Thanks for sharing that. To me, all this proves is one more example of why
EA having the exclusive license for football is a terrible tragedy. So players get drafted based on "measurables" and not production??? Not saying this doesn't happen in the NFL, as you need only look to the Combine to see how stupid scouts/GM's get when somebody's body of work is forgotten about and what he does in shorts and a t-shirt suddenly make his stock rise through the roof. However...
Players without the perfect size - or measurables - not only do get drafted, some of them are NFL legends. I'll give you some examples...
WR:
Jerry Rice/
Freddy Biletnikoff - Both were too slow.
Rice ran a horrible 40 for a WR and they used to say that
Freddy was timed with a sun dial he ran so slow. Both became two of the greatest WR's to ever play in the NFL, and both were
MVP's in a
Super Bowl.
MLB:
Jack Lambert - At
6'4 -
220, many scouts felt he was "too small to play LBer in the NFL." So the
Steelers stole him in round
2,
#46 overall. He only became one of the greatest to ever play the game, helped the
Steelers earn their
Steel Curtain nickname for the D, helped them win
4 Super Bowls and put fear into every team he faced.
K:
Sebastian Janikowski - At
6'1 -
260-ish he would probably never be drafted in the game as a kicker. But in real life he went in round
1,
#17 overall and during his career he has done things no other kicker has ever done, including: most
60+ yard FG's in a career with two (
61 - in
Cleveland in December and
63 at
Denver) Longest FG to win an
OT game (
57 vs
Jets) Most FG's of
50+ in one game with three (
50,
54,
55 at
Houston in a game the
Raiders won
25-
20)
QB:
Joe Montana - Considered too skinny and too frail by scouts and to have a weak arm,
Montana slipped all the way to the end of round
3,
#82 overall. All he did was become the greatest clutch QB in NFL history, led the
49ers to a decade of dominance, winning
4 Super Bowls and then took the
Chiefs to the
AFC Championship game his first year in
KC, the furthest the
Chiefs have been since winning
Super Bowl IV. Considered the most accurate passer ever during his time, his accuracy rating was only eclipsed after he retired and teams started changing the way they played offense.
Just a few examples of players whose size and "measurables" weren't perfect or considered "ideal," but guys who went on to become great NFL players and all of whom are in the
HOF save for
Janikowski, who is still playing.