The Blue Workhorse

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wait and prepare to walk across the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on NFL Draft Day? Ever wanted to hear your name called by the NFL Commissioner? Well, Yardbarker is going to give you as close to that experience as 99% of us will ever get to being on the stage.

As the next wave of NFL players prepare to enter the league today, Yardbarker.com is presenting a new and unique angle with their draft coverage. Yardbarker is bringing you the draft through the eyes of the athletes themselves. For example, you will be able to sit beside Keith Rivers and Darren McFadden, both YardBarkers themselves, as their futures are determined.

The Atlanta Falcons have released Joey Harrington, the third overall pick from the 2002 draft who starred at the University of Oregon prior to learning that football isn’t easy. Coming off a season in which he threw for 2,215 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions in 12 games (including 10 starts), Harrington will be forced to seek for a new team for the fourth consecutive off-season.

Harrington and #1 overall pick David Carr are the posterboys for what is likely one of the poorest quarterback classes in NFL Draft history. Along with Harrington and Carr, Patrick Ramsey also fits the bill as a first round draft bust from the 2002 draft class.

Unlike the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year and Pro Bowl MVP out of the University of Oklahoma, who has repeatedly shown he is “a bright, articulate and classy young man as well as a terrific football player,” questions about McFadden’s character are starting to become as numerous as the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs.’

McFadden is currently battling a paternity suit, and according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, McFadden “told a team during an interview Saturday night that he has two children on the way.” Add in two altercations outside of night clubs (one in July 2006 and the other last month) as well as allegations (that were later retracted) that agent Mike Conley Sr. helped him purchase a Cadillac Escalade, and McFadden’s character has become something that is being questioned by NFL coaches and front office members alike.

There is often a Cinderella-type story at the NFL’s Combine every year that gets an unlikely invite and makes a few waves. Mel Kiper gives the guy his own feature on Draft Day, he gets selected on the second day of the draft, and maybe makes it as a semi-successful professional backup.

This year, however, the Cinderella story, Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco may end up being a steal in the draft. The 6-foot-6 inch (and 3/8ths) fellow-who-is-quite-tall is also 236 pounds, and according to FanHouse’s Michael David Smith, Flacco says he plans to run his 40-yard dash somewhere between 4.6-4.7 seconds.