Everson Griffen Slipping Due to Character Concerns?

It seems as though every mock draft out there had Everson Griffen falling somewhere in the 20’s or, at the very least, to the New Orleans Saints at 32. However, with the fourth round slated to get under way, Griffen is still on the board.

Apparently the negative talk surrounding Griffen was taken much more seriously by all 32 teams than anyone could possibly anticipated. A lot of folks around the league believe that, with his skill-set, Griffen was an underachiever at USC and they’re worried he could be the kind of guy who shuts it down once his paid.

If you’d like a couple examples of guys who have done just that in the past, feel free to look up the stats of Albert Haynesworth and Brandon Jacobs before and after their big deals.

Anyway, if that’s truly a concern of all 32 teams, then taking Griffen in the fourth round should be the remedy. Guys taken in the fourth round are making good money by average standards, but as far as the NFL goes they make next to nothing. Not only that, but after the third round expectations begin to drop rapidly.

By letting him fall this far, teams should be able to humble Griffen enough to mold him in any way they want. By letting him know that he can be cut without so much as a second thought, it might be enough to keep his head on straight and allow a team to walk away with an enormous bargain.

His fall is reminiscent of Antaaj Hawthorne back in 2005. Hawthorne, a defensive tackle from Wisconsin, was a guy many considered to have first-round abilities, but character concerns came out just before the draft and he fell all the way to the sixth round to Oakland.

It appears as though those fears were warranted, because Hawthorne only played two season in the NFL and now is playing for the AFL’s Arizona franchise.

There you go, Griffen. If being compared to a flop-out like Hawthorne won’t get you motivated, then nothing will.