We’ve heard it countless times over the last month: “There’s not a Sam Bradford or Matt Ryan in this draft.”
It’s easy to forget that one year ago, Bradford wasn’t exactly looked upon as a sure thing. Until “Dr. Schefter” boldly said Bradford would go first overall last February, everyone thought Bradford’s shoulder was too big a question mark.
“We spent so much time on the medical issue,” Rams G.M. Billy Devaney told Florio on PFT Live Tuesday. “The only question left was the physical part, taking a hit.
“I remember when we turned the card in, I said to the scouts at the time: ‘Alright boys, let me tell you something. That first preseason game, if my man goes down, I don’t care where you are in the country when you’re out scouting. Just get in your car and drive home. It’s over. He better be healthy and make it through the season.”’
Devaney was joking, but probably only half-joking. Devaney’s theory was tested quickly.
In the first preseason game against the Vikings, Devaney said Bradford got the “dog snot” knocked out of him a few times. Bradford responded.
“When he made it through that preseason game taking some of the licks he took, I thought ‘We’re going to be just fine,’” Devaney said.
