If it were possible to trade NFL Draft stocks on the Wall St., you would short shell that of an infamous Notre Dame inside linebacker. Manti Te’o draft stock suffered yet another price decrease when ran a very poor 40 yard dash at the NFL scouting combine.
This off the heels of Manti Te’o draft stock becoming a strong sell with the national media sensation that was the fake dead girlfriend story hoax. In case you had your head in a hole in the wall during January and February, here’s a quick recap:
It came just a couple of weeks after Manti Te’o draft stock suffered a major correction with Alabama’s thrashing of Notre Dame in the National Championship Game and the real beginning of 2013 NFL Draft speculation season. There was a major Manti Te’o draft stock sell off as Crimson Tide (and future NFL) running backs ran all over him, and the future NFL OL of ‘Bama pushed him around. (this is a Paul M. Banks and Nick Grays collaboration)
Update from Notre Dame Pro Day:
Te’o at 4.75 seconds in his first 40 and 4.71 seconds in his second. The times represent an improvement upon his 4.82-second 40 from the combine by somewhere around one-tenth of a second. Official 40 times run by Notre Dame players will not be released at today’s pro day. You know, it’s Notre Dame, you’re only given information by what they deem you “need to know.” Anyways, I would change my rating on Manti Te’o draft stock from “strong sell” to “sell” now.
At the combine, Te’o clocked unofficial times of 4.81 and 4.80 in the 40. There are 12 defensive linemen listed by NFL.com that ran at least a 4.81 in the 40. LSU defensive end Sam Montgomery, a 262-pound defensive end, ran a 4.81. Two 300-pound offensive linemen ran a shade better than 4.7 at the combine. Maybe even Lennay Kakua could run a faster 40; and she doesn’t even exist.
Prior to Deadspin’s mind-blowing story, one of ESPN’s draft experts, Mel Kiper Jr. published his first NFL Mock Draft. Kiper doesn’t always know what he’s talking about, but he’s usually pretty close.
Kiper had the Notre Dame linebacker with “elite athleticism” and “elite intangibles” going 8th overall to the Buffalo Bills in the upcoming draft. That’s really high for an inside linebacker. Te’o doesn’t exist in our NFL mock draft
Not only do NFL teams shy away from character issues early in the draft, Te’o's public relations disaster only hurt his stock. You know how bad rookies get hazed in the NFL, and this guy is a laughingstock. And in the end, the NFL is a business and must market their players, especially those taken highly in the draft.
Te’o could have saved himself by winning the press conference, which I guess he did yesterday. But Manti Te’o draft stock is like penny stocks now; when it used to be rated blue-chip
What did you think of Te’o? Let us know by commenting below.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Google News site generating millions of visitors. He also contributes regularly to MSN, Fox Sports , Chicago Now, Walter Football.com and Yardbarker
A Fulbright scholar, author and MBA, Banks has appeared on the History Channel, as well as Clear Channel, ESPN and CBS radio all over the world. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB)
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice and pretend to be a Golf expert from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best. If social media is not your thing, shoot him an email at grays@uwalumni.com.
Pictures obtained from uhnd.com and latimes.com.
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