The New England Patriots were probably not the only team that liked Aaron Hernandez heading into the 2010 NFL draft. But it’s starting to seem that way.
As the appalling stories about Hernandez’s personal life continue, more and more teams are saying that they never would have taken Hernandez, who was involved in some trouble as a college student-athlete at Florida and is now facing a murder charge. Previously, Bengals owner Mike Brown and former Colts General Manager Bill Polian have said they took Hernandez off their board, and now a Dolphins source has told the Sun-Sentinel that they took him off their draft board, too.
The Sun-Sentinel story suggests that the Dolphins had concerns about three incidents during Hernandez’s time with the Florida Gators: Hernandez was questioned after two men were shot, he punched a bar employee and he tested positive for marijuana. That was enough to get him off the Dolphins’ draft board.
Of course, it’s easy for NFL executives to come forward now and say they wouldn’t have drafted Hernandez. A month ago, before all the revelations about Hernandez’s off-field activities began to surface, I don’t remember any NFL executives saying they wouldn’t have drafted Hernandez. That’s why the NFL’s security chief, who knows how teams investigate players’ backgrounds prior to the draft, is calling criticism of the Patriots 20/20 hindsight.