BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
PBR insider Justin Felisko tweeted on Monday morning that there had been rumblings of a trade and early on in the draft it became evident those two teams were the Texas Rattlers and Carolina Cowboys.
Near the end of the First Round, Rattlers’ Head Coach Cody Lambert and Cowboys’ GM Austin Dillon were both on the phone and when the two were shown on the broadcast sitting at the same table shortly after, it appeared a trade was imminent.
The swap was the first in PBR history and it sent No. 3 overall pick Daylon Swearingen and Mason Taylor to Carolina in exchange for Joao Ricard Vieira and Cody Jesus. Afterward, Lambert was not shy about how Vieira was a guy he wanted on his team from the beginning.
“The game plan for me, I wanted Joao Ricardo Vieira all along,” Lambert said.
1. Cody Jesus
Jesus was one of the breakout stars of this year’s PBR World Finals. He was 6-for-8 at the event and finished second which bumped him up to No. 7 in the final World Standings, which was where he was picked in the draft. The 23-year-old has notched 14 Top 5s over the last two seasons.
2. Joao Ricardo Vieira
The man Lambert wanted fell all the way to the Carolina Cowboys at No. 10, which is part of why the trade was event possible. Part of that is likely because of his age, Vieira is 37, but he certainly rides like he has plenty left in the tank. He has finished in the Top 5 on the PBR’s top tour eight times, including the last four years. Vieira has made over $3 million and won 36 events in his PBR career.
3. Brady Oleson
Oleson is coming off his first PBR World Finals appearance where he went 2-for-8. Oleson, an Idaho native, has two Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour wins.
4. Brady Fiedler
Fiedler was only Australian taken in the draft and the 22-year-old made his first World Finals this season after competing on the Unleash the Beast Tour for the first time. He previously spent three years riding predominantly on PBR Australia. He registered two Top 5s and two Top 10s on the PBR’s top tour.
5. JC Mortensen
The 21-year-old has just four qualified rides at any level of the PBR, but the young cowboy has had success in the PRCA. In 2021, he won the Oakley Independence Day Rodeo and the St. Paul Rodeo.
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