2011 NFL Draft: Cam Newton and the 10 Biggest Personalities and Divas
The NFL is a league full of big people with even bigger personalities. From wide receiver divas like Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson to "Grumple Stiltskins" like Albert Haynesworth—there's no shortage of stars who have made headlines in recent years for unusual reasons.
Unfortunately, these guys and others are entering the twilight of their careers, which means it's time to look to the 2011 NFL Draft for the next crop of whiners, "me-firsters" and reality TV stars.
Certainly, it's difficult to predict how members of this draft class will react to the instantaneous fame and fortune that comes with a rookie contract. However, these 10 kids seem most likely to become the NFL's next limelight-luring celebrities.
Roger Goodell can't wait (to hand out suspensions).
Jurrell Casey, USC
1 of 10
We start in the middle of the draft, where USC defensive tackle Jurrell Casey is likely to land.
Projected as a third-rounder, Casey comes in as an undersized nose tackle, at 6'1", 300 pounds, who compensates for his lack of size with plenty of tenacity and speed.
Casey also comes with a built-in reputation for slacking off in practice and in the gym along with a propensity for speaking his mind.
Like back in October, when Casey said about Oregon: "...they’re really not that good...It gets kind of annoying to keep hearing about it, but let them do the talking and we’ll just go out there and show that we can stop them."
After which, Casey and the Trojans went out and showed just how overrated the Ducks really were in a 53-32 beat down for the Ducks.
While Casey may not be of ideal size or ability to be a star in the NFL, he seemingly has the attitude and the mouth to be a malcontent.
Marvin Austin, North Carolina
2 of 10
Jurrell Casey is far from the only defensive tackle prospect with some question marks hanging over his head.
North Carolina's Marvin Austin is a tremendous talent, to be sure, but is among the riskier picks this year's draft has to offer.
Austin hasn't seen live game action in over a year after sitting out the 2010 season while serving an NCAA suspension. Some may question Austin's character for engaging in the transgressions that led to his lost season, though the hypocritical nature of the NCAA leaves plenty of room to protect Austin from too much scrutiny.
Clearly, Austin's confidence wasn't hurt by the time away from the field, after telling the Detroit Free Press: "If I was able to play (last year) there wouldn't be a conversation about those dudes...They're great players, but I don't think they're better than me."
Where Austin's personality comes into play is his combination of confidence and reported laziness.
On the one hand, Austin definitely has what it takes, in terms of physical ability to spark fear in opponents in the NFL. On the other hand, there is some question as to whether Austin has the proper work ethic to actualize all of his talent, as well as whether his supreme self-confidence may actually be a hindrance in that regard.
Jon Baldwin, Pitt
3 of 10
Tact is something that NFL loudmouths tend to lack, oftentimes to a rather staggering degree.
And it seems as though tact is something that Pitt wide receiver Jon Baldwin doesn't care too much about.
When asked by NFLDraftScout.com about his draft status and why he would consider coming back to play in a system that didn't exactly suit him, Baldwin didn't exactly hold back, saying:
"Heck yeah I’m leaving. It can only get worse. They had me running a lot of deep routes [this year] and yards were hard to come by. I barely ran intermediate routes; it felt like they were purposely trying to disrupt my draft stock."
Combine his sometimes flippant verbosity with his often lackadaisical demeanor during games and in practice, and Baldwin's draft stock becomes one of a first-rounder to that of an early-to-mid second-rounder.
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Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
4 of 10
Few prospects have as even a ratio between talent and red flags as that of Ryan Mallett.
On the field, Mallett is an unbelievable prospect, with a laser-guided cannon for an arm who made a habit of dropping the jaws of scouts and player personnel folks at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Off the field, Mallett is much more Ryan Leaf than Matt Ryan.
From his damning sense of entitlement to past drug allegations that he didn't exactly deny, from "Scantron-gate" to his horrible interviews at the Combine, the razor on the back of this Arkansas quarterback may prove to be a bit too sharp for most teams to handle.
This should do anything but limit Mallett's ability to snag headlines in the pros, both good and bad.
Jimmy Smith, Colorado
5 of 10
It may be unfair to say that Jimmy Smith is to defensive prospects what Ryan Mallett is to offensive prospects, though the comparison is a bit difficult to pass up.
The cornerback for Colorado is undeniably a first-round talent and would certainly go within the first 15 picks or so if not for his checkered past.
Two arrests, a positive drug test and some shady interviews at the Combine don't bode well for a guy who's 6'2" with the potential to be a shutdown defensive back in the NFL.
Not that the league has never seen guys with bad attitudes and poor track records succeed. Let's just hope he doesn't turn out to be the next Adam "Pac-Man" Jones—a possibility that seems all too distinct.
Phil Taylor, Baylor
6 of 10
Phil Taylor checks in as the third, but certainly not the last, defensive lineman who could make as much noise off the field as he could on it.
Heck, a guy of Taylor's size, at 6'3" and 334 pounds, makes noise just by setting foot in the building.
Taylor has the size and strength to be the next Vince Wilfork, which has some draft gurus convinced he'll be the pick of former Patriots and current Chiefs GM Scott Pioli with the 21st overall pick.
However, this pick might turn out to be among the riskier ones of the first round for a number of reasons.
For one, Taylor's record includes off-field issues, for which he was dismissed from the Penn State football program back in 2008.
And while Taylor has seemingly redeemed himself and turned a corner since transferring to Baylor, there are still some lingering questions about his commitment to the work it takes to be the best player that he can.
Whether it be his sloppy technique, his laziness in the weight room or his gluttonous eating habits, Taylor, as terrific a prospect as he may be, has plenty of downside to complement his huge upside.
Adrian Clayborn, Iowa
7 of 10
Adrian Clayborn is another one of these guys who has been slapped with the amorphously leery tag of having "character issues."
What those issues are is anyone's best guess, though one can imagine they likely had some impact on his play as a senior, which was a bit dogged in comparison to his performance as a junior.
Few doubt that Clayborn is as capable as any prospect in this draft to be a breakout star in the NFL, with plenty of athleticism in his 6'3", 281-pound, pass-rushing frame.
Whether this "character" gets in the way of his development into an effective pro remains to be seen.
Da'Quan Bowers, Clemson
8 of 10
Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers might as well be a walking question mark at this point heading into the 2011 NFL Draft.
On the positive end of things, Bowers is a monstrous talent who reminds some draftniks of Julius Peppers, which Bowers certainly can't mind too much.
On the negative end, there are plenty of things to be concerned about.
Questions abound about Bowers' injured knee, which Bowers himself has dodged postponing workout after workout.
The 6'4", 280-pounder also has plenty of underwhelming tape to his credit, which doesn't help his draftability. Neither does his rather shallow body of positive work, as Bowers had a whopping four sacks in two seasons to his name before leading the nation with 16 quarterback tackles in 2010.
Why the huge gap? Did Bowers get lucky? Did he not put in the work until this season? Was he playing for a contract, like so many mediocre pros tend to do?
These are all questions that Bowers may have a difficult time answering once he hits the NFL.
Nick Fairley, Auburn
9 of 10
Since breaking out in 2010 and declaring for the NFL Draft, Auburn's Nick Fairley has drawn plenty of comparisons to the Washington Redskins' notorious crybaby Albert Haynesworth.
Like Haynesworth, Fairley is a beastly defensive tackle from the SEC who has the potential to dominate at the highest level with his tremendous strength, athleticism and footwork as an interior lineman.
Unfortunately for whichever team drafts him, Fairley also carries with him a degree of Haynesworthian immaturity.
Fairley has earned a reputation as a "dirty player" for talking excessive trash and allegedly throwing some unsportsmanlike blows during games.
One can only hope that those past proclivities don't lead Fairley to stomp on any helmets in the NFL.
Cam Newton, Auburn
10 of 10
No player in this draft offers a greater swing between risk and reward than Cam Newton.
The cloud of pseudo-extortion that surrounded Newton and his father in 2010 was only the most recent to hang over the head of the most recent Heisman Trophy winner.
Newton began his collegiate career at Florida, where he was arrested on three felony counts stemming from computer theft and faced expulsion after he was caught cheating.
Of course, Newton fled to Blinn (Texas) Community College to escape the consequences before landing safely at Auburn, perhaps for as much as $180,000.
And, as far as the NFL is concerned, none of this concerns the fact that he's still a risk on the field for not having yet proven that he has the skills to be a successful pro-style quarterback.
Thus, boom or bust, Newton looks like the type of player whose newsworthy exploits may go well beyond the gridiron.
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