A bad football body doesn't necessarily mean a bad football player: Some guys look good getting off the bus but can't play a lick. Others have astoundingly bad bodies -- have you seen the jiggling YouTube video of Alabama tackle Andre Smith running the 40 shirtless? -- but are remarkably quick and agile on the field.
Nose tackle Kelly Gregg looked like a roly-poly farm boy when the Baltimore Ravens signed him to their practice squad in 2000. Players took to calling him Buddy Lee after the pudgy, baby-faced mascot for Lee Jeans. But Gregg could play, and still can.
Don't be scared off by a small school: Sure, it would be nice if all NFL prospects were as seasoned by big games as players from USC, Ohio State or Florida. That's not to say experience under the brightest lights is a must, though.
Jerry Rice played at Mississippi Valley State. Walter Payton hailed from Jackson State. And, more recently, Ben Roethlisberger tore it up at Miami of Ohio.
When Johnson was coaching the Cowboys, he drafted All-Pro guard Larry Allen out of Sonoma State, and Pro Bowl tackle Erik Williams out of Central State in Ohio. Later with the Dolphins, Johnson drafted Jason Taylor, a future defensive player of the year, of Akron.
"It didn't bother me what the size of the school was," Johnson said. "Obviously, it's easier to evaluate a player when he's going against top talent. Sometimes you're misled because the competition is so poor. But that doesn't change how big, fast or strong he is, or how smart he is."
When you take a player in the first round, make sure he can play on third down: From virtually every perspective, third down is the most important in football. You don't want your top pick standing on the sideline in the most critical of situations.
"If he doesn't play on third down, he's only going to play in 42% of the [offensive or defensive] plays," said former personnel executive Mike Lombardi, now an analyst for the NFL Network.
"So he'd better be really good on first and second" to justify taking him that high. Lombardi said linebacker Bobby Carpenter, taken 16th by Dallas in 2006, is an example of a player who isn't good enough on third down to warrant such a high pick.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...-farmer-nfl-draft23-2009apr23,0,1535920.story
Nose tackle Kelly Gregg looked like a roly-poly farm boy when the Baltimore Ravens signed him to their practice squad in 2000. Players took to calling him Buddy Lee after the pudgy, baby-faced mascot for Lee Jeans. But Gregg could play, and still can.
Don't be scared off by a small school: Sure, it would be nice if all NFL prospects were as seasoned by big games as players from USC, Ohio State or Florida. That's not to say experience under the brightest lights is a must, though.
Jerry Rice played at Mississippi Valley State. Walter Payton hailed from Jackson State. And, more recently, Ben Roethlisberger tore it up at Miami of Ohio.
When Johnson was coaching the Cowboys, he drafted All-Pro guard Larry Allen out of Sonoma State, and Pro Bowl tackle Erik Williams out of Central State in Ohio. Later with the Dolphins, Johnson drafted Jason Taylor, a future defensive player of the year, of Akron.
"It didn't bother me what the size of the school was," Johnson said. "Obviously, it's easier to evaluate a player when he's going against top talent. Sometimes you're misled because the competition is so poor. But that doesn't change how big, fast or strong he is, or how smart he is."
When you take a player in the first round, make sure he can play on third down: From virtually every perspective, third down is the most important in football. You don't want your top pick standing on the sideline in the most critical of situations.
"If he doesn't play on third down, he's only going to play in 42% of the [offensive or defensive] plays," said former personnel executive Mike Lombardi, now an analyst for the NFL Network.
"So he'd better be really good on first and second" to justify taking him that high. Lombardi said linebacker Bobby Carpenter, taken 16th by Dallas in 2006, is an example of a player who isn't good enough on third down to warrant such a high pick.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...-farmer-nfl-draft23-2009apr23,0,1535920.story
