One reason to pay attention to the most overhyped non-event in sports, the NFL Draft, is seeing which team will give Amobi Okoye the chance to be the first 19-year-old to play in the league. Okoye, the Louisville D-lineman, skipped two grades in high school and finished his degree in 3 1/2 years. Way to make us all look bad, Amobi.
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Huge for his age (ESPN The Magazine)
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I know the NFL Draft is terribly overhyped, but it is important in that it is really the only one of the major sports where a team can sigificantly alter the make-up of their team, and their chances in the coming season, in one shot.
Think about it -- in what other sport can a fourth round draft choice actually step in and start for a team, and do so successfully? Only in the NFL. Every year, NFL teams chop a bunch of veterans (many just about to qualify for their pensions, oddly enough), and virtually every draft pick, right through to round 7, has a shot at making the team.
The kid you reference is enticing to teams because of his age. Over the years, NFL teams have become wary of drafting "old" rookies, those who graduated from high school late, stayed five years in college, and are now 24 or 25 years old. The problem is that they have maxed out on their athletic potential, and in fact likely had collegiate success because they were beating up on much younger players. To get a young guy who will only be 20, and therefore be assured of having a couple more years of his athletic prime, is very appealing to NFL teams.
Good point, Dennis.... the event itself is overhyped, but it's true that players can step right in and start.... although the same is somewhat true of the NBA.
I just look forward to seeing if the Vikings will manage to make their pick on time.
The irony is that both the player Kansas City picked when the Vikings couldn't get their act together, and the guy the Vikings eventually grabbed, have both been disappointments. A few years worth of poor drafting can leave you in a world of hurt in the NFL, as teams like the Vikings and Browns are ably demonstrating.
Question -- if Brady Quinn falls to the Vikings at #7, do they take him? They will probably try to trade down, which in my view would be a mistake. This kid is as NFL ready as any college QB can be, and would be exactly the kind of franchise player around whom the Vikings can build.
Confession: Had not thought that far ahead.
Quinn is not a No. 1 overall pick, but he is a future NFL starter. It's the same phenomenon we had with Matt Leinart -- everyone got to see him on TV almost every week, so a lot more is known about his flaws and his weaknesses.
If Quinn ends up in Purple, will Laura Quinn-Hawk wear a half-Vikes/half-Packers sweater?
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