Does "Character" Really Matter? A Look at the Careers of NFL Draft Picks Experts Warned Us About

Do the "character" issues that some NFL draft picks have actually matter?

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Once upon a time, NFL scouts weren't all that worried about what NFL Draft hopefuls did when they weren't playing football. They were more concerned with 40-yard dash times and reps on the bench press than they were with criminal records and bad attitudes. But because of all the trouble that some NFL players have gotten themselves into over the years, "character issues" are one of the worst flaws that a draft-eligible player can have today. There are players who go from first-round locks to third or fourth-round picks simply because of the problems that they've encountered away from the football field.

Does "character" really matter, though? It's a question that a lot of NFL teams are going to ask this spring when they look into the possibility of drafting a player like Jameis Winston, especially in light of the news about Johnny Manziel (a guy who had "character issues" coming into the NFL) checking himself into rehab. But to try and get a better sense of how much character does or doesn't actually matter, we took A Look at the Careers of NFL Draft Picks Experts Warned Us About. These guys all had "issues," but did their issues really make a difference once they got to the NFL?

Cam Newton

Not Available Interstitial

Titus Young

Not Available Interstitial

Tyrann Mathieu

Not Available Interstitial

Kyle Long

Not Available Interstitial

Randy Moss

Not Available Interstitial

Eric Wright

Not Available Interstitial

Aaron Hernandez

Not Available Interstitial

Derek Ross

Not Available Interstitial

Adam "Pacman" Jones

Not Available Interstitial

Aldon Smith

Not Available Interstitial

Nick Fairley

Not Available Interstitial

Ryan Leaf

Not Available Interstitial

Lawrence Phillips

Not Available Interstitial

Jeremy Hill

Not Available Interstitial

Janoris Jenkins

Not Available Interstitial

Justin Blackmon

Not Available Interstitial

Warren Sapp

Not Available Interstitial

Alec Ogletree

Not Available Interstitial

LeGarrette Blount

Not Available Interstitial

Johnny Manziel

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Sports