Draft Day
Draft Day was a surprise loose track released April 1, 2014 via OVO's SoundCloud, produced by Boi-1da, Ducko McFli and Syk Sense over a sample of Lauryn Hill's 'Doo Wop (That Thing)'. The song is openly dedicated to quarterback Johnny Manziel, a close Drake associate who featured in its SoundCloud artwork, and leans on draft imagery to cast Drake as a top, can't-miss prospect ('Draft day, Johnny Manziel / five years later, how am I the man still?'). It is also remembered for an early, name-checking reference to Chance the Rapper. Brash and freestyle-spirited rather than introspective, it represents the more combative side of Drake's leftover catalog on Care Package, balancing the compilation's many reflective cuts.
Sources & verification
Citations below were matched specifically to "Draft Day" and Care Package. Drake Universe catalogs songs by album placement, verified collaborators, producers, samples, and themes, and avoids unsupported lyric-level claims.
- Genius: Drake '30 for 30 Freestyle' lyricsGenius · 2019-10-25 — Primary lyric page for the Care Package track read as containing subliminals.
- Complex: Drake — Care Package and the 2010s (2019)Complex · 2019-08-02 — Complex Care Package feature.
- Care Package (album) — WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-05-18 — Primary verification for release date, per-track original release history, samples/interpolations, credits, critical reception and chart/certification data.
- Drake — Days in the East (Genius)Genius · 2026-05-18 — Confirms April 3, 2014 OVO release a day after 'Draft Day', PartyNextDoor production, Rihanna 'Stay' sample and Erykah Badu reference.
- Drake — Draft Day (Genius)Genius · 2026-05-18 — Confirms April 1, 2014 SoundCloud release, Johnny Manziel dedication, Boi-1da/Ducko McFli/Syk Sense credits and Lauryn Hill 'Doo Wop' sample.
