Around the NFL
This year's crop of rookie wideouts was considered to be a deep one, and we saw indications of that in minicamps, with several late-round picks (Oakland's Juron Criner, Philadelphia's Marvin McNutt) and undrafted guys (Oakland's Rod Streater, Baltimore's Deonte Thompson) generating buzz. And that might not be the end of the intriguing prospects.
The NFL's supplemental draft will be held next Thursday, and another wideout is attracting some attention: former Baylor and Utah receiver Josh Gordon. If there's a player selected in the early rounds of next week's draft, it appears it will be him.
This column at NFL.com discusses Gordon, who's big and fast, but (as is usually the case with supplemental picks) comes with some risk. Gordon was suspended during the 2010 season at Baylor for a drug arrest, transferred to Utah, then didn't play during the 2011 season. Sitting out a year seldom benefits a young player, as was seen a few years back with Southern Cal's Mike Williams, and coming out now might indicate he has additional off-field concerns.
The entire list of previous supplemental picks can be seen at this link. A lot more misses than hits there, although Mike Wahle had some good years with the Packers and Jared Gaither has been a quality starter in Baltimore and now San Diego. Ahmad Brooks is part of a very good San Francisco defense. Cris Carter had a pretty fair NFL career.
Gordon's off-field history and current conditioning will be factors in where he is drafted, but it's very possible a receiver-needy team will take a chance on him with an early pick (if a team takes him in the third round, it will cost them a third-rounder in the 2013 NFL Draft). Those in deep dynasty leagues might want to pick him up now and see where he ends up.
--Andy Richardson
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Posted by david erickson | Jul. 06 at 04:24 PM
Jamal Williams was a stud DT with the Chargers for a decade also.