The recent allegations surrounding Aaron Hernandez have caused many to wonder how the New England Patriots missed potential warning signs and felt comfortable drafting and handing a big contract extension to the tight end. Teams often spend countless hours investigating players before deciding to draft or sign them. In fact, a big part of the scouting process does not involve 40-yard dashes or broad jumps, but rather an investigation into the player’s background.
During an interview with 105.3 FM The Fan’s “G-Bag Nation” on Wednesday, former Dallas Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus, who currently covers the Cowboys for the team’s official site, said Dez Bryant had the worst background he had seen.
“The worst I had ever seen of a background is the kid Dez Bryant,” Broaddus told “G-Bag Nation,” according to the Dallas Morning News. “When you look at what he went through and then you’re talking about these players, and it’s hard for them to get away from these people in their lives because these people have been with them when they were nothing, when they were nobodies. All of a sudden you’re thinking ok, I’m going to turn my back on my three buddies here. I have to change, but they ain’t changing.
“I think if Dez Bryant was playing in St. Louis or Baltimore or Seattle, I think the fact that his family is here with him, I think that was a really hard adjustment for him. Hopefully from what we’ve seen, he’s managing that well. That’s the important thing.”
What Broaddus said of Dez — that being around his family and friends could have been bad for him because it kept him tied into a bad lifestyle — may have harmed Hernandez. There were some reports that the tight end was trying to get away from his neighborhood ties after signing a $40 million contract extension.
Bryant has been the center of many controversies, but none were terribly serious until his misdemeanor family violence charge last year. When you consider some of the trouble Hernandez is facing, maybe Bryant is doing pretty well relative to his background.
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