I bet most people will be stunned. But, I really think Miller is going to be available in the 2nd round. Why?

Because Von Miller, who has never played a down in the NFL and is not even remotely affiliated, YET, with the NFLPA, has chosen to add his name as a plaintiff in the NFLPA's lawsuit against the NFL.

Now, think about this. He is in a job interview status right now. And he has the audacity to sue the very employer that he is trying to get hired by? What an idiot. That just screams that he is a pompous Jack Wagon that is bound to be a malcontent once he gets some money in his bank account. And I think he will sink like an anchor in the draft.

Edited to add:
Not to mention, that teams generally rate Linebackers as as 2nd rounders to start with. Not many teams will even take a LBer before the 2nd round.

Edited again to add:
Just look in the last few drafts at LBers that people were stunned to see slide to the 2nd round that several of us wanted in the 1st round.

David Harris
Ray Maualuga
(having a brainfart here) that LBer from OSU same year as Maualuga.

Tu es loco mi amigo!

Lauranitis

YEAH. That's the guy. LOL.

Edited to add: Point is. NO-ONE expected any of those 3 to be available in the 2nd round. And I mean NO-ONE.

Lauranitis was project at the very tail end of the first round at best and by most he was a second rounder. Many had Ray Maualuga targeted to the Lions at 20 that year at the earliest.

You are comparing late first round talent, with some questionable measureables, to a top 10 (if not top 5) projected pick with measurables that back up his draft status.

I don't see any NFL team holding his joining the lawsuit against him, in fact it shows he is a team player.

Put the pipe down Billy, or pass it to CRog please...

+1

The league isn't going to look at his involvement in the NFLPA suit in any derogatory manner. Why would they? Everyone they draft ultimately becomes a party to the NFLPA and supports the union. Why would they hold that against someone coming into the league? It doesn't make sense.

I don't know how you guys think a job interview should go. But, I would not start a job interview by suing my potential employer.

Billy, you're basically saying that Miller should be looked at in a negative way because he supports the union before the draft, when ALL players support the union after the draft. Big deal...

No. I am not. Why has no other potential draftee put their name on the lawsuit? Because it is not a wise idea to sue the guy you want to work for before you are even hired. It's actually a pretty stupid idea. He can support the union in other ways. On a scale of smart to stupid. I would have to rate him a moron for that decision.

If I'm wrong, so what. But, I just think it was a pretty ignorant idea for him to put his name on the suit.

Can we dispense with the notion that this is a standard private sector employer/employee relationship?

Public financing of stadiums, collective bargaining, anti-trust exemption...the list goes on and on. You can't apply your experience working at a golf course when you were 16 or whatever to the current labor strife.

Billy - When I saw that Von Miller was joining the law suit, I thought the exact same thing. After thinking about it a bit longer, I don't believe the Owners will care one bit, as long as they think he can help them win and bring fans to the stadium.

You cannot compare Miller to those guys because Miller is predicted as a top 5 player, they were not. Von Miller is projected as a OLB in a 3-4 which is much more valuable in comparison to a normal LB making him worth the pick. Also, I am pretty sure the players approached him about putting his name on there to represent the rookie class.

I think I'm gonna meet Billy half way on this one. I'll totally disagree with him that Von Miller will fall to the 2nd round because of this. In fact, I don't see him falling out of the top ten. However, there are certain teams that will drop him off or severely downgrade him on their draft boards over this issue. It may only be one team or 5 or 10, but there will be some.

What I'm saying is that each team has different standards and judge some characteristics higher than others. We often joke about Al Davis and his 40 times, but that just happens to be his standards. Other teams will drop players off their board for positive drug tests or for getting in trouble at school. Still others will place a higher emphasis on the interviews and especially whether they consider him to be a "team player" or not. But just because a handful of teams would bypass Miller over the lawsuit, doesn't mean that most of them will. For instance, I think the Bengals would draft Charles Manson if he was ranked high enough. Just saying.

"I think the Bengals would draft Charles Manson if he was ranked high enough".
That was great sly, first good chuckle I've had today!