Is Connor Cook The Victim Of NFL Draft Nitpicking?
By Erik Lambert
Sometimes in the history of an NFL draft, scouts and teams get so caught up in the search for things that might be wrong with a given prospect that they learn to overlook what is right with them. Several great players in history have been a victim of that. Could Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook be the latest?
By all accounts, the senior had done everything there is to do in college. He has two big bowl victories under his belt (Rose and Fiesta) and played like an MVP in both. By the time he finished he was the winningest quarterback in the country with 33 triumphs to his credit and just five losses. He threw for 9,194 yards and 71 touchdowns to just 22 interceptions. Scouts like his size, his decent mobility and the fact he has arm strength.
Most of the time this is grounds for being a 1st round pick. So what’s the problem? Aside from some concerns about his accuracy, the overwhelming feeling is teams have begun to question his commitment as a leader, raising the question as to why he has never been a captain.
Seriously, make any excuses for Connor Cook you want, 3-year starting QB doesn't get voted captain as a senior by his teammates? Hmm.
— Dave Biddle (@davebiddle) January 1, 2016
NFL teams want their QBs to be leaders. The moment one his questioned on that front, his stock takes a huge hit. A number of teammates have since come to his defense on that, including linebacker Darien Harris who has known him for five years. He made it clear these rumors are completely bogus.
"“I don’t buy any of that, one bit. I feel like, as he is my brother and he is family to me, it’s kind of my obligation to try to kill some of that noise,” Harris said. “Hopefully I can do that by getting people to understand from the inside of that locker room that we loved him and that he was the best quarterback in the country, no doubt about it.“It’s been a mystery to us, and it’s really unfortunate. He’s a great guy who comes from a great family. It’s hurtful to me as well because he’s part of our 2011 class that’s been able to do so many special things at Michigan State. I know him, I know his parents well, his sister, I know everything about him. We talk all the time. For how close and tight-knit the team was, to me it’s been kind of blasphemous, the amount of things that have been said about him.”"
He went on to say teams will get a different picture of Cook when they interview him at the scouting combine. If this is true, then it reinforces the reality that teams may often take too much stock in the little things and aren’t seeing the big picture. Sure a kid may have not been a captain or shared playing time with another player. That doesn’t automatically mean he’s not good at what he does.
Sometimes it can be costly looking so hard for problems because they might not even be there.