"While the NFL plods through its period of uncertainty with the possibility of a work stoppage that might last until Halloween, there is at least one candle it still is able to light: the college draft, which will be held near the end of April. The new rookies won't be rewarded on a grand nor modest scale until management and labor reaches some form of peace, uneasy or not. The veterans won't even be allowed to challenge their teammates while cavorting in those springtime exercises in their underwear. Thinking about what the draft picks might mean, eventually, to their teams will be the only entertainment for the fans. Start now by drawing up your mock draft. Almost everyone else has. So far the draftniks have chosen Alabama's Marcel Dareus, Auburn's Nick Fairley, Clemson's DaQuon Bowers, all defensive linemen; plus quarterbacks Cam Newton of Auburn and Blaine Gabbert of Missouri as Buffalo's No. 1 pick, the third in the overall draft. I'm wary of predictions including my own about which teams will draft whom. Why? Because draftniks are, essentially, information gatherers. The question is how solid is their information, usually gathered from an NFL organization in which they have contacts. The problem is that the pros lie about such information. Why wouldn't they lie? Their bosses pay millions of dollars to hire a competent scouting staff and then to accumulate the best information about potential players to draft with pros and cons. Why would they then share that information with amateurs? One reason is to mislead opposing organizations that might be on the trail of the same prospects they are chasing. Being skeptical about such open information is the best policy. That's why I hope the Bills don't draft Newton. He's the most talented and gifted athlete in the draft, which is obvious. So what? Pro football isn't the Olympics. He won the Heisman Trophy but college is a different game and the NFL past is littered with quarterback flops who won the Heisman. He's not so gifted when it comes to passing and this is the era of the passing game in the NFL. His list of various flaws is almost as long as his list of gifts." Read more: http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/larry-felser/article359483.ece
