With so many questions surrounding Saturday’s Roger Goodell’s telethon, this has to be the most enticing one. That is of course you’re if a Miami Dolphin fan or for that matter a fan of a team who blew goats last season to be rewarded a high draft pick, then you’re mostly interested in who your team selects. Personally, I think the draft is on the same bore fest level as the Rockies and Padres playing 22 innings, but hey, that’s just me. Some people get their jollies off on all this action…Then again, one can make the comparison of the NFL Draft and a strip club. Everybody’s so gifted at their craft, which one do I choose? Who’s going to best suit my needs and give me the most bang for my buck? Always wanting to choose wisely…Never wanting to go wrong! Is it Bambi or Matt Ryan? Cherry or Chris Long? Jake Long or Thumper…This is a very serious dilemma, I know!
One constant name that has been brought up in all the hype surrounding the draft is that of former Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. Now look, we all know what he has done on the field in Fayetteville…His talents are/were uncanny. However, so what! So was Reggie Bush…Who has turned out to be way over-hyped. Not saying this will be the case with Run DMC, but very few players who come into the league with this much hype actually live up to their billing. Sure, all the GM’s see "another Adrian Peterson" in this cat…A game breaker, a game changer. Although, to make that comparison is purely insane. Besides having the same position attached to their names, well that’s where the comparisons between the two should end. Peterson is more of a punishing runner who’d rather run through tacklers than around them…McFadden’s just the opposite, more of a make you miss type back. So all these GM’s salivating over "the next Adrian Peterson" I guess haven’t really done their homework on him.
One thing that GM’s have done their deep cavity homework on regarding McFadden is his character and how he spends his time away from football. Let’s see, 2 kids out of wedlock…Couple bar fights in where he was defending family members, a mother who loves those "white lines", hmmm? I know, we can all relate to defending our family members…Anybody would’ve done the exact same thing! Point is, all this before he has an eight-figure bank account. Can you say Red Flag…Thus, the dilemma GM’s are having. What happens when this cat has millions in there? Well, I guess one can say that’s the million dollar question, (no pun intended). With the league/teams putting so much of a priority on one’s "character" and not wanting to have another Pacman Jones or Michael Vick thorn stuck in their side, the question becomes do teams roll the dice on him? It’s not like the draft isn’t a crap shoot anyway, because it really is…Teams select players, hoping they work out, but that always isn’t the case. There’s going to be no sure fire things come Sunday…Because wasn’t Michael Vick, Ki-Jana Carter, etc. supposed to be those? Um yeah, they were!
So do you or don’t you roll the dice on him hoping that in fact he closer resembles an Adrian Peterson as opposed to a cat on the Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro jail team? There’s no clear cut answer regarding that question, some say, yes, some say no, some have "I don’t know" responses. And to think, all this hubbub has to do with teams passing on Adrian Peterson…Really, isn’t this what it’s all about? Isn’t why this question is being brought up? The fact of the matter is teams had concerns about Peterson, selecting to bypass him and then having to eat crow for the entire season last year. Teams don’t want it to happen again…Wanting to make a splash with McFadden?
So what’s going to be Run DMC’s fate Saturday? Would you put your grapes on the table and draft him? Honestly I would have to pass for a few reasons. A running back’s life span in the league doesn’t really hold any value…Only having four years or so. With teams converting to two backs systems, the value isn’t there as well. Having said that, it seems more and more teams are finding backs to fit their system late in rounds, undrafted, or hanging out on other teams practice squads. In addition which might be the most important, I don’t want to have to worry about this cat away from the football environment…What’s he doing at 3 am? Is he "defending his family" again?
So are you a worrier or going to be a non-worry-wart?