I finally got around to watching the fourth preseason game. Just before Ham's TD in the 4th quarter, Rick Spielman was in the commentating booth with PA and Bercich and he summarized the GU's background thus:
"You're taking a High school player, essentially, and putting him in the NFL"
As a logical follow up question, I wish PA had asked him if the NFL incentivized our selection of him in some way.
We drafted him because he is 22 years old and has about the same combine numbers as Mike Evans ....
I realize he is a long shot, but wouldn't it be great to see him become a pro bowler ....
jackal wrote:
We drafted him because he is 22 years old and has about the same combine numbers as Mike Evans ....
I realize he is a long shot, but wouldn't it be great to see him become a pro bowler ....
I felt like why they drafted him was obvious. He has tremendous athletic potential but not much football polish. The question is can he get the polish and develop in 2-3 years. IMO that makes sense as a 6th rounder. A better question might be why they risked a late round picks on WR vs OL?
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
Mothman wrote:
That would have been a nice follow-up question, especially since the Vikings GM had just admitted to spending a draft pick on the equivalent of a high school player!
If he turns out to be like Kobe Bryant I'm okay with that analogy
S197 wrote:
If he turns out to be like Kobe Bryant I'm okay with that analogy
Me too!
I guess that's my point. There are plenty of HS players stateside with impressive measurables and the air of promise. IF it were allowed, would NFL teams draft them in rounds 6 or later? Perhaps even earlier? It's kind of mind blowing, given our other needs and after drafting Treadwell in round one and having an athletic freak who is lacking refinement/ knowledge already on the roster (CP84).
Had I been in the booth, I would have pressed Rick a bit after his comment.
A lot of posters will be watching him through camp and preseason with high hopes. I'll be interested to see if he's gained some polish and shows any indication of potentially cracking the roster, but I will remain skeptical.
As an aside: Interesting that he misses Kebabs and not traditional German cuisine!