When Da’Quan Bowers declared for the NFL draft three months ago, there was talk that he could be the first player selected overall. Then doctors started poking around his knee, and now he’s still waiting to hear his name called on Day 2.
Most draft boards list Bowers as the best player available, which could mean that the Patriots will take him with the first pick in the second round, or could mean that they’ll field calls today from teams wanting to trade up and grab him.
But it might also be the case that the medical reports on Bowers’ knee were even worse than previously believed, and a large number of teams took Bowers off their draft boards entirely.
Bowers’ agent, Joe Flanagan, tried to put the best spin on the situation he could on Thursday night.
“The reality is the knee is assessed 32 ways by 32 different clubs,” Flanagan said. “What we know is that Dr. [James] Andrews and a number of other doctors that examined Da’Quan felt good about the short and long-term term prospects of the knee. But, obviously, there were some teams that were concerned about the knee, and I think that was reflected tonight. Ultimately, we feel very strongly that Da’Quan’s knee is going to hold up, not only in the short term but the long term.”
If he’s right, some team is going to get a second-round steal tonight.