A.J. McCarron hurt himself in pre-draft interviews?
AJ McCarron (10) celebrates. Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The case for drafting Alabama Crimson Tide product A.J. McCarron is largely based on his winning ways in college, productivity against tough defenses, experience, and leadership and intangibles. Those intangibles have stuck with McCarron throughout the pre-draft process, but a recent report makes it seem like not everyone in the league is a fan of McCarron’s character.
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ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports, via Rotoworld, that one reason why McCarron hasn’t been drafted yet is because he rubbed executives he interviewed with “the wrong way”. It might have something to do with the fact that McCarron stated publicly that he would be a first-round pick, based on conversations with execs.
Schefter is the most reliable reporter there is, and he stated that these interviews are just one reason for McCarron’s fall. Honestly, I take “rubbing execs the wrong way” reports with a grain of salt, because there was actually a scout who told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Bob McGinn that Derek Carr rubs him the wrong way during his interview and that he wouldn’t want to have a beer with someone like Carr.
Yeah, whatever that means. The truth is that McCarron’s fall into the third day isn’t a surprise at all, and he was always expected to be a fourth or fifth-round pick. It will be interesting to see when he hears his name called today, and McCarron is ticketed for a backup gig on a team with an established starter. That’s the role that fits him best, as he reminds me of a Matt Flynn-type. Contrary to what some think, those kinds of quarterbacks have value in this league, because you never know when your star QB will go down with an injury; a contingency plan is a must at this stage.