While he is still widely considered the best wide receiving prospect in the upcoming NFL draft, the criticism on Oklahoma State’s receiver Dez Bryant is overblown to say the least.
He is often considered a “character issue”, but I’m beginning to question whether people who use that term to describe Bryant even know what it means.
When a player has character issues, it usually signifies that that particular player has had a few run-ins with the law or other off-the-field incidents.
However, Bryant’s name has never come up in any such situation. Bryant’s legal record is clean, has never been arrested , and has never had any off-the-field problems that should be of concern for an NFL team looking to draft him.
While Dez Bryant was suspended for most of his 2009 season at Oklahoma State, that was more a matter of the NCAA being the bully that they always strive to be, and took advantage of a young man who failed to “fully disclose his interaction” with Deion Sanders. Yeah, sure NCAA, we’re with you.
The fact of the matter is that Bryant’s game tape speaks for itself, and for any one that has watched it, they should know that Dez Bryant is a clear-cut top 10 talent in this years draft.
Now, while Oklahoma State coaches have said that Bryant is “gullible and had time-management issues,” they stand strong that he is not a character problem. Being late is never acceptable, but the kid is in college, and once an NFL gets ahold of him, those issues will stop, rest assured.
Teams may be putting up the ever-famous “smokescreen” on Bryant, causing him to fall to them, but if a team lets the player that Dez Bryant will become in this league fall past them because of “time-management” issues, than there’s a reason they’re picking in the top 10.
Bryant is not a character issue, and will not be a problem in the NFL. He is a great football player, and any team that is able to draft him come April 22 will be lucky.