20 Questions For Jeremy Maclin

I think we all remember our first days.

The first day of grade school, middle school, high school, college, on a job; they all bring back memories of awkwardness, nervousness, and feeling like you don’t belong.

Well, imagine how it feels on your first day as a rookie in the NFL

Instead of walking next to people who are a year or two older than you, you are playing a violent game against people who are over a decade older than you. Who have wives and kids and mortgages. And you’re just a 21-year-old kid straight out of the classroom.

Must be tough.

Well, welcome to Jeremy Maclin’s world.

The rookie wideout from Missouri was taken 19th overall by the Eagles in this year’s draft, and he’s about to step into a whole new world—both professionally and socially.

If I had the chance to talk to the Eagles’ first round pick, here’s what I would ask him.

1. First of all, how close are you to signing a contract with the Eagles?

2. Have you been involved in the process, or have you left all that up to your agent?

3. When you were drafted by the Eagles and got that phone call, what was going through your mind? Could you wrap your head around it?

4. Did it make you feel extra special that the Eagles traded up to get you, meaning they truly wanted to take you?

5. When you first arrived at the NovaCare, what was your reaction? Did it hit you that you were in the NFL?

6. And how did it go when you got your first look at what an NFL playbook looks like?

7. How different is this playbook from what you had at Missouri?

8. When you got on the practice field, did you feel like a freshman all over again?

9. How long did it take for you to get comfortable among professional players, or was it something that you instantly had?

10. What about returning kicks, something you would expect to do here, was there any adjustments you had to make to do that at the NFL level?

11. Are the blocking schemes different? Do you have to hit your cut faster and choose you hole quicker?

12. As a wide out, do you then have to make your decisions faster? Are you comfortable hot routing and adjusting to defenses on the fly?

13. Have the coaches given you that sense that the kick return job is yours, despite the fact that you’re not first on the team depth chart?

14. Does the same thing go for the wide receiver position, as you have guys like Curtis, Brown, Jackson, Baskett, and Avant that are going to be ahead of you?

15. Was that a concern coming in here, that there would be so much competition for playing time?

16. As far as playing time goes, how much do you expect to contribute this year?

17. And what do you expect this team to do, especially coming in as an outsider?

18. Spending your entire life in Missouri, did you know much about the Eagles and Philadelphia before coming here?

19. What have your impressions been of the city so far? Do you have a place? Where are you living at?

20. And finally, you probably heard a little bit about the rabid nature of the fans. Have you experienced it yet? Have your teammates given you a heads up of what’s to come—both good and bad?