Adrian Peterson, Quinton Coples, Chip Kelly
Most NFL talent-evaluators will tell you that decisions on the players they draft are primarily based on what they see from watching video of college games.
In some cases, they will go as far as to say that college pro-day performances don't carry a whole lot of weight in the decision-making process.
Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly doesn't see it that way, which was why he reportedly attended more pro days in the past couple of months than any head coach in the league.
"To me it's just another tool in the toolbox when you're making evaluations on people," Kelly was quoted as saying in PhillyMag.com. "It's tough for me to be in a room and argue for or against a player when I've never seen them in person. I've watched his tape.
"There's so much more than just watching tape – finding out the people that coached him, finding out what the janitor in the complex says about him, finding out what the people in the cafeteria say about him, find out what he's like from a learning standpoint, find out as much information as you possibly can.
"And if you don't, then shame on you."
CHICAGO BEARS' GM SEES NO VALUE IN LATE-ROUND QUARTERBACKS
Tom Brady's sixth-round-to-superstar journey notwithstanding, Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery thinks investing a late pick in a quarterback is a waste.
According to the results of a study he conducted, the theory that a late-round quarterback could eventually develop into a starter "doesn't hold a whole lot of water."
"There's entire classes of quarterbacks, since '06, I went back and looked at from (the draft class of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler) on – when people say developmental quarterbacks, okay, so who has gotten developed?" Emery was quoted as saying on ESPNChicago.com. "There isn't a single quarterback after the third round since 2006 that has been a long-term starter. So you're either developing thirds, and most of them have been wiped out of the league. So to get a quality quarterback, you've got to draft them high."
Then, how does he explain 2012, when the Seattle Seahawks landed a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Russell Wilson and the Eagles found starter Nick Foles in the third round?
"That 2012 class is a blip on the radar that's unusual, highly unusual," Emery said. "Most of the starters in this league come from the first and second round. So that's where you need to take a quarterback. So when you talk about quarterback every year, they have to be somebody that you truly believe will beat out the second and third quarterback that you perceive on your roster.
"And if not, history shows that you shouldn't make that pick."
COULD MINNESOTA VIKINGS BE LOOKING TO DRAFT ADRIAN PETERSON'S REPLACEMENT?
Conventional wisdom suggests the Minnesota Vikings are out to find a franchise quarterback when the NFL Draft begins Wednesday, and that might very well be the case. Most analysts see them targeting a quarterback with the eighth overall choice.
However, somewhere along the line, the Vikings could be looking to select a running back to eventually supplant Adrian Peterson. In fact, in March, general manager Rick Spielman said the team had "honed in on a couple of running backs in the draft."
At the very least, it would make sense for the Vikings to try to upgrade their backup running back spot so that they have someone reliable to take some of the load off of Peterson. After Toby Gerhart departed for Jacksonville in free agency, the Vikings were left with a mostly raw group consisting of Matt Asiata, Joe Banyard, and Bradley Randle.
"(Peterson's) getting to the point where you don't have to give him the ball 50 times a game for 16 games," Spielman was quoted as saying in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Adrian's the face of our franchise, but Norv has a history of having two backs to keep him fresh, because I think it's very important as you go through the season that they're still strong in Week 16 and they're still strong when you get into the playoffs."
LEGENDARY JET OFFERS HARSH ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT JET
The New York Jets were expecting a tremendous impact from outside linebacker Quinton Coples when they made the former North Carolina star the 16th overall pick of the 2012 draft.
So far, Coples hasn't done a whole lot as a pass-rusher. And that hasn't escaped the notice of one of the top defensive lineman in the team's history, Joe Klecko.
"A little bit of the time he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane," Klecko told New York radio station WFAN. "I don't know him at all, but understanding attitude and body language, he sometimes comes out there I think and thinks 'Don't you know who I am? I'm here.' He has to start proving that he is something to be reckoned with."
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