Michael Sam drafted as part of deal

[msstate7]

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/03/24/nfl-reportedly-made-deal-with-rams-to-draft-michael-sam.html

[chef dixon]

The thing I hate about the whole Michael Sam thing is that he was good enough to get drafted late at least, but because of the circumstances they downplayed him into a player that probably isn't good enough to get drafted so there would be excuses if he didn't.

And now they are making it out to seem that a team needed a deal from the NFL to take him. I guess I understand teams not wanting to take a risk to an extent but if he never came out I'd bet a team would have picked him in rounds 4-7 without blinking.

[Tbonewannabe]

The thing I hate about the whole Michael Sam thing is that he was good enough to get drafted late at least, but because of the circumstances they downplayed him into a player that probably isn't good enough to get drafted so there would be excuses if he didn't.

And now they are making it out to seem that a team needed a deal from the NFL to take him. I guess I understand teams not wanting to take a risk to an extent but if he never came out I'd bet a team would have picked him in rounds 4-7 without blinking.

He bombed the combine and then followed it up with a bad pro day at Mizzou. I am sure some team would have taken him around 6-7 but the media attention hurt him some.

[missouridawg]

There is nothing that anyone could ever tell me to make me believe that the Rams drafted Sam because they were the best on his board. Anyone who watched the broadcast of the late rounds of that draft saw it. The flow of the show changed entirely as the clock ticked over to the Rams pick. It was blatantly obvious to me.

[Dawg61]

LA Rams to be on Hard Knocks. Aren't the Rams using FEMA trailers for offices? Haha idiots

[Tbonewannabe]

There is nothing that anyone could ever tell me to make me believe that the Rams drafted Sam because they were the best on his board. Anyone who watched the broadcast of the late rounds of that draft saw it. The flow of the show changed entirely as the clock ticked over to the Rams pick. It was blatantly obvious to me.

Pretty obvious that someone "had" to take Sam. I thought he would be good in the NFL since he was good in the SEC but Barrin Simpson kicked ass and then went to the CFL. The NFL doesn't draft you no matter how good your tape looks unless you meet certain measurables. I am sure Sam had a lot of distractions that a normal late pick doesn't have when trying to make the team. He didn't make it in the CFL either.

[deltadawg99]

Michael Sam was a really good college player. Doesn't make him an NFL guy. He was undersized for the NFL and would have been a late round guy regardless of whether or not he came out of the closet.

[thf24]

In my opinion it's the other way; I don't think he would have been drafted without the media attention. He doesn't even have a fringe position in the NFL; way too slow and short to be a modern DE/OLB, and doesn't have the frame to bulk up into a DT. Probably could be a decent special teams guy, but ST guys who can't solidify a spot on the depth chart are a dime a dozen.

[BeardoMSU]

The NFL doesn't draft you no matter how good your tape looks unless you meet certain measurables. I am sure Sam had a lot of distractions

Agreed. The NFL doesn't care what distractions are around you, as long as you're a good player; most teams are willing to tolerate a lot for talent (ex. Greg Hardy). Sam just didn't have the skills, or the size, to make it in the league. He could have been a special teams player, I suppose, but he wasn't especially athletic or fast either. I don't think he's out of the league for being gay, anymore than I think Tebow is out of the league for being Christian.