The NFL’s decision-makers were doing the same thing they were doing when Houshmandzadeh steps to the lectern Friday night instead of watching. They’re just trying to get it right, which seems to be an elusive task in any year no matter the technology or analytics.
Like they tried to get it right a generation ago when Houshmandzadeh almost slid all the way through. Like they tried last year when the Rams picked Puka Nacua, a BYU wide receiver born the year Houshmandzadeh went so late. After going with the 177th pick in the fifth round, Nacua shattered a slew of rookie league records on the way to the Pro Bowl and runner-up for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Just ask the guy who coached them both.
“Sometimes the NFL undervalues guys like that. Guys who are football players and not track guys,” says Rams wide receivers coach Eric Yarber, who coached Houshmandzadeh at Oregon State. “T.J. was faster than Puka, but they have that same type of toughness. A lot of people de-valued Puka because of the 40 time he ran.”
(They did the same thing to Rams’ Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp when he ran a 4.6. Yarber and Rams head coach Sean McVay exulted because they knew they could get him in the third round: “We put too much on speed.”)
Puka ran a glacial 4.57-second 40-yard dash, but Yarber says he and Houshmandzadeh were used in such a way in college that their ability to play fast was obscured.
“Ask Yarbs how well I ran at my pro day. I’m going to give you his number. Don’t listen to me. Let him tell you. Faster than Chad,” Houshmandzadeh says.
Yarber: “Yup. Sub 4.4. Faster than Chad. But people didn’t look at how fast he played. He played all over the place for us, so you always couldn’t see the speed. Played the X. Played the Z. Our slot receiver went down and T.J. played in there the first three games. Smart as a whip. I told Chad he owed him $1 million. He got him lined up.”
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