2010 NFL Draft: Dez Bryant and Randy Moss

Has the Past Not Taught Us Anything? Let’s discuss two wide receivers with spotty pasts, but nothing considered by many to be serious at all.  Randy Moss got into a fight in high school, which put him in jail and destroyed his dream of playing at Notre Dame.  Dez Bryant went to Deion Sanders house to work out and lied about it to investigators.  Would this be a caution flag for you?  Absolutely, but after seeing what Moss has done in the NFL I think a more thorough background check would be in order before I select Kevin Dyson or Golden Tate before either one of these elite receivers.  Watching film of Randy Moss at Marshall proved that he deserved to be in the top 10 of the draft that season, but most teams were scared off by a high school fight including the Dallas Cowboys, who were Randy’s favorite team. While in high school, Randy Moss kicked another student coming to the defense of a friend.  He was charged with felony assault, but later the charge was lowered to a misdemeanor offense.  He was sentenced to 30 days in jail for something I’m sure most of us have been involved in, a high school fight.  Notre Dame and Florida State withdrew their scholarship offers at that point.  Moss ended up at Marshall, destroyed the record books, and expected to be a top 10 draft pick.  He fell all the way to the 21st overall pick as the Minnesota Vikings made the best decision of the day.  Kevin Dyson was the only wideout selected in front of him, but huge busts like Ryan Leaf, Andre Wadsworth and Curtis Enis were all selected in the top 5 that year.  This is a paraphrased version of what Moss said before the draft, but it was along the lines of “the teams that pass on me will pay for passing a talent like me up”.  I don’t think he could’ve been any more correct.  He is a surefire Hall of Famer and one of the most popular, recognizable talents in the league today.

Coming into the 2009 college football season Dez Bryant was one of the biggest names out there.  He was on a team that had a good chance to compete in the Big XII South, along with BCS hopes.  Those hopes were crushed when investigators found that Dez was working out at the home of NFL great Deion Sanders.  The violation was misinterpreting the events that took place that day.  On October 7, 2009, Dez Bryant was suspended for the season.  After such a promising 2008 and a great start to the 2009 season the talented wideout was finished.  Although he isn’t always on time for meetings or practice, forgets his shoes for workouts, and had the Deion Sanders thing, I would still select the 6’2 225 lb receiver in the top ten of the draft.  He compares favorably to Larry Fitzgerald in the way he goes and gets the ball in the air.  His only weakness in many scouts eyes would be his route running ability.  Another drawback of Dez Bryant would be his agent Eugene Parker, who negotiated the contract for Michael Crabtree and the 49ers last season.

Late Pick Will history repeat itself?  Randy Moss made a statement before the 1998 draft that he backed up in a big way; will Dez Bryant do the same thing in his new home?  I hope so as the punishment he received sure didn’t fit the crime for this extremely talented player.  Dez has all the physical talents to become a major star in the NFL, but will his work ethic and past troubles get in the way?  Only time will tell, but maybe he can call on Mr. Moss about the best way to get back at the teams that passed up on him.