Colts GM says he would peruse Terez A. Paylor’s ‘All-Juice Team’ before the NFL Draft
People in the NFL and those who cover it can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness on the eve of the draft.
The NFL Draft was Terez Paylor’s favorite time of the year. The former Kansas City Star/Yahoo Sports football writer was known around the league for his work, especially around the draft.
Paylor, who died in February at the age of 37, is being remember by coaches, executives and media members with the draft set to begin Thursday night in Cleveland.
In 2015, Paylor started his “All-Juice Team,” which would salute 22 prospects.
“Juice is a phrase that, in football terms, means having energy, or having the goods,” Paylor wrote in 2018.
That annual team quickly became a fan favorite.
On Tuesday night, a number of Paylor’s friends joined together to hold an “All-Juice Team Mock Draft” in his honor. They made first-round picks for all 32 teams and raised money for the Terez A. Paylor Scholarship at Howard University.
Last Friday, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard spoke at length about Paylor at the start of his news conference about the NFL Draft. Ballard, the former president of football operations for the Chiefs, was wearing an All-Juice Team T-shirt to honor Paylor.
“I want to acknowledge the shirt I have on here, the All-Juice Team, which I think is Terez Paylor, who passed away. I consider Terez a friend,” Ballard said. “We go back to Kansas City when I first met him. He was dedicated to his craft, he worked really hard at it. He worked really hard at the draft, he loved the draft. And I would always talk to him about his All-Juice Team. He was always excited. He worked extremely hard at it. And,we actually drafted in 2018 both Quenton (Nelson, a guard from Notre Dame) and Braden (Smith, a guard from Auburn), were on the team, so I would always look to see who he had on it, and kind of what his thoughts were.
“He was a special guy. I always enjoyed visiting with him, always look forward to him coming to training camp, always enjoyed just talking. He loved football, I mean the guy loved football. He was all about ball and he studied the game hard. He was humble. He was a journalist for the right reasons. And I’m sure going to miss those visits. I’ve missed him here over the past few weeks when we would usually talk before the draft.”
Ballard then shared information about the scholarship in Paylor’s name and said it was important.
(Here is the link to make a donation. Under “Tribute,” please note that your gift is made in memory of Terez A. Paylor. Under “Designation,” click on “Other” and write in “Terez A. Paylor Scholarship.”)
“But this shirt, you know, kind of says it on it, look at fits us: effort, attitude and performance,” Ballard said. “It really fits us, but he will be missed. And I’ve missed him here thinking about him here over the last few weeks.”
Last week, Chiefs coach Andy Reid also opened his pre-draft news conference by remembering Paylor.
“First though, I want to start this with just my heartfelt feeling for Terez Paylor and his family, just how much we cared about him and then the great job in which he did,” Reid said. “He did his job the way that it needs to be done.
“He was fair, had a good heart about it and really told the truth. So, sitting in this position, that’s all you can obviously ask for. But a lot of respect for him and the job in which he did, and we saw him grow right here in Kansas City. It’s just a tragic deal.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Colts GM says he would peruse Terez A. Paylor’s ‘All-Juice Team’ before the NFL Draft."
