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Aldon Smith A Perfect Caution To Talent Vs. Character

By Erik Lambert

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Nov 16, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith (99) warms up before a game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

One very important lesson to learn about the NFL draft centers around the idea of what builds a winning team.  GMs and coaches will say it takes the most talented players.  Others will say they need men with the proper character and leadership ability.  Both are right, and wrong at the same time.

In truth drafting a player with questionable talent or character to any extent represents a high degree of risk.  Either that player will disappoint in his production or he’ll disappoint with his attitude and actions in the locker room or off the field.  The latest example that perfectly represents this dilemma is San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith.

Coming out of the 2011 NFL draft, the same one that featured Von Miller and J.J. Watt, it could be argued Smith was the most talented of pass rushers in that group.  He had Watt’s length and power coupled with Miller’s burst and speed.

It made him almost unblockable at times.  In his first two seasons as a pro he collected an absurd 33.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and a safety.  Statistically speaking he was better than either Watt or Miller during that stretch.  Then the other edge of the sword came back to cut the 49ers.  Smith started getting in trouble with the law.

He was arrested for DUI and got stabbed in a fight at a party on two separate occasions in 2012.

A vehicle incident in 2013 resulted in his arrest for DUI and marijuana possession, an incident that landed him in rehab.

The next year before the 2014 season he was detained at Los Angeles International Airport for being uncooperative with a TSA agent who claimed Smith said he had a bomb.

Now this:

At this point nobody can say the 49ers didn’t give Smith every possible chance to straighten himself out.  It could be argued that his immense talent is the sole reason he’s lasted on the team this long.  However if he’s guilty in any part of this latest incident not only will he likely be cut from the team but also could be suspended the entire season.

It’s another reminder of why teams, now more than ever are taking the character of their draft picks infinitely more seriously than in previous decades.  It’s why guys like Randy Gregory, who exhibited problems before the draft, went from talented enough to be a top 5 pick to becoming a late 2nd round pick.

Teams can’t afford to roll the dice on talent these because it has a terrible way of making good situations bad and bad situations worse.

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