At what has become a must read column, Peter King's "Monday Morning QB", Peter discusses a circulating idea that the Rookies in this upcoming Draft have Franchises thinking maybe these guys aren't worth 1st Round Money. That this crop of Rookies are NOT 1st Round Caliber players who deserve the money.
My response to this apparent blood cur tiling idea is that, that's about how it's been for the past existence of the NFL Draft. Sure, there are years in which there is more depth in the Draft, that occurs with players leaving early, but to act like this Draft is beyond comprehension is a little sensationalizing to me. Every year you can count on the Top 5 of the Draft being solid contributors and this year is no different :
QB JaMarcus Russell - is the real deal, check out the league in which he battled against week after week
OT Joe Thomas - will step in with the team that drafts him and become an instant upgrade
RB Adrian Peterson - Don't let one summersault into the end zone curb your opinion of this ball hawk
WR Calvin Johnson - There hasn't been a Jerry Rice in the league in some time. If this man doesn't immediately line-up out wide then the Head Coach needs to be checked out
DE Gaines Adams - Ask ACC QB's their opinions of Gaines.
I think whenever the Draft rolls around we tend to get wrapped up in the physicality of players and whether they can lift this or run this fast. We tend to overlook the intangibles that made this player a beast on the field. The drive in a player gets overlooked more often than not. I'm not saying Combine Numbers should be ignored, but character and drive should rank right up there with any Combine Stats.