Malcolm Kelly falling to 3rd round?

*TekeRam* · #1 (**permalink**) -11-04-2008

From Hashmarks on ESPN, by Matt Mosley

Quote:

It hasn't been a good week for Oklahoma wide receiver Malcolm Kelly, but at least it's getting more bizarre. On Wednesday, he basically accused the OU strength and conditioning staff of trying to sabotage his workout. Kelly apparently wanted to run on Astroturf, but he was forced to run on FieldTurf.
Now, he's apologizing for his rant on a Tyler, Texas radio station. The guy interviewing him is David Smoak, a longtime Friend of Hashmarks. On Sunday, Kelly will hold yet another workout in Atlanta under the direction of former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Boyd Dowler. But here's the catch: No NFL scouts will be allowed in the building. Dowler, who's in the Packers Hall of Fame, will send video and information from the workout to all 32 NFL teams and various media outlets.
In my mind, this is just another bad P.R. move from the Kelly camp. I think he's actually a great kid, but he's coming across as a brat right now. I know a lot of scouts around the league, and they'll be highly suspicious of a private workout. The bottom line is that they get paid to hunt down accurate information. If they had to sit around and wait for FedEx packages from Boyd Dowler, they wouldn't have jobs.
The best thing for Kelly to do is set up as many personal workouts as possible. I know he's in Pittsburgh today, but I don't think he's planning to run. Kelly had a highly productive college career, but it wouldn't surprise me if he slips into the third round at this point. It's hard to believe that a lot of us had him going No. 11 overall to the Bills just a few weeks ago.

The question then becomes, what's our WR strategy if we think he could slip that far? I, for one, believe that unless he's seriously damaged goods with a chronic knee issue, would find amazing value with this guy, even if we traded up into the bottom of the second. If he can play like he did in college, we need to jump at him if he falls that far.

*Mooselini* · #2 (**permalink**) -11-04-2008

Hmmm. I would like to pick him up too. But who knows, if things go well he may end up going sooner than we think... =/

I'm agreeing with you here Teke. He plays like he did in college, I'm all for it.

*39thebeast* · #3 (**permalink**) -11-04-2008

I'm not a fan of Kelly. I'd rather just get Donnie Avery who is faster, doesn't have major injury concerns, and more in the mold of an Al Saunders reciver

**txramsfan** · #4 (**permalink**) -11-04-2008

He's way too talented to leave Round 2 much less Round 1. WR's as a whole are prima donnas (we've been spoiled but just look around the league).

*Goldenfleece* · #5 (**permalink**) -12-04-2008

He really is going about this all wrong. Did he think the scouts wouldn't know that running on grass would affect his time? If he wanted to mention that he thought he was going to be running on turf, he could have said something to the effect that it caught him by surprise, but he just had to do his best. Instead he seemed mildly paranoid and unfairly accusatory. And who wants to watch tape of him working out. He can do as many takes as he wants to if he's the one producing the tape. It's almost like he thinks he can scam his way into a higher draft position. It really is a shame, because he is an impressive player.

**txramsfan** · #6 (**permalink**) -12-04-2008

He'll be either the first or second WR taken in the draft. You guys like to talk about smoke screens, this wreaks of one.

*TekeRam* · #7 (**permalink**) -12-04-2008

Good point GF... at least the school didn't make him run in a sand pit! How amusing would it be if he had to do the whole workout in one?

Tx, the issue with the smokescreen issue is that this is the media saying he could slip that far, not any team. Sure he gets his info from teams, but he has no business trying to make him fall. One thing's for sure, he'll either be great value for some team and play with a chip on his shoulder, or he'll be a whiny punk like Mike Williams from USC and be out of a job in a couple years.

**txramsfan** · #8 (**permalink**) -12-04-2008

I'm glad I'm not an athlete where the media sits like judge and jury and either makes or ruins my character.

*general counsel* · #9 (**permalink**) -12-04-2008

TX, given that you are known to live your life shriven of sin, strict scrutiny from the media would not be an issue for you.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

*RamJackson39* · #10 (**permalink**) -13-04-2008

Not a fan of Malcolm Kelly and I would hate to see him in a Ram's uniform. The team needs an explosive guy that can get deep and can do something after the catch. I wouldnt be surprised if Kelly became just another situational guy, and I think this draft is too deep with talented WRs to waste a pick on a guy like that.

And after what he said about Oklahoma, that's just ridiculous. Seems like the guy just hasnt grown up yet. Admit that you were surprised about the surface, but dont accuse the school of trying to sabotage you.