Michael Sam has not been in the news much over the past few weeks, but he will be front and center in May when the NFL draft comes to NYC, as he is the first openly gay player to try to make it in the league and many have wondered who will draft him and heading into the event, the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets have emerged as possible options.
Sam is looking to be the first openly gay player to come into the NFL and based on his reports, there is not a reason why he shouldn't be drafted at some point over the seven rounds. Sam was tied for SEC defensive player of the year and helped the Missouri Tigers have a great season and now the league will show what type of people it has in front offices, because if he doesn't get drafted, that will be a PR nightmare for the league.
Teams like the Seahawks, Giants, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots have strong head coaches and solid foundations and unlike the Miami Dolphins, they have leaders in the locker room who actually respect each other and that could be the type of environment where Sam thrives. Sam worked out for scouts at the combine and had some mixed results and while that could knock him down a bit, it likely will not keep him from getting drafted in May.
The buzz word everyone keeps using at the combine for players Sam's size is "tweener", as he is between the ideal size for a defensive lineman or linebacker, but he is working to turn that into a positive. As former Colts GM Bill Polian said recently, the team has done a good job with so called tweeners, as names like Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis had the same issues about them and have developed into excellent pass rushers. That itself makes the Colts and interesting option for Sam, while other teams like the Patriots, Giants and Packers would likely take him in with open arms.
Sam was an All-American and is 6-feet-1 5/8, 260 pounds and he deserves to be drafted and if he doesn't the league should be ashamed. With Jason Collins already breaking down barriers, Sam wants to be looked at as a football player and with eight of the past 10 SEC players of the year on defense going in the first round, someone is taking a chance on Sam, it just depends who it is.