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Picking talent or character

Mike Detillier
NFL Analyst
Published: Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 11:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, April 5, 2015 at 12:01 a.m.


The NFL draft is no more than an educated guess on a player.

That was a line used often by former San Francisco 49ers and Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh, and it is 100 percent accurate.
Everyone has a plan when it comes to draft day, but never does it work out just right.

It is the part of the draft that is intriguing. With 32 teams, there are 32 different opinions on who are the best players and which player "fits" what that team wants on their squad.

For all the talk and game planning, that moment of surprise always happens. While teams won't admit it, those events happen and you have to be ready to make a choice on a player that you didn't think would be there for various reasons and also to have a lengthy bullpen of players ready for when you select in the early rounds.

Those moments are starting to emerge early on in the process with less than a month to the 2015 NFL draft.

Just a month ago, no one thought that Nebraska defensive end/outside linebacker Randy Gregory would be available for the New Orleans Saints at the 13th overall pick.

That is in play today.


There were rumblings of problems with Gregory at Nebraska, but on the field, he wreaked havoc in the Big Ten in two seasons with 29 tackles for losses and 17 ½ sacks.


Picking talent or character | HoumaToday.com

hagan714

Now the Union and the NFL need to evolve with all the rule changes and let the contracts stipulate conditions of player behavior into the contracts.

In this case you are drafting a level one rehab player. That risk should not cap cripple a team for giving the guy a chance.

time for both sides to evolve on players like this. NFL and the union want to give them a chance so they need to support the teams.

It has always been a risk but the cost of that risk have sky rocketted

voodooido

We would be ignorant to pass on Gregory. How can you pass on him when you brought back Morgan?

K Major

Correct me if I'm wrong but Joe hadn't had any prior run - in's with the law prior to his DWI however Mr. Gregory has tested positive for weed on multiple occasions while at Nebraska.

Do the Saints really want to roll the dice at pick #13 on a kid with a unstable off the field history? Not exactly what I would call a safe pick.

triman

I remember reading an article about how to pick a pro bowl player. It said that a high percentage of pro bowlers had a positive drug test in their past.Remember Sapp. Not many of players in the hall of fame were boy scouts. Lawrence Taylor was a train wreck off the field. Its time that the league gets in sync with society. I don't endorse smoking weed ,but to criminalize it and penalize it while selling beer and glamorizing it seems to me hypocritical. The league knows that a huge percentage of players smoke weed.

SaintsBro

First of all, Sean Payton has always had room on the roster for a small number of "head cases" or problem children, or giving second chances to guys. If you are truly ready to fly right and turn over a new leaf, there is a roster spot to be earned for you on the Saints. Everything from Carl Nicks to Anthony Hargrove to Joe Morgan to Jonathan Vilma (who had skirmishes with the commissioner before, over behavior). Or some guys who are maybe not about bad behavior but are just head cases, in general, like Reggie Bush or Jeremy Shockey or some of our emo and leg-shaving kickers. The difference is that Payton just doesn't let the inmates run the asylum, and he keeps that number of "asterix" players low, so that they are constantly in check and not a distraction.

But secondly, Gregory to the Saints in particular has a bit of a wrinkle, to the plot. I can't put my finger on it definitively, I can't say for sure, but I've always had the distinct feeling that Payton does NOT like dudes who are into weed, being on the team. Donte Stallworth obviously springs to mind, sent packing with his bags, and look how that turned out. There were other potential players and draft picks that Payton and the Saints passed over or skipped, that had weed attached to their names. (I'm sure if I had more coffee I could probably make a list and remember a few).

Whatever one's personal opinion of the stuff, I kinda suspect that Payton doesn't like the weed in his locker room....I think he's kinda old school that way, but we'll see.

Mardigras9

I think the turmoil in the locker room may now dictate a stronger look at character anyway.

K Major

Take off your fan cap & put on the role as GM/owner/scout for a sec ...


RG has had many issues so he isn't a one time screw up with weed but here is my concern - Discipline & timing. The lack thereof to quit in time for testing that he already knew that could impact his multi- million dollar contract. I think the mindset of the Saints front office is to draft productive/professional young men & not guys with questionable character issues, especially with their first pick in this years draft.

saintsfan1976

Lack of the "right" attitude killed the locker room. Too many with the wrong mentality. Lack of accountability.

We need more guys with work ethic and "team first" attitudes. (just like 2008/09)

triman

D@D Dumb @ Dependant. Be dumb enough not to clean up before the combine or so dependant and not being able to stop. I get it . I know many very successful people that smoke weed. I just think that it shouldn't matter as as some think it does. Alcohol dependency is much worse in my opinion and it is not vilified the way smoking weed is.