR NEW GIANT RAVEN OVERLORD

-- The Baltimore Ravens unveiled a new "mixed reality" feature during Thursday Night Football and I still have no idea how they did it.

IT'S A TRAP!

-- Up there as some of the best content I've seen from an NFL social page, the Miami Dolphins social team turned their fake field goal into the "It's a trap!" scene from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

COACH-PLAYER DISCOURSE IN THE YEAR 2020

-- New York Jets head coach Adam Gase dismissively addressed questions about running back Le'Veon Bell and his future with the team going forward. Bell signed a 4-year, $52.5-million contract with New York last offseason. Bell's "official statement" was straight and to the point.

PUTTING ON FOR DENVER

-- Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock got caught on camera enthusiastically rapping to Young Jeezy & Kanye West's "Put On" during Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders. Here is the video with the song spliced in in the background.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Drew Lock had no idea what song he was rapping to on the bench 😂

A post shared by The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) on

-- Lock apparently blacked out in the moment, because he had no idea what song he was singing when shown the video afterwards.

UNPROFESSIONAL

-- Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been in the league too long to deal with these kinds of reporters!

WHAT IS NEVER GOING TO BE FORGOTTEN IN PHILLY?

-- Jeopardy! super-contestant Brad Rutter dropped this shoutout to the Philadelphia Eagles during the show's The Greatest of All Time series, wagering $4,133 along with his answer

YUP, STILL GOT IT

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Even at the championship parade Mahomes is still throwing dimes 🎯 (via kylejlock/TW)

A post shared by The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) on

-- Mahomes tests his throwing ability during Kansas City's Super Bowl parade just to see if he's still got some juice in that arm.

WHAT'S HER VERSION OF THE WONDERLIC? FLASH CARDS?

-- Bored at home while quarantined? Put your kids through a full NFL combine! You'll entertain yourself while tiring your kids out!

SOMEWHERE, ALLEN ROBINSON IS SILENTLY NODDING

-- A great mental image to help those in Chicago going through social distancing.

CELEBRATE RESPONSIBLY

@markusbailey21 getting drafted in 2020 be like ##coronavirus ##quarantine ##covid19 ##nfldraft ##comedy ##fy ##fyp ##foryou

 

♬ Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley

-- It's tough to celebrate a moment like being an NFL draft pick while in quarantine. Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Markus Bailey showed off how he shares the experience with friends and family.

SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE YEAR

NOT EVERYBODY NEEDS AN ORIGIN STORY

 

 

-- The coverage surrounding this year's NFL Draft seemed to emphasize misfortunes of varying severity in draftees' lives throughout the weekend. The only logical step was for Twitter user @FitzGSN to mock up what it would look like to have superheroes get their own draft cards, tragic backstory and all.

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