... but that's not an absolute.
Antonio Gates hadn't played football since high school. Following his senior year as a basketball player at Kent State, he was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an un-drafted free agent. Six months later, he was in the Chargers' starting line-up - and is now on his way to the Hall of Fame.
Am I saying Everett is Gates? Even though are very similar athletes ... of course not.
My point is that the transition from college football to professional football is not necessarily more difficult because a kid comes from a D-II or small school ... but because of what each kid is made of. What each player brings to the table ... where that table is located ... and who is overseeing what is being placed on that table.
Had Everett been drafted by Jeff Fisher's Rams ... I would be a lot less likely to think it possible he contribute much this next fall. He would be an athlete in a directionless offense.
However, given the fact that McVay is an offensive-minded coach ... given the fact that he is a believer in using the tight-end as an integral part of the offenses he runs ... given the fact that one of the best TEs in the game, Jordan Reed, credits a great deal of his success to McVay's tutoring ... I'm going to give Everett more than a puncher's chance of contributing in 2017.
Now ... what no one can predict is how this kid will fair when placed in the environment of professional athletes. No one knows how he will react to no longer being the very best athlete on the field every time out. Maybe he will see that as a challenge. Maybe it will intimidate him. Kurt Warner, by all accounts, was very much intimidated in his first pro camp - in Green Bay in 1994. I read that he felt overwhelmed. He kept battling and rose to the challenge. He became rather salty, too. Tough. Five years later ... he was the NFL's Most Valuable Player.
Athletically ... Everett will immediately be one of the true standouts on the Rams' roster. There won't be many who will be able to combine his size, speed and strength. I am fairly certain that McVay already has great plans for the kid ... and will find ways of getting him involved, early on, to test him.
The key to his success ... will be the intangibles. How he wraps his mind around the pro game and what he is being asked to do ... and expected to do.
Antonio Gates had those in spades. His competitive nature was piqued by the pro game. Because of it ... not to mention where he played and with whom (Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers) he became a superstar.
Will Everett?
Time will tell.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2017 08:43AM by The_Bad_Guy.
