Sam Walker explains Why the NFL Is Drafting Benchwarmers:
One problem facing NFL teams is that college players aren’t as polished as they used to be. Recent NCAA reforms limiting football scholarships and tightening academic standards have reduced the size of the talent pool. College teams are now restricted to 20 hours of practice a week during the season and 15 days in the spring. Add in the growing number of players leaving early for the NFL, and college coaches say they don’t have time to teach proper football technique, let alone install the kinds of complex schemes the pros use. “We have to acknowledge what we’re dealing with,” says Virginia head coach Al Groh.Once these players get to the NFL, the learning curve is even steeper than before. Many NFL teams have switched to a 3-4 defensive alignment (three down linemen and four linebackers) that requires players with specific combinations of quickness, bulk and intelligence that most college systems don’t cultivate. On offense, more college teams are using a scheme where a super-mobile quarterback takes snaps from the shotgun formation with as many as five receivers and creates chaos by improvising. Meanwhile, the NFL is more interested in tall stationary passers who can take snaps from center, drop back efficiently, read mismatches and deliver crisp passes with an efficient arm motion.
Subtle as they may seem, these discrepancies can make it tough for some campus stars to impress NFL scouts. One of this year’s best examples is Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil. During the 2005 season he set an NCAA record with 10 forced fumbles and led the nation with 20 sacks — four more than his closest competitor. In addition to serving as team captain, he was an All-American who won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the nation’s top defensive player and the Ted Hendricks Award as best defensive end.
To NFL scouts, however, Mr. Dumervil’s most important characteristic is this: He’s not quite six feet tall, which means he is three inches shorter than a typical NFL player at the position. As a result, more than a dozen college ends of lesser reputations could be taken ahead of him this weekend. “It’s ridiculous,” he says. “I’ve seen guys with three or four sacks rated higher than me because they’re 6-foot-4.” Throughout his career, he says, “I’ve always believed in performance over potential. The stats don’t lie.”