The Jets drafted troubled NT Kenrick Ellis in last night draft and it seems as if everyone is questioning that pick. It’s not a secret that that Kenrick has had some issues in the past. He was kicked off the South Carolina team in 2008 and transferred to Hampton where he played for 3 years. He is currently awaiting trial on felony assault charges that stem from an altercation on Hampton University campus in April of last year. Now allegedly Kenrick broke the nose and jaw of a man who attempted to hit him with a baseball bat. His trial is scheduled to begin in July.
With this year it seems as if character issues have been the forefront of many young men in the draft. If it’s not Cam Newton with his fake smile its Ryan Mallett with a drug problem that was not substantiated. When a player doesn’t have a past that the public approves of it is automatically assumed that a team is taking a big risk when it comes to that player, when in actuality the entire draft is about risk.
Just take a look at the Rae Curruths’ and the Jamal Lewis’ of the NFL. Just because you didn’t have any so called character issues in college doesn’t mean that you’re not risky. Every time a player is drafted it is a risk. Teams are basically just hoping that these players pan out. I do understand that you have to look at a players full portfolio before drafting them, but the truth of the matter is that you never know what you’re going to get when you draft a player.
Kenrick is facing up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted. If he’s not convicted in a few years everyone who is putting the Jets organization on blast might be the same the same people praising the Jets for giving this young man a chance.