Sometimes job interviews come down to random factors that never show up on a resume. The same can be true in the NFL, no matter how much game film is watched.
Peter King of SI.com relays a story from Rex Ryan about how the Jets chose Mark Sanchez over Josh Freeman. Ryan said both quarterbacks blew the Jets away with their smarts and preparation. Ryan says another factor helped to separate Sanchez from the competition.
When the Jets worked out Mark Sanchez, 24 high school and college teammates showed up to catch balls for him. When the Jets worked out Freeman at Kansas State, only two receivers showed up.
“Honestly, that might have been what separated them -- the immense respect we sensed from the people who played with Mark and knew him so well,” Ryan said.
The Jets believe they made the right choice following two AFC championship game appearances. We’d argue that Freeman would have been a better selection, even though we expect Sanchez to have a fine career.
Do the 2010 draft all over again, and we’d bet that most NFL teams would prefer Freeman.