NFL teams knew Aaron Hernandez had plenty of off-field concerns when he was coming out of Florida for the 2010 NFL Draft, and apparently his own head coach warned at least some people to stay as far away as possible.
ESPN’s Ian O’Connor wrote about the New England Patriots’ decision to draft Hernandez in his new book, “Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time.” While he was the coach at Florida, Urban Meyer told at least one NFL team that drafting Hernandez would be a huge mistake.
“Look, this guy’s a hell of a football player, but he f—ing lies to beat the system and teaches all our other guys to beat the system,” Meyer said, according to the book. “With the marijuana stuff, we’ve never caught this guy, but we know he’s doing it. … Don’t f—ing touch that guy.”
An official from the team Meyer warned off told O’Connor he “never understood” why Bill Belichick and the Patriots decided to draft Hernandez in the fourth round. What’s even more interesting is that Patriots reporter Greg Bedard, who has always been well-connected in Foxboro, reported several years ago that Meyer essentially convinced his good friend Belichick to take a chance on Hernandez.
Hernandez, of course, wound up being charged with murder and committing suicide in prison. There were warning signs that something wasn’t right with him throughout his NFL career, and it would be an understatement to say the Patriots should have never drafted him. Perhaps Meyer felt Belichick was the only person who had a chance of straightening the former star tight end out.
