Monday, February 26, 2007

In Defense of The Golden Boy

Bias aside, I really cannot understand much of changes to Brady Quinn's draft status since his collegiate career ended with January's Sugar Bowl. While he hasn't done anything to diminish his stature, JeMarcus Russell, who has skyrocketed past him to the top of first round projections, has gained 10-15 lbs since the Sugar Bowl. His status is based largely on "upside." He has a rocket arm, he's mobile, and he's 6'6'' and 265 lbs. "Upside" apparently doesn't encorporate a dimension of "self-control" however.

As John Clayton and Steven A. Smith astutely pointed out over the weekend, the teams that pass on Quinn will likely feel a remorse similar to the teams that passed on Matt Leinhart. Couldn't agree more.

Interesting notes from the NFL Combine:

Calvin Johnson (WR, Georgia Tech) ran a 4.35. This is especially ridiculous when you consider he's 6 and a half feet tall and 240 lbs.

Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) ran a 4.38. I would kill for him to magically fall into the Giants lap late in the first round. This will not happen.

(I've always been strangely fascinated with 40 times. As is often noted, they're not fool proof predictors of NFL success..... but they fascinate me anyway.)

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