The curious case of AJ McCarron’s draft plummet

Jan 2, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron (10) celebrates a touchdown against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

AJ McCarron was the 164th overall pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2014 NFL Draft, after he stated that teams had told him he was a likely first-round pick.

I don’t doubt that some NFL bigwigs told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that A.J. McCarron’s draft plummet was due to him rubbing them the wrong way. Schefter is as reliable as an NFL insider as there is.

But I do doubt that’s the sole reason he dropped that far.

If arrogance, ego, hubris or any other Roget-inspired terms were a crime in the NFL, most teams wouldn’t be able to field one side of the ball. The NFL is a collection of men who have been the best of the best of the best since they were in Pop Warner. The fact that the NFL has to govern in-game celebrations tells you that they are a collection of quite confident fellas.

McCarron is the ultimate BMOC – two rings on his finger (three if you count his redshirt year), Miss Alabama on his arm, a million-dollar smile and a wink at every camera turned on him. Cocky? Sure, you could see it that way. But Johnny Manziel – who has TMZ trailing his every move – went in the first round. So what is the difference? Surely there is something else. Why did McCarron fall so far? Was it his mobility? His arm strength? Accuracy? Something else rubbed them the wrong way, too. Maybe a collection of things.

Who knows.

What we do know do is that the winningest quarterback in Alabama history ended up on the receiving end of a draft beatdown. And that’s probably the best thing for him.

McCarron sat atop of the college football mountain. But unlike Manziel, he started at the bottom of the mountain and climbed his way up. McCarron is not a privileged kid with a gifted arm who just assumed his place at the table of football royalty. Read his story. Chances are, you wouldn’t trade your childhood for his. He’s overcome more than most of will ever have to face, and if his summit peak is the greatest Alabama QB who ever put his prints in front of Denny Chimes, then that’s a pretty fine legacy. But I don’t think this is where the story ends.

My guess is McCarron will wear his sixth round “snub” as a badge of honor, just as a fella named Tom Brady does to this day. McCarron will go to a playoff team with a solid QB – Andy Dalton – and a chance to learn life in the NFL and find out who he can be.

The only doubts you’ve heard about McCarron come from outsiders. His Crimson Tide teammates consistently voted him a captain, showing the folks who value his character most rely on him. If he rubbed a couple of suits the wrong way, so be it. He’s in the NFL now, and he’s got his chance to climb another mountain. And if there is one thing AJ McCarron has shown us, he’s ready for the long trek up to the summit.