MAC Stars Go Late In NFL Draft
By Peter Schinkai
pschinkai@themacdaily.com
It was an up-and-down year for the Mid-American Conference. Some teams that came in with high hopes (specifically Western Michigan and Ball State) were shown to be waning. Some of the conference's biggest stars (most notably James Starks) went down early with season-ending injuries. And, although once again the MAC got five teams to bowl games, only one came away with a victory (mind you, the conference had some of the most thrilling finishes and CMU's win is an instant classic).
Over the past three days, all of the conference's stars have been put under a microscope in the NFL Draft. For two days, only one MAC athlete heard his name called. Finally, on Saturday, there were a handful of other conference stars that were grabbed and will have a chance on football's biggest stage.
Here are my thoughts on each MAC draft pick and his chances of long term success in the NFL.
Taylor Price, Ohio, New England (3rd round): Let's just get my only criticism out of the way. I think that the Patriots were reaching for Price and could have gotten him one or two rounds later. With that said, I love this move for the former Bobcats star.
As we saw last year with Kent State's Julian Edelman and with the Patriots track record, this team is going to build on all of Price's strengths and improve his weaknesses. In New England, he's not going to be thrown to the wolves, he'll get time to develop and long term could end up being a very good slot receiver for Tom Brady.
Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan, Chicago, (6th round): I'm stunned (repeat — STUNNED) that LeFevour fell this far. But right now there are too many young quarterbacks in the NFL. That's why Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy fell so far. Regardless of where LeFevour got drafted and how much money he'll be getting paid this fall, I think that this is a great pick.
Forget the cutesy "he's going to play for the hometown team" story. Here is what is important. The Bears quarterbacks right now are Jay Cutler and then the never going to be an NFL starter duo of Brett Basanez and Caleb Hanie (excuse me while I yawn). In other words, LeFevour should be the No. 2 quarterback in Chicago next year and his game fits amazingly well with Mike Martz's West Coast offense. Give LeFevour a year or two in this system and he could become the next Aaron Rodgers. He won't be flashy, but he'll be very good.
Dan LeFevour will have a shot in Chicago.
James Starks, Buffalo, Green Bay, (6th round): With Starks' injury, it's just great that he got drafted. Had he played a full year, he probably would have gone about two rounds earlier. Still, I'm not too sure about this move.
I think that Starks has all the skills to be a successful back in the NFL, but at best, he's going to come into Green Bay as a third down back. The Packers don't have a great recent history of developing halfbacks (especially with Ryan Grant's regression). Right now, I just hope that the Packers give Starks a chance and he doesn't find himself relegated to the practice squad.
Antonio Brown, Central Michigan, Pittsburgh, (6th round): Brown always reminded me of a poor man's Greg Jennings. He's explosive deep, can cut over the middle and his amazing speed. Those are all traits that you need in the NFL. But, he was drafted by the Steelers as a late round luxury pick. The good news is that the Steelers are desperate right now to find some good wide outs. The bad news is that Brown is going to have some stiff competition and as a sixth round pick, I'm not 100 percent sold that he'll be given a fair chance.
The Steelers also drafted SMU wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
Jameson Konz, Kent State, Seattle, (7th round): In the seventh round, you can take a flyer and that's exactly what the Seahawks appear to have done. Konz spent most of his college career battling injuries. Last season, he played in all 12 games, but was usually the fourth or fifth receiving option. Konz is destined for the practice squad.
Konz isn't much of a return option either. Last year he had one kick return for zero yards.
