It’s always interesting to me that in many cases, the skill sets that lead to eye-popping productivity in college football don’t translate to the NFL. In evaluating some of the top performers in college football, every NFL team decided that some were not worthy of even a low-round draft pick. Andrew Brandt
It’s always interesting to me that in many cases, the skill sets that lead to eye-popping productivity in college football don’t translate to the NFL. In evaluating some of the top performers in college football, every NFL team decided that some were not worthy of even a low-round draft pick.
The players who stand out are quarterbacks Graham Harrell of Texas Tech and Chase Daniel of Missouri and running back Ian Johnson of Boise State. In the cases of Harrell and Daniel, the receivers they threw to, Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin, will make millions, having been drafted among the top 19 selections. Harrell and Daniel did not get drafted, however, landing in Cleveland and Washington, respectively, for a few thousand dollars as products of the undrafted free-agent frenzy Sunday night. Johnson, as famous for his nationally televised marriage proposal as for his great production as a running back, will report to the Vikings as an undrafted free agent.
Two of the most exciting college football players I remember watching were also quarterbacks, Tommie Frazier of Nebraska and Charlie Ward of Florida State. They were exciting, productive and highly successful, much like Harrell and Daniel. And they went undrafted. They never had NFL careers (although Ward played in the NBA). I always note these cases as shining examples of proficiency in college, in some cases, having little effect on NFL draft status.
Harrell, Daniel, Johnson and hundreds of others will start their uphill battle to make rosters this weekend in mini-camps. Realistically, they are probably hoping to make a practice squad, but one never knows. However, one thing is certain: College statistics matter little now. …
Another post-draft staple appears to be some shedding of veteran players. In Seattle, Leroy Hill may end up still being a Seahawk, but not for the Franchise Tag number of $8.3M. Hill never signed his tender, which would have automatically guaranteed that number this year. Now, with the Tag rescinded by the Seahawks after they drafted a linebacker who will receive around $25M in guaranteed money, Hill finds himself in a much different situation than he did Friday. Things change quickly in this business.
John Beck, the Dolphins’ second-round pick in 2007 and quarterback of the future, just became their quarterback of the past. Chris Perry, a former first-round pick of the Bengals in 2004, is now no longer a Bengal, and Levi Jones, their first-round pick of 2002, may soon follow him out the door. Edgerrin James, scheduled to make $5M from the Cardinals in 2009, appears to have as much chance making that as you or I do after they selected a running back in the first round. Jones and James would appear to be joining the free-agent market soon, a market that will continue to be slow as teams evaluate their shiny new prospects in mini-camps over the next two weeks.
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Jul 23, 2010
09:36 AM
I understand players’ feelings when the market passes them by. It’s human nature. No one is immune to what’s going on around us. Sometimes, however, we have to live with our decisions, good or bad, especially from the team side, with dozens of players watching and waiting to see what the team does.