Dwayne Jarrett is Fast Enough
| 10
|
by user The Beast
If you haven't heard, Dwayne Jarrett's best forty yard dash time in front of scouts at USC's Pro Day was 4.62 seconds. His time was slower than the 4.4 seconds that teammate Steve Smith ran at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and also slower than the 4.58 that linebacker Dallas Sartz ran.
I can not understand why NFL teams put so much stock into all of these various drills, especially the forty yard dash. These draft candidates are going to play football, not participate in track & field events. I don't care how much they bench press, how much they squat, or how fast their forty time is. While these are simple ways to evaluate talent, too many NFL team put way too much time and effort into these various drills. I want to watch Jarrett run his routes and catch the ball, not run a forty yard dash. Running routes is what a receiver will be doing in the NFL, not running a forty yard dash.
I know that Jarrett does not have the world's greatest forty yard dash time, but he seemed fast enough to me throughout his entire USC career. USC plays against some of the nation's top teams. Never once did I hear a USC fan or any football fan say, "man doesn't Jarrett look slow." I would usually hear them say, "Wow that number eight guys is a great receiver." That is what Jarrett is, a receiver, not a track specialist.
He looked fast enough when I saw him in the 2005 Orange Bowl. In the national championship game, he did all right for a true freshman, grabbing a touchdown and 115 receiving yards.
He looked fast enough when I saw him in South Bend in 2005. With ankle high grass, he did okay on 4th and 9 for about 65 yards.
He looked fast enough when I saw him burn Michigan cornerback and first round lock Leon Hall for that final Touchdown in the Rose Bowl.
Please NFL General Managers, evaluate Dwayne Jarrett the football player, not Dwayne Jarrett the track athlete.
