Cam Newton at an Auburn Tigers practice
Cam Newton is one of the most talked about prospects in this year’s NFL Draft. He’s widely heralded as one of the best college players in recent memory, and is one of the primary reasons that the Auburn Tigers‘ football team captured their third national championship in the 2010 season.
But is he really everything he’s cracked up to be?
The Good: There’s absolutely no questioning Newton’s talent. The 2010 Heisman trophy winner threw for 2,854 yards while completing 66.1% of his passes. He also gained an astounding 1,473 yards on the ground, giving him a total of 4,327 all-purpose yards in 14 games (a 309 yard per game average). Newton’s athleticism, arm strength, and potential make him a top ten pick to the majority of NFL scouts.
The Bad: Newton’s experience is fairly limited. After transferring from Florida to Blinn College (a junior college in Texas) to Auburn, Newton has now declared for the 2011 NFL Draft. He sat behind Tim Tebow in his time with Florida, but has lead each of his last two teams to championship games. Auburn’s shotgun offense has scouts questioning whether he has the ability to read NFL defenses from under center, and a lot of scouts therefore question his decision-making abilities.
The Ugly: Of course, with every athlete that has a ton of talent, comes the off-the-field antics. While Newton isn’t necessarily guilty of any really bad decisions, a lot of scouts and NFL teams could be turned off by his father, Cecil Newton, and his previous “influences” in Cam’s life. Newton is not the first or only player with off-the-field issues, but he is certainly the most prominent.
DRAFT PREDICTION: Much like Tim Tebow, some team will fall enough in love with Cam Newton to make him their first round pick. The majority of mock drafters have him in the top ten, but a lot can happen between now and draft day. My guess at this point would be that most of the mock drafters are right and he will go to some team with a high pick. The really interesting aspect is whether a team lower in the draft will like what they see enough to trade up for him (see: Mark Sanchez).
PREDICTION: Boom. As much as this kid has to learn, he’s going to be taught it by professional coaches. No matter what team he goes to, there are people who are paid to make sure prospects like Newton shape the franchise for years. His athleticism and strength will give him a distinct advantage in this department.
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