In a year where there really aren’t any big names to get excited about, the main narrative of the first round of tomorrow’s NFL Draft — for better or worse — will surround Manti Te‘o. While it will probably be
In a year where there really aren’t any big names to get excited about, the main narrative of the first round of tomorrow’s NFL Draft — for better or worse — will surround Manti Te‘o. While it will probably be somewhat played up by the ESPN production, the biggest reason most casual sports fans are tuning in will be to see where Te‘o gets selected.
There aren’t any nationally known quarterbacks, like last year’s crop of Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. There are no explosive running backs or wide receivers the country has come to know well, so Te‘o provides the most distinct storyline. He’s gone from an inspirational figure to an easy punchline to a pitied kid to overrated to possibly underrated, all in the span of about six months.
Now, the player once projected to go in the top five faces the likelihood of slipping into the latter half of the first round, maybe even worrying about having to wait until Friday to hear his name called.
Despite a slower 40-yard dash than he and scouts would have hoped for, Te‘o will end up being drafted later than he deserves. Selfishly, I’m hoping that he remains available when the Giants select at No. 19. My hometown team needs help at the linebacker position, but they haven’t historically used first-round picks to fill that need. The last time the G-Men used their first pick on a linebacker was 1984 to select Carl Banks. That one worked. As did Lawrence Taylor in 1980.
But what would be the best situation for Te‘o? Instinctively, I’d say a team without a heavy media presence. That might take the Giants out of the equation. However, the fact that most projections have him towards the bottom of the first round means that Te‘o will probably be headed to a pretty good team. No good team can be all that under the radar. Would he face any more questions in New York than he would in, say, Houston (No. 27) or Atlanta (No. 30)? Te‘o won’t be hiding anywhere.
Though his handling of explanations for the Lennay Kekua hoax can be scrutinized, his willingness and savvy with the media has been pretty good. I would have liked to have seen his advisors tell him to make light of the whole thing and have a sense of humor about it, but he has shown to be more than capable of doing interviews and relaying sound bytes. People like him. He’s a sympathetic figure who has shown he can handle himself well.
If he hadn’t displayed that level of charisma, I’d be more understanding of teams’ hesitance. But he’s a good football player. He might be a great football player. Why a team like the Jets, who select at No. 9 and No. 13, wouldn’t give him a serious look seems bizarre to me. For his sake, I hope they don’t because joining that circus isn’t ideal, but that’s the area of this draft he deserves. The Chargers (No. 11) and Dolphins (No. 12) are also viable.
But I think Te‘o will have a longer night. I’m tentatively slotting him into my mock draft at No. 20 to the Chicago Bears. They need to replace Brian Urlacher and they’re a franchise that seems to know a thing or two about linebackers.
Pomaika‘i, Manti.
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com. Follow David on Twitter @SimonTGI
