Potential Draft picks & concussion histories...... (1 Viewer)

[Pickle Rody]

With the onslaught of concussion diagnosis' (and their perceived/real after effects) of the last few years in the NFL, is there a concise listing of those potential draft picks with such histories in their medical resume? Do NFL teams consider these concussion histories prior to making selections come draft weekend? I know that medical histories are factored into the selection process by NFL teams, but at what rate do prior concussions and quantity of them fit into the medical evaluation of those players, ie: are they more important than a serious knee injury or foot injury?

I believe that knowing a draft prospects concussion history is as important or more important than knowing about prior severe knee or foot injuries.

Would an NFL team be less likely to draft a player with known concussion issues? The key word obviously is "known", as many minor concussions are not diagnosed properly at the time of said injury, and there is no way of knowing about a concussion unless it was diagnosed correctly.

 

[Pickle Rody]

I thought this was an interesting topic to post. Almost 4 hours and no repies yet....oh well.

There is always discussion about so-and-so's torn ACL from XX years ago and other discussion on injuries and whether or not a prospect will fall in value due to said injury concerns. I would include a prospect's concussion history as part of those injury concerns.

Yes, injuries are part of the game. But, injury concerns of certain prospects do have an effect on where they eventually land come draft day, no? So why aren't these types of head injuries a concern for NFL teams also? If they are already, why aren't they discussed more openly?

Maybe it's a non-issue right now, and I'm ahead of the curve here.

I know I'd be pretty upset if the Eagles used a high day 1 pick on a kid who had such concussion issues, paid him millions, only to see him go out and suffer another such injury in his first year, which would ultimately bring about an early retirement. Especially if they knew he had such issues prior to drafting him.

I've just never seen or heard of a prospect's value falling due to such concerns. Meanwhile, we hear all the time about someone's stock dropping due to other, more common, injury concerns.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

I don't think there's a Sims or Polamalu in this class - not off the top of my head at least.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Sorry RR, missed this one until now and I agree it's an interesting, albeit not particularly sexy topic like Michael Turner seems to be -- .

I think you went right to the crux of the matter when you noted that mild concussions are difficult to diagnose, especially in an environment where players are encouraged to play with injury. To my knowledge, Bloom is right that there are no 'name' prospects who have a history of concussions this season. With the ESPN article highlighting post-concussion syndrome and Ted Johnson's case last year, I think teams are going to take a much closer look at head injuries and how they evaluate players for return to play.

I think it would be interesting to know much different Ernie Sims' value would be if the concussion debate had become public before last season's draft rather than after. My guess is that it wouldn't change much as teams run potential investments through such a difficult gauntlet of medical tests that Sims was probably deemed only the mildest of injury risks pre-draft.

 

[Pickle Rody]

Sorry RR, missed this one until now and I agree it's an interesting, albeit not particularly sexy topic like Michael Turner seems to be -- .

I think you went right to the crux of the matter when you noted that mild concussions are difficult to diagnose, especially in an environment where players are encouraged to play with injury. To my knowledge, Bloom is right that there are no 'name' prospects who have a history of concussions this season. With the ESPN article highlighting post-concussion syndrome and Ted Johnson's case last year, I think teams are going to take a much closer look at head injuries and how they evaluate players for return to play.

I think it would be interesting to know much different Ernie Sims' value would be if the concussion debate had become public before last season's draft rather than after. My guess is that it wouldn't change much as teams run potential investments through such a difficult gauntlet of medical tests that Sims was probably deemed only the mildest of injury risks pre-draft.

Thanks Sigmund and Jene for your replies. Yes, not too sexy a topic, but I thought it was relevant this year. I wish more folks would at least offer opinions.....oh well......