Draft Dish: These players' prospects are flagging

hydro51 · Apr 27, 2006

This is the time of year when scouts and coaches injure their hands trying to punch holes in draft prospects.

Every indiscretion, bad decision, physical ailment and measurable component of a player is put under scrutiny. Players are "flagged" for injury, medical or character issues, and invariably their draft stock drops with each report.

Here are players who are reportedly being flagged for various reasons.

Marcus McNeill, T, Auburn. A potential first-round pick, McNeill's medical condition is drawing attention. Reports are that he has a narrowing of the spine that could cause him to fail some physicals. McNeill has excellent size and athletic ability and was a starter at Auburn since midway through his freshman season. Once thought to be a top-25 pick, he could fall as far as the third round.

Anthony Fasano, TE, Notre Dame.

Tim Day, TE, Oregon. Both players have back injuries that reportedly concern teams. Fasano was expected to be selected midway through the second round because of his toughness, ability to block and be a dangerous receiver. He now looks no better than a fourth-round pick.
Day is solid and made his name with big receiving numbers in his junior season. He's big, tall and can make tough catch in the red zone. But this is the latest in a long line of injury concerns that have kept his stock down. Day was expected to be among the first players selected on Day 2. Look for him to slip into the fifth and maybe even the sixth round, depending on how severely teams downgrade him.

CHARACTER GUYS

Claude Wroten, DT, LSU. We've talked before about Wroten. He has all the skills to be a first-round selection, but his arrest this winter for marijuana possession sent his stock plummeting. He recovered when the charges were dropped, but now we are hearing that Wroten failed a drug test at the Combine.
Even after his arrest, Wroten looked to be a solid second-round prospect. We now expect him to drop into the third round, and some teams might take him off their board. Current Cowboys and former Jets defensive tackle Jason Ferguson had similar issues coming out of Georgia in 1997 and dropped to the seventh round.

Jon Scifres, K, Missouri State. Various reports say Scifres failed his drug test at the Combine. However, we are hearing that his violation came from taking an over-the-counter supplement that contained a banned substance. Scifres is the draft's top-ranked kicker. He wasn't expected to go before the fourth round, and likely not until the fifth or even early sixth round. The allegation shouldn't hurt his standing.

A.J. Nicholson, OLB, Florida State. Nicholson was sent home from the Orange Bowl after he was arrested in an alleged sexually assault. That arrest was the third for Nicholson in less than a year, and it raised concern across the league. His value also took a hit with a slow 40-yard dash time at the Combine. Nicholson was extremely productive at Florida State and was among the Seminoles' leading tacklers. Scouts now do not expect him to be picked before the sixth round.

Guy Whimper, OT, East Carolina. Whimper faces a battery charge involving his girlfriend. He showed excellent athletic ability in pre-draft workouts, and scouts had him moving up the draft board. This incident will keep teams from selecting him before the end of the fourth round.

SOMETHING'S MISSING

Omar Jacobs, QB, Bowling Green. Early in the evaluation process, Jacobs was being mentioned with some of the draft's top quarterbacks. He has impressive physical tools, good size and a strong arm, and is a threat as a runner and a passer. But as evaluations continued and teams put him to the test his lack of football knowledge came to the fore. Most teams are less concerned with a player's Wonderlic score than with their ability to break down defenses, read progressions and show poise and intelligence under pressure. Jacobs, who left school after his junior season, apparently failed the tests. He now looks to go late in the fifth round or early in the sixth.

Jon Alston, OLB, Stanford. We told you last week about Matt Leinart's agent change. Alston recently fired his agent as well and signed with an agency that recently merged with a big entertainment group. Alston has the skills and talent to be picked in the middle to late second round. But he apparently has Hollywood aspirations, and scouts are concerned he might not have the focus required in the NFL. He has fallen to the third round on some boards and could fall farther.
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So much for vince young being Dumb.. looks like omar jacobs is the real dumb one.

Draft Dish: These players' prospects are flagging

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Draft Dish: These players' prospects are flagging

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