As folks in Seattle continue to fret about the fact that their favorite football team possibly frittered a first-round pick away on a one-trick pony who won’t be big enough to excel at the NFL level, more evidence emerges that the Seahawks weren’t the only team who believe that Bruce Irvin can play at the next level like the Incredible Hulk.
We reported on Thursday night that at least seven teams regarded Irvin as a top-15 talent, including teams that didn’t plan to take a pass-rusher in round one. Len Pasquarelli of the Sports Xchange reports that several teams had targeted Irvin for selection after the Seahawks at No. 15: the Jets, Bears, Packers, and 49ers.
Pasquarelli also reports something of which we’d heard whispers in the days preceding the draft: The 49ers worked out Irvin last week.
Of course, there’s a chance that the Niners were simply trying to apply the Jedi mind trick to the Seahawks, like many believe the Patriots did to the Jets four years ago with Vernon Gholston.
If so, it worked. If not, it looks like Irvin wouldn’t have been available by the time the 49ers used the 30th pick in round one.
