NFL.com: Rugby player Jordan Mailata giving NFL a shot

[Karate61]

Hit rate on late round picks is abysmal. Nothing wrong with rollin the dice with one of those picks on a guy who has the raw skill you want. And if you end up developing him and trying to get him signed once he hits his stride, well, that's a good option too. Those guys who go off the board late are short on talent, so you're going to gamble on a guy not having something at that juncture in the draft.

I totally agree with you. Except, in this case it's a total loooooooong shot. The guy didn't even know what the NFL was until just a couple months ago. I think it's a waste of time. Groom a football player. Take a shot on a football player that needs more work. But, let's not chase one in a billion shot. That's my point to be more clear.

 

[1maGoh]

Speaking of Bohringer... I wonder why no team has given him a look as a practice squad option. Must have been some problems with language/learning or something more than what we hear as fans. If he is willing to work hard I would think some teams out there can spare a PS spot for the dude.

It's because the German football players are terrible. Completely awful. Like, would struggle against Junior college competition bad.

Measurables will only take you so far. At some point you have to be good at football.

 

[Akrasian]

Measurables will only take you so far. At some point you have to be good at football.

Yup. About the only chance of such a great athlete/non-football player succeeding is by giving him a role that only requires a very limited repertoire and not too many football reflexes. He shouldn't play offensive line, since they have to master a large number of blocking schemes for both passing and rushing, and have to react to a bunch of different ways that DL and blitzers act - all without screwing up in split second decisions or holding.

I wouldn't want him to be a DL with run prevention duties - too much he needs to recognize about which hole the RB is going for, etc. I would want him to be rushing the quarterback only, at least initially - where the line has to react to him and one or two moves might be enough to begin with, given his strength and size. His repertoire can be gradually expanded, but he might be useful with limited skills still.