primetime43
3/2/2010, 02:41 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/03/02/mail/index.html?eref=sihp
When I asked NFL scouts and execs about the quarterbacks in this draft, the one word I heard a couple of times about Oklahoma's Sam Bradford was "frail.'' But when I met the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Bradford for an interview at an Indy hotel late Saturday night, he didn't look frail. He'd bulked up 13 pounds from the Sooners' season while rehabbing his surgically repaired right shoulder at Athletes Performance Institute in Pensacola, Fla., obviously aware that he was going to get some questions about his physical stature. When we met, I thought I'd be meeting a Matt Ryan clone -- a tall kid who needed to fill out. Bradford doesn't look like he needs to fill out right now.
It's interesting -- Bradford as a college player physically compares to Ryan. Both guys exited college -- Ryan from Boston College in 2008, Bradford from Oklahoma in 2010 -- with fine college résumés but physical concerns about holding up to the NFL beatdowns. Other than the bad turf toe Ryan suffered in 2009, he's handled the physical part of it well. If Bradford checks out physically, which is a very big but (Ryan had no such major shoulder surgery entering his NFL career), I've got to think, like Ryan, that Bradford will be a top-five pick in the draft. St. Louis, picking first, and Washington (fourth) are the best bets to get him.
I was curious to measure Ryan, picked third by the Falcons in 2008, against Bradford. Ryan's career completion percentage: .599. Bradford's .676. Ryan's career yards per attempt: 6.92. Bradford's: 9.41. Ryan's career touchdown-to-interception ratio: plus-19. Bradford's: plus-72.
By those measurements, Bradford's a better prospect. And as a couple of NFL coaches told me, his downfield accuracy is good to very good by pro standards right now -- assuming his arm checks out fine.
Ryan is probably more of a leader. Bradford is confident and well-spoken, but the book on him is he's not a rah-rah type. So we'll see how the physical part of his résumé comes out after he throws at his pro day at Oklahoma in three weeks. But I'd be surprised if he gets past Washington at four. And I agree with Adam Schefter, who said the other day he expects the Rams to pick him number one overall if they consider Bradford a no-doubt franchise quarterback.
I asked Bradford if he thought he'd justify such a high pick. "Yeah, I think I would,'' he said. "If I didn't believe in myself as much as I do, I wouldn't be here right now. I wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school, and a lot of people didn't think I belonged playing at Oklahoma. But I did, and I think I'll be able to show people the same thing at this level.''
His arm, he says, has felt "so good, I'm thinking in my mind, 'Why don't they let me throw every day? [He is throwing three days a week.] But I know my trainers and doctors know best. I know I'll be able to throw without limitations and without pain at my Pro Day.'' The Oklahoma Pro Day is set for March 26.
So ready for March 26th!
When I asked NFL scouts and execs about the quarterbacks in this draft, the one word I heard a couple of times about Oklahoma's Sam Bradford was "frail.'' But when I met the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Bradford for an interview at an Indy hotel late Saturday night, he didn't look frail. He'd bulked up 13 pounds from the Sooners' season while rehabbing his surgically repaired right shoulder at Athletes Performance Institute in Pensacola, Fla., obviously aware that he was going to get some questions about his physical stature. When we met, I thought I'd be meeting a Matt Ryan clone -- a tall kid who needed to fill out. Bradford doesn't look like he needs to fill out right now.
It's interesting -- Bradford as a college player physically compares to Ryan. Both guys exited college -- Ryan from Boston College in 2008, Bradford from Oklahoma in 2010 -- with fine college résumés but physical concerns about holding up to the NFL beatdowns. Other than the bad turf toe Ryan suffered in 2009, he's handled the physical part of it well. If Bradford checks out physically, which is a very big but (Ryan had no such major shoulder surgery entering his NFL career), I've got to think, like Ryan, that Bradford will be a top-five pick in the draft. St. Louis, picking first, and Washington (fourth) are the best bets to get him.
I was curious to measure Ryan, picked third by the Falcons in 2008, against Bradford. Ryan's career completion percentage: .599. Bradford's .676. Ryan's career yards per attempt: 6.92. Bradford's: 9.41. Ryan's career touchdown-to-interception ratio: plus-19. Bradford's: plus-72.
By those measurements, Bradford's a better prospect. And as a couple of NFL coaches told me, his downfield accuracy is good to very good by pro standards right now -- assuming his arm checks out fine.
Ryan is probably more of a leader. Bradford is confident and well-spoken, but the book on him is he's not a rah-rah type. So we'll see how the physical part of his résumé comes out after he throws at his pro day at Oklahoma in three weeks. But I'd be surprised if he gets past Washington at four. And I agree with Adam Schefter, who said the other day he expects the Rams to pick him number one overall if they consider Bradford a no-doubt franchise quarterback.
I asked Bradford if he thought he'd justify such a high pick. "Yeah, I think I would,'' he said. "If I didn't believe in myself as much as I do, I wouldn't be here right now. I wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school, and a lot of people didn't think I belonged playing at Oklahoma. But I did, and I think I'll be able to show people the same thing at this level.''
His arm, he says, has felt "so good, I'm thinking in my mind, 'Why don't they let me throw every day? [He is throwing three days a week.] But I know my trainers and doctors know best. I know I'll be able to throw without limitations and without pain at my Pro Day.'' The Oklahoma Pro Day is set for March 26.
So ready for March 26th!