The Kansas City Chiefs were on-hand at the Alabama pro day this afternoon as Rolando McClain participated in Combine-like drills after he missed the actual Combine in Indianapolis a few weeks ago.
McClain ran a 4.74 forty yard dash, according to reports. That's about the time most NFL people thought it would be and it won't affect his draft status.
There's still six weeks until the NFL Draft but a few folks are starting to see some concerns in McClain -- none of which are related to his revelation he has Crohn's Disease.
Former Ravens scout and author of MoveTheSticks.com Daniel Jeremiah has said he doesn't feel McClain's an elite prospect, which the Chiefs would expect to get with the No. 5 overall pick in the draft.
There've been some stud LB's lately: Willis, Beason, 3 SC LB's last year & Curry. I don't think McClain is in that class.
McClain also revealed today that he had been playing on an injured hamstring at the end of the season -- something many of his teammates didn't know. Jeremiah also had a few concerns about his effort at times but said the hamstring issue would explain part of it.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen, citing NFL personnel men, also chimed in regarding McClain's effort.
Yes, McClain looks like "beast," & he'll go 1st rd but some NFL folks say game film doesn't always match up & more loafs than you'd expect.
Interesting take. They both mention effort as a problem.
Most of the media folks around the league see McClain falling closer to the middle of the first round than to the Chiefs at the fifth spot.
I think an important point to keep in mind is that while there have been highs and lows for Rolando McClain in the last two months, he hasn't even played a football game in that time. It's interesting to gauge the various takes on a player during the lead up to the draft, but Chiefs GM Scott Pioli has said on a few occasions that game tape is critical to their evaluation.