Is Miami Hurricanes Basketball Player Erik Swoope Worth Using a Draft Pick On?

Finding the diamond in the rough; the untapped superstar is something NFL teams are always trying to do. It's not easy to do of course, but sometimes you can roll the dice with a person that fits the right prototype. With the success that some basketball players have had in the NFL (Tony Gonzalez, Jimmy Graham, Julian Thomas) it certainly isn't a bad idea to look towards the hard court.

Hence the attention being paid to Miami Hurricanes power forward Erik Swoope by a least three NFL teams.

Even though he has never played a down of organized football in his life Swoope has drawn interest from teams; enough to make him declare for the NFL Draft. It started with Denver, and after having a good workout the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs gave him a call.

Sounds kind of crazy, doesn't hit? Yeah his size is just right (6'5" and 220 pounds) and his basketball coach describes him as a phenomenal athlete and hard worker.

But he's never played football! So is he nuts for declaring for the draft? Absolutely not.

It will be shocking if anyone even uses a seventh round pick on him. It would be a surprise if he ends up being Mr. Irrelevant, but just because he should not be drafted it does not mean it's a mistake. The reason is simple--teams need to be aware that he is available and interested in playing.

Otherwise they might not think to invite him into camp. If they do he'll get the chance to learn and develop in to a player. Should he develop enough to make the final roster he'll get a nice paycheck (league minimum; better than a real job). If he pans out like some other former basketball players it will be an investment well worth making.

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