I respectfully and vigorously disagree with that sentiment. You presume that Ethan Westbrooks wasn't drafted because no team saw enough talent in him to be drafted.
However, that's not the case at all. His talent level indicated a much higher grade. The issue for him was his bouncing around, penchant for penalties, inconsistent production and other red flags. His TALENT wasn't at issue. It's why the Rams essentially paid him $50k to come in via $20k in signing bonus and $30k in guaranteed salary. They clearly thought VERY highly of him, but you just don't draft a drifter. The guy didn't look like he could stick to anything. So, you pick him up as a UDFA and see if he can play up to his talent. Turns out under Coach Waufle, he did.
Now, watching Westbrooks play, are you REALLY going to tell me that he's a UDFA level talent? Or is it more accurate that other factors like red flags, multiple schools, too many penalties and inconsistent production as well as Division II school bias worked against him?
I'm pretty sure based on how well Westbrooks played that we all have SEEN that he's not some UDFA scrub who just "figured it all out all of a sudden". He was the 2012 Div II DPOY. That's for all of Div II. So, he's not exactly an unknown guy or a guy without accolade or skill.
Guys are drafted where they are drafted for any number of reasons. Certain positions are over and underdrafted. Guys on winning Div I teams get over drafted all the time. Zac Stacy led the SEC in rushing (from Vandy, no less!!!) and went in the 5th round. How does that happen? He was a damn STEAL in the 5th. I know we're not gonna debate that Zac Stacy was a 5th round talent and was the right value there. He was really undervalued and thus underdrafted. It happens all the time.
So, no, I reject categorically that there is a linear correlation between pure talent and draft position. That ignores position bias and team need as well as evaluator error. Further, I reject categorically that because BOTH players the Rams picked were grossly underdrafted that inherently means that their draft statuses were correct. All that it means is that Ethan Westbrooks played fully up to his potential and better fills the role the Rams need filled. However, if the Rams weren't already 8 deep on the DL, both would have easily made the team. I say this because we also got Aaron Donald. And really, when was the last time that any team added (or could have added) 3 players to a position of strength from one draft? I still say that Michael Sam would have been a better addition than Carrington and the very notion of Conrath on the PS??? Are they just trying to make the offense feel good?
Even still, the larger point is that based on production, as several writers have pointed out now, NO 4-3 DE remotely as productive as Michael Sam isn't on a team or a PS. Not one. He's the anomaly. Others less productive. Plenty significantly less. Very few had more production. Only 5 others with about the same production aren't on a team and all of them spent at least 3 years in the league, meaning they aren't PS candidates. Again, if the point of the practice squad is to develop young talent and have replacements in case of injury, don't you want the best talent there?
See, the 49ers have lost tons of defensive talent. Granted, they run a 3-4, but Aldon Smith is a DPR. He's as much of a linebacker as Sam Bradford. With Navarro Bowman going down and a D that's been awful generous this preseason, you'd think someone like Sam might be worth a look in that DPR role... Nope. Apparently, they can take a 4-3 DE who's been misused for years as a 3-4 DE and put him at NT (only to see him lost for the season with a knee), but they can't see using a DPR as a.....wait for it...DPR? M'kay...
Lastly, I'm not accusing "others" of being homophobic. I, personally, am being VERY CLEAR about my accusations with respect to homophobia or the lesser variations of it that still deny Michael Sam his equal opportunity. I'm not accusing any posters. YES, absolutely, I accuse the 31 teams in the NFL that are not the St. Louis Rams. Now, that accusation is mitigated...somewhat...for teams that run a 3-4, but as I noted with SF, if they use a DPR, he could potentially fill that role. Not traditional LB, but the LT/DPR role in a 3-4... he might be able to do that. For teams that run a 4-3, there's no excuse at all... not to at least LOOK.
I simply refuse to believe that out of the 320 jobs that became available on practice squads across the league that there wasn't room for one of the most productive defensive players in the preseason at a highly valued position no less.
Last...Lastly... as for the 3rd to 5th round pick being a reach....um, not at all...
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/shutd...m-70-spots-draft-rankings-173605773--nfl.html
the article posted about the Rob Rang rankings from Feb 10, 2014 which dropped him from the 90th ranked prospect to 160th ranked prospect after the announcement. Meaning BEFORE the announcement, CBSSports.com had him ranked at 90 and NFLDraftscout.com had him ranked at 110. Both rank him in the 3rd to 4th round range pre-announcement. I was very involved in this draft and that is very consistent with other sites. So to say that a 3rd to 5th round pick is a stretch is simply wrong. He was a totally known commodity INCLUDING being gay when he won the SEC co-DPOY and the NFL scouts knew he was gay when they scouted and ranked him where they did.
