Prospects relax before big night
PHILADELPHIA — One day away from discovering where their professional paths will lead, NFL draft prospects gathered for some impromptu football Wednesday.
The site: Shriners Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The players: patients at the hospital — all of whom tugged at the heart strings of these physical specimens.
“This is what it’s all about,” said LSU safety Jamal Adams, who is expected to be one of the top selections in tonight’s first round. “Man, this is special, being with these kids.”
With 20 of his peers on hand, the event was a celebration not only of their achievements, but a recognition of what the young patients have gone through and continue to deal with.
“These kids are so cool,” said Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, another likely early pick. “All of these draft players coming in here and being here with them and playing with them, that has to be the coolest thing for them.
“You hear stories about these kids and the severity of their illnesses, and then you see them here and they are so alive.”
Boys and girls in wheelchairs mingled with the prospects. Some patients caught soft footballs thrown by top-rated quarterbacks DeShone Kizer, Mitchell Trubisky and Deshaun Watson. Others took handoffs and followed tackles Garett Bolles and Ryan Ramczyk through imaginary defenses. Or they “beat” Adams, Adoree’ Jackson and other defensive backs on hand to score simulated touchdowns.
One player it all hit home for was LSU’s Leonard Fournette, a probable top-10 pick and likely the first running back to go tonight. Fournette has said he wants to build low-cost day-care centers in neighborhoods that need them in his hometown of New Orleans.
“It’s something since high school,” he said, noting that New Orleans lacks “a lot of things that kids can go in there and stay out of trouble. So instead of the kid going into the streets doing God knows what, just something positive where they can go stay there. Boys & Girls Club or a day care or whatever it may be, just keep them out of trouble, learning, getting their homework out of the way or whatever it is.”
Fournette and the future draftees couldn’t have been more relaxed. It won’t quite be that way tonight, even if many of them shrug when asked if they’ve obsessed about which teams they could wind up with. There will be nerves, particularly if someone slips down the board in front of national TV audiences.
Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett probably hasn’t had any such thoughts, of course. Barring a major surprise, Cleveland will get things started by selecting Garrett, who is not attending the draft.
Beyond that, well, listen to Washington cornerback Kevin King, whose size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) and college productivity make him appealing to NFL teams enamored of tall, aggressive defensive backs.
“I talked to the teams and I know what they said,” King said. “All those opinions and stuff, I don’t listen to that. You can’t believe that hype. You know, you really never know. Draft day is a crazy day, and nobody knows, really.”