| Will the real Andy Katzenmoyer please stand up? Is he a draft
maker or a draft breaker? If you look at Katzenmoyer as a freshman at Ohio State, you
are convinced he is a draft maker. If you look at the player who picked up far too many
bad habits the next couple of years, whose reputation went from Andy Superstar to Andy
Overrated, you have to vote for draft breaker.
As I see it, there are two factors that will determine if Katzenmoyer is a draft maker
or draft breaker: what kind of defensive scheme he is placed in and how early he gets
picked in the first round.
Factor No. 1: defensive scheme
This will be short. This will be simple.
If a team turns Katzenmoyer loose and tells him to just get after the ball, the chances
for success improve.
If a team asks Katzenmoyer to be a thinking man’s linebacker in a complicated
defensive scheme, then I think it is asking for trouble.
Factor No. 2: how early he gets drafted
I have seen a mock draft in another publication that has Katzenmoyer being taken with
the sixth pick in Round One. Pro Football Weekly mock drafts have often had
Katzenmoyer being selected No. 18 in the first round, while also pointing out the
possibility that he could go No. 9 in Round One.
If he goes as early as No. 6, I see the strong possibility of disappointment and even
possible disaster. The same probably holds true if he goes No. 9. Taken that early,
Katzenmoyer is more likely to be a lengthy holdout. That’s not a good way for a
player whose production declined the last two years to start his pro career. Plus, if
Katzenmoyer is drafted this early, you have to be concerned that he will view all of the
concerns about his play as a big joke. If Katzenmoyer is drafted this early, the message
that is being sent to him is that his disappointing play post-freshman year was OK and
that it is instead viewed as the play of a ready-for-prime-time NFL player.
If he goes later, if he goes at No. 18, I like his prospects much better. If he lasts
that long, perhaps he develops an
I’ll-show-the-world-what-kind-of-player-I-can-become attitude. Perhaps instead of
strutting around as God’s gift to football, he gets a little humility, a little
hunger. Not to mention the fact that expectations won’t be quite as high, and his
accomplishments will be focused upon by the media rather than his mistakes being attacked.
Conclusion
I know that Katzenmoyer won’t view it this way, but the best thing that could
happen to him is to have to squirm a little on Draft Day, to be a little disappointed, to
lose serious coin from his signing bonus. This is one player whose outlook improves if his
Round One ranking declines. Hurry up and wait should be his mantra as the first round
progresses. Whatever money such a wait will cost him on his first contract would be more
than made up on his second contract.
If Katzenmoyer goes in the second half of Round One to a team that takes advantage of
his strengths and puts him in a scheme that downplays his weaknesses, I think you might
see a more hungry, more motivated player who goes out and makes plays. If that happens,
Katzenmoyer could be scary to the opposition. If he goes too soon, especially if it’s
to a team that doesn’t use him correctly, Katzenmoyer could be scary to the personnel
department of the team that takes him. I’m not saying that he will definitely be a
bust if he goes too soon, but I sure do like his chances of success a lot better if he
goes early on in the second half of Round One as opposed to the first 10 picks of the
draft. |
