Pats just drafted a guy (DE) I never heard of from a school I didn't know existed. Coulda had Michael Sam.
The fix is in. It's embarrassing
Or you know Sam might not be that good. I really doubt the Pats would refrain from drafting a guy if they thought he was the BPA.
yeah. maybe the guy from Concordia was better than the SEC Defensive POY. Anyone know when the last time the SEC DPOY or OPOY for that matter wasn't drafted till the 7th round or after? Maybe Sam just isn't injury prone enough for the Pats
I'm the furthest thing from an NFL talent scout. I just know that Sam has been projected in the mid-round to undrafted range all along.
yup....and when was the last time that happened to an SEC DPOY? 1892?
The SEC did not give out a DPOY award until 2003. That year the immortal Chad Lavalais won the award. He went on to be drafted in the 5th round and played 30 games in the NFL. Sam is a courageous player, a great story and I hope he has a great career but in reality he is a borderline NFL talent and is being evaluated as such. Keep in mind that he was not regarded as being the best player at his position on his own team.
Right and since then every single one was drafted in the first round (most of them in the top 20, if not top 10), with the exception of the 2nd rounder in 2005. Odd coincidence.
Yeah, but look at all the Heisman winners and where they get drafted. College football awards have nothing to do with NFL draft position. Nothing at all.
Before the SEC separated the offensive and defensive awards they just had a player of the year and that stellar group includes 4th round pick Rudi Johnson, 2 time SEC player of the year and 4th round pick Danny Wuerffel, undrafted and never played a game in the NFL Jay Barker, 2 time SEC player of the year and undrafted Shane Matthews, and that just goes back to 1990. Also in that list are huge flame outs like David Pollack and Tim Couch.
Again, college awards have nothing to do with NFL draft status. After the combine, no one had Michael Sam as anything more than a 6th or 7th round pick. His measurables were awful. That isn't to say he won't have a very long solid career, he might, but the reason he was a 7th round pick has nothing to do with anything other than his physical measurements (he is small and was slow and weak at the combine).
So do you think if Clowney had shown up at the combine and done exactly what Sam did he would have been a 7th rounder? Because I don't.
Awards do have something to do with draft position. Yeah there are some Heismans that go undrafted like Jason White. There are also some that go #1.
But generally the ones that get the awards are the best players. That's why they get the awards. SEC DPOYs have never been drafted lower than 33rd, with the exception of one guy drafted 142nd, which was STILL 107 spots higher.
He was also a unanimous All-American. Where do you suppose the average (non kicker/punter/long snapper) unanimous All-American gets picked?
but Clowney couldn't show up at the combine and do what Sam did, because Clowney is significantly bigger than Sam (though if he showed up with poor measurements he certainly isn't the first pick in the draft). Sam is short, slow, and weak. If Johnny Manziel was a couple of inches taller and 15 pounds bigger he is the #1 pick in the draft without question, instead he dropped to #22 and some people still think that was too high. Size matters especially in the NFL more so than any of the major sports because it is such a physically imposing game. Sam plays at a position where he is going to need the size, strength and speed that he just doesn't have. That isn't to say he might not overcome the physical limitations as it happens a fair amount, but the odds are stacked against him.
Again college awards mean nothing, Jason White was a Heisman trophy winner and a unanimous All American in 2004 and wasn't drafted. In fact he had a few tryouts but never even made a NFL team.
Jackson Jeffcoat a consensus All American this past year went undrafted. Why not claim some giant conspiracy with him? David Yankey, like Sam, was a 2013 unanimous all american (and who unlike Sam was also an all american in 2012) was a fifth round pick this past year. Where is the outcry for him. Or Cyril Richardson, also a 5th round pick. How about Ka'Deem Carey and Andre Williams, both 4th round picks?
The simple truth is Michael Sam was drafted where his physical attributes dictated he should be drafted. NFL teams did not avoid drafting him because he is gay, they avoided drafting him because he is small, slow, and weak. It really is that simple.
