Spanish Fort football fans will not need to wait long to see the program’s first NFL Draft picks.

To open the 2024 regular season, Kris Abrams-Draine and the Denver Broncos will travel to the Pacific Northwest to face DJ James and the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, Sept. 8.

Both athletes were assigned their jersey numbers and signed four-year rookie contracts with their respective teams. Abrams-Draine will wear No. 31 and inked his deal on May 10 and James will don No. 29 after he signed his contract on May 13.

With rookie minicamps under their belt, Organized Team Practice Activities (OTAs) are underway and run through the first week of June before mandatory minicamp is set for June 11-13 for both squads. Full training camp is scheduled to open in July, leading to preseason games in August and the regular-season opener in September.

When the former Toros met with the media during their rookie minicamps, they both discussed how they’ve settled into their new teams and playbooks.

Abrams-Draine adjusting to Denver’s elevation

“I’ve been excited, just to learn new things and be in the locker room,” Abrams-Draine said on May 11.  “See a new environment, I’ve never been to Denver before so to learn the mile high and stuff like that has been cool.”

He wasn’t the only one feeling the distance from the Yellowhammer State but was joined by a quarterback from Pinson Valley who was selected 12th overall by the Broncos.

“I feel like we’ve got a good bond, all of us since the first day we’ve met,” Abrams-Draine said of the rookies’ relationships. “I’ve been knowing Bo (Nix) since high school, we’re both Alabama guys so it’s just cool he’s on the same team.”

With the New Orleans Saints serving as the closest NFL franchise to Mobile, Abrams-Draine had seen plenty of his new head coach Sean Payton who won a Super Bowl in New Orleans during one of his 15 seasons at the helm.

“It an amazing feeling because I used to watch the Saints a lot being from Mobile,” Abrams-Draine said. “Used to see him on TV with Drew Brees and all of them but for him to be my coach is just an amazing feeling.”

Payton, too, felt there was familiarity with the defensive back from Missouri.

“Abrams-Draine is someone we had a lot of exposure with in the offseason,” Payton said after the draft. “He has really good versatility. He is kind of an outside-in corner flex.”

James in familiar territory with another familiar face

With three seasons spent as an Oregon Duck, James made three trips to the Pacific Northwest between two games at Huskey Stadium in Seattle against Washington and one at Martin Stadium in Pullman against Washington State. He and his team left victorious from all three contests.

While he might not be in unfamiliar geographic territory, James said he has been learning a new position at nickelback where he serves as the fifth defensive back on the field.

“It’s growing on me by the day, I love it. Whatever they need me to play, I feel like I can play,” James said on May 4. “Nickel is really fun for me, I like the nickel position and like what the nickel does, I always played a lot of corner so that came real normal to me but nickel is something new to me and I’m enjoying it.”

With two seasons as an Auburn Tiger, James teamed up with defensive back Nehemiah Pritchett from Jackson who had reportedly bargained for James to join him right out of high school. With Pritchett’s selection by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round, he gets an extension on being James’ teammate to make up for the time missed in college.

“It’s great having a former teammate with me, us living our dream of playing in the NFL. It’s fun, we’re having fun; (defensive backs coach) Karl Scott’s been pushing us, Coach Scott is really pushing us to the limit, but we’re enjoying it a lot,” James said. “Right after (the draft) we talked to each other, both were excited and both felt more comfortable about coming far away from home but with each other.”