It happens every year. There will be a young football player who is being overlooked because he is too short, too slow or played for a small school and at just the point I am ready to write about what a steal he is, he goes out and blows up the combine. This year, it is Mychal Kendricks out of Cal.
I will say this now, because it has to be said, Mychal Kendricks should be the Oakland Raider's first man off the board, IF he is still there.
Kendricks, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, was projected to be drafted somewhere in the 4th or 5th Round. He is barely six feet and under 240. So, despite the hardware from 2011 and plays like these:
he was projected to be on the board when the Raiders, hopefully, pick in the middle of rounds 3-4.
Well, today, he went out and ran a 4.47, jumped 39.5 inches in the Vert and 10'7 in the broad. This was a day after pressing 225 lbs 24 times.
Kendricks reminds me a lot of Patrick Willis. If you add to his athleticism the fact that he played half of 2011 with a cast on (As Willis did his Senior season), he is my kind of player. A "Football" player.
Nobody has ever questioned Mychal's heart, determination or drive. Now, they can't question his athletic ability either. This is sure to move him up the draft charts, perhaps even into the 2nd Round. Oh well, at least there is Tank Carder who may still be there in the 6th!
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