The Florida Times Union reports that Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant has been removed from the Jaguars draft board due to character concerns, while SI.com’s Peter King says the Browns have also taken the wideout off their board.
From the Florida Times Union:
“I would say that we remain open-minded,” Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. “Like running back, we’d take a receiver. I think we could use a guy to bring into the mix to compete. So I wouldn’t rule out that position.”
But it might be safe to do so in the first round. According to multiple NFL sources, the Jaguars eliminated Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant – widely regarded as the top receiver prospect in this year’s draft class -from their draft board because of concerns about his character (Bryant missed 2009 because of an NCAA suspension for violating NCAA rules).
“I just made a mistake,” Bryant said. “Dez Bryant’s a great person to be around. He loves the game of football. He can’t wait to get back on the field and do whatever to help the team.”
The reports about Bryant’s character appear to be all over the board. There have been some that claim he has a “diva” attitude, while others suggest that his character flaws have been overblown.
Rest assured, talent will win out – it always does. Randy Moss was still taken in the top 25 (No. 21 to be exact), even though he had more character concerns than Bryant did entering the 1998 draft. Michael Crabtree was still taken in the top 10, even though reports surfaced that he too had a “diva” attitude. I’m not suggesting that Bryant will become the next Moss, but he certainly has as much potential as Moss and Crabtree did when they entered their respective drafts.
In my latest mock draft, I have Bryant going to the Dolphins at No. 12. That’s the lowest I see him dropping later this month, regardless of whether or not some of these reports are true that he has questionable character.
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