 If anyone had a doubt about who would be the first pick in the NFL Draft later this month, they shouldn't have any doubt now. Sam Bradford had his Pro Day today (3-29-10) and not only impressed everyone there, but actually impressed himself as well. He completed 62 or 63 passes and the one pass that he didn't complete was a dropped pass by back-up receiver Adron Tennell. In other words, he was perfect. Well maybe not perfect... one pass that Bradford threw for over 40 yards wobbled a little bit. I can imagine how Tennell felt after having the only drop of the day; however, it was only Bradford's fourth pass thrown that was dropped.
 There were scouts, coaches, General Managers, team executives and owners there today to watch and study Bradford. On October 29, 2009, Dr. James Andrews performed surgery on Bradford in Birmingham, Alabama to repair his throwing shoulder. Following recovery, Bradford has only been throwing the ball for about 5 weeks. Because of this surgery, doubt was put into a lot of decision maker's minds around the NFL. Could he fully recover from this surgery? Will his throwing motion be affected by the surgery? Would he still be accurate with the ball on long throws? All of these questions were answered today. The answer is a resounding YES, YES, YES. Bradford actually looked better than he did before the surgery. He put on an additional 15 pounds from his college playing weight, and where he needed to, his upper body. Many professional scouts felt that Bradford needed to bulk up to be able to deal with the pounding of an NFL season.
Dr. Andrews is so proficient at this surgery that most of the athletes actually come back from it with a stronger shoulder than before the injury occurred. Think Drew Brees. Brees recovered from the worst shoulder injury Dr. Andrews had ever seen by a professional athlete, and we all know what Drew Brees did last year in the NFL..... He lead the New Orleans Saints to their first ever Super Bowl win.
Former Cowboys executive Gil Brandt said,
"It really was a treat to watch, and I think everyone here was in awe of Bradford's performance. In fact, he put on the best quarterback workout by a draft prospect that I've seen since I watched a private workout Troy Aikman put on for us with the Cowboys in California."
 St. Louis Rams General Manager, Bill Devaney said,
"I thought it was really positive, this is shocking, the guy is real accurate."
Devaney actually had breakfast with Bradford this morning before the Oklahoma Pro Day workout. Do you think they talked about in what neighborhood Bradford should look for a house? I think so......Devaney has mentioned over the past month that he is most impressed with the way Bradford carries himself off the field. Character is something that is considered and studied carefully by NFL teams and Bradford passes that test with flying colors. Denvaney said that Bradford is fun to be around and has a great personality which should help Bradford in an NFL locker room. Don't forget that Denvaney was in San Diego when the Chargers picked Ryan Leaf and in Atlanta for the Michael Vick saga, so he has a lot of experience with bad character and he is making sure that he gets to know Bradford well.
Keep in mind the pressure Bradford was under today as all eyes were on him; not to mention the difference between the number one overall selection and the 4th (about $ 15,000,000.00). That's a lot of money for anyone.
Bill Devaney and the St. Louis Rams have had contract discussions with several potential picks and hope to have a contract ready to sign prior to the NFL Draft on April 22nd. Among the players that they are negotiating with are Jimmy Clausen, Sam Bradford, Ndamuknog Suh and Gerald McCoy. I would be shocked if this performance did not cement the Rams # 1 pick as being Sam Bradford. - Bob Bearden
Bob is a regular guest contributor on sports talk radio in the Southeastern United States. Bob's views and opinions on professional and college sporting events can now be found right here on the MC3 Sports Media's family of websites.
- For player profiles and complete coverage of this Year's NFL Draft, visit our NFL Draft Prospects Home Page with new profiles being added each week.
If you haven't voted in our polls on the site yet please do so. We are trying to get a feel for how our readers are looking at Football so we can write about things they want to hear. The poll questions are:
"Do you think the NCAA should have a Playoff to determine the National Champion rather than the BCS / Bowl System?"
and
"Should the NFL adopt the NCAA method of Overtime or continue to flip a coin for possession and have sudden death?"
Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship.
 
 |
