McFadden could be a risky pick

There is no doubt that NFL teams know more about the players they are drafting than the NBA and Major League Baseball combined. But the perception that football teams make a player’s character a major part of the decision process on draft day is entirely false.

The reality is these teams care about the psychological tests only slightly more than the players do and when it comes down to it, a guy could score a 7 on his Wonderlic so long as he has 4.3 speed.

Or like Darren McFadden, a guy could be well on his way to joining Travis Henry and Shawn Kemp on the all-pro team of deadbeat dads, but as long as Scout.com ranks him as the top talent in the draft, every team will follow.

Character won’t be the great equalizer in McFadden’s case. In fact, since December, the two-time Heisman runner-up has been surrounded by negative stories. Accepting a Cadillac Escalade here, a nightclub fight there. And of course, the reports of two illegitimate children with different women on the way and the rumor that he is awaiting DNA Test results with two more women.

Someone get this man a minivan endorsement.

It’s just sickening. McFadden appears to be one of the few (maybe the only) can’t-miss skill position player in this year’s draft, so he seems to be getting a pass on everything. Whereas many players are tagged as “talented but…” he gets the exact opposite label:

“Flawed but too good to pass up.”

It’s a dangerous title. His ability helped pass all the physical tests and beat all the character tests, which is exactly what Ryan Leaf’s talent did for him years ago.

And we all know how that turned out.