I saw the breathless tweet from an NFL Network reporter via Twitter saying that his colleague Charley Casserly had shared some “gold” on this year’s most polarizing draft prospect, Kyler Murray. I immediately knew there might be trouble for Casserly. In what has become an annual tradition, an old white personnel man was sounding off on a young black quarterback.
Hall of Famer Bill Polian had received plenty of blowback before last year’s draft when he suggested that quarterback Lamar Jackson, a Heisman winner, might be better suited for wide receiver. Polian was nearly laughed out of the broadcast business, although he’s landed on somewhat firm ground as co-founder of the American Alliance of Football. I’m not sure Casserly will have a soft landing.
The “gold” that Casserly had shared on the NFL Network was that scouts had informed him that Murray struggled with leadership, study habits and being able to interpret things on the white board. Touch’em all, Charley. It’s amazing that a guy who served as GM for both the Redskins and Texans could be so naive about sharing this type information. It’s my personal belief that a reporter should be awfully reluctant to share damning information about a prospect’s character from anonymous sources. I’ve come to this belief through trial and error over the years.
I’ve had the good fortune to develop quite a few sources in the scouting community. I’ve never tried to become an amateur film jockey, in part because I know so many of the men in the business who can tell me what they’re seeing. With that in mind, I turned to some of my sources when a player out of Cal-Berkeley named DeSean Jackson was an intriguing prospect in 2009. There were rumors that he’d failed a marijuana test during the Combine, but my employer at the time, ESPN.com, hadn’t been able to confirm the reports. One of my sources with the Cowboys revealed to me that they’d taken Jackson “off the board,” which means he wouldn’t be in consideration during the first round. When I reported that on my NFL blog, it suddenly validated what ESPN had been hearing and it led to Jackson receiving increased scrutiny. It was one of my first lessons in allowing an unnamed source to address a player’s character.
As a result, I was much more careful when I received quite a bit of background information on Dez Bryant leading up to the draft. Now, I find myself almost having a no-tolerance policy when it comes to allowing unnamed sources to comment on a player’s character. I think his throwing motion, stature or durability are all fair game. I fear for Murray being able to take repeated punishment just like I did for Robert Griffin III, who never learned how to slide, until it was too late.
I knew Casserly’s report had really reached its boiling point when I heard ESPN’s Dave Pasch and Mark Jackson skewering him during Wednesday’s Lakers-Nuggets game. I’ve had folks in the national media tell me they feel a little sorry for Casserly, but I’m having a hard time mustering much sympathy. If Charley’s going to share this type of information, he has to be held accountable.
On Wednesday, Dan Patrick was discussing Casserly’s report when he shared that a scout had told him that Murray’s measurement of 5-10 1/8 at the combine had been “inflated.” Can you imagine how many folks would need to be in on that type of conspiracy? I’m a fan of Patrick’s work, but I don’t totally see the point of passing along that type of tin-foil allegation. Now, there will be conspiracy theorists ready to doubt Murray if he passes on being measured at his pro day.
The good news for Murray is that it appears Arizona may have fallen for him and is listening to offers for Josh Rosen. His college coach Lincoln Riley was deployed to shoot down this latest report and talk about how teams have spoken glowingly of Murray following interviews. And Kyler’s agent took a fun jab at Casserly over his decision to draft Heath Shuler all those years ago.
All of this could’ve been avoided, of course, with a little common sense. But I guess we’re all continuing to learn.
Even ol’ Charley.