Four Riders who Increased their PBR Team Series Draft Stock so Far at the PBR World Finals
By: Justin Felisko
FORT WORTH, Texas – Cody Jesus understands there have been countless times in his six-year career where he cost himself qualified rides, round wins and event wins because he would get too excited to get to spurring.
These last few weeks, Jesus has made it a priority to be patient before he attempts to kick loose and throw some money chops.
That kind of patience and poise has helped Jesus begin the World Finals a perfect 3-for-3 and has him in the driver’s seat to potentially win the $300,000 event title.
Jesus has been red hot of late, having won the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals last weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas, with a 2-for-3 showing. His recent surge is helping push him higher and higher up teams’ draft boards for the upcoming 2022 PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter.
The 23-year-old was arguably a mid-round pick a few months ago, but now a case could be made that Jesus could be selected in the second round of the five-round draft on May 23 at Texas Live! in Arlington, Texas.
Fans can watch the draft live on RidePass on Pluto TV at 7 p.m. ET.
“It took me a while to learn that patience,” Jesus said following his 89-point ride on La Grande in Round 3 on Sunday. “I know I can spur every bull, but they cost me so many times. I am now riding in the moment.”
Jesus began his fourth World Finals with 89 points on Short Circuit in Round 1 before conquering I’m Legit Too for 90.25 points in Round 2. He is one of three riders 3-for-3 inside Dickies Arena. Also perfect are Joao Ricardo Vieira and two-time reigning World Champion Jose Vitor Leme.
“I am riding each bull each jump he takes,” Jesus said. “I am just riding in the moment instead of trying to spur his head off. Ride the bull and get a score. It has paid off.”
On Thursday night, the World Finals resumes with Round 4 (10 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network). If Jesus can go on to win the World Finals event title, he would be the first Native American rider to win the World Finals since Ryan Dirteater in 2016.
Jesus plans to spend the next few off-days with Andrew Alvidrez and do some general stretching to stay loose for the last four days of competition.
Nerves, though, will not be a problem when the lights come back on inside Dickies Arena.
“I got rid of the pressure after I rode my first one,” Jesus concluded with a grin.
Below are three additional riders who have also increased their draft stock so far at the World Finals.
Luciano de Castro
The No. 4-ranked bull rider in the world could be in play to be the No. 6 draft pick overall (Arizona Ridge Riders) Monday night at Texas Live! However, Castro could make the selection a no-brainer for Ridge Riders coaches Colby Yates and Paulo Crimber. Castro won Round 3 of the Finals with his 90.25 points on Mike’s Motive. He has back-to-back 90s at Dickies Arena, and it is the first time he has ridden two consecutive bulls since March 13. There is no secret Castro has home run-hitting ability, but his consistency has seemingly been an issue. If the 2015 PBR Brazil champion can start knocking down rides consecutively, that will go a long way toward reaching that next level in his career.
Mauricio Moreira
Moreira’s biggest win so far at Dickies Arena could be that he has simply been able to walk off the arena dirt without the assistance of the PBR Sports Medicine Team. Coaching staffs know Moreira can put up massive scores like his 94.25-point effort on WSM’s Jive Turkey and has Top 5 overall potential. However, there has been concern over his lingering hip injury that had gotten so much worse in the regular season’s final weeks that he could barely walk. Moreira is 1-for-3 at the Finals, but he has not seemed to have made his injury any worse, and if he can put together a few more rides, he could be a top second-round pick.
Ezekiel Mitchell
Mitchell arrived in Fort Worth extremely humble after nearly missing out on qualifying for a fourth consecutive PBR World Finals. He has been focused solely on what goes on at Dickies Arena and is dedicating himself to not letting any outside distractions affect his performance. Mitchell began the Finals with two consecutive bull rides – 88.5 points on Mr. Winston and 89 points on Vanilla Ice – and he has two rides at the Finals for the first time since his first World Finals (2019). Mitchell is sitting in eighth place in the event average.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media
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