Linemen fail to get drafted, look at options

By Rusty Simmons
Editor In Chief

While former TCU tailback LaDainian Tomlinson is flying first class to and from speaking engagements in New York and California, his blockers are sitting in their Fort Worth homes.

Tomlinson was the first-round pick of the San Diego Chargers Saturday, but former TCU linemen David Bobo, Jeff Garner, Mike Keathley and Jeff Millican all went undrafted.

Bobo, who has already agreed to terms on a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, said the draft didn’t go as he expected.

While the normal number of talented offensive linemen entered this year’s draft, NFL scouts focused on replenishing their defensive corps. Two of the best defensives in the league last season, the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants, earned spots in the Super Bowl, so other franchises tried to find the cornerstones of a solid defense in this year’s draft.

That focus on defense caused the number of drafted offensive linemen to plummet.

“Not many offensive linemen went, and as people who were supposed to go got pushed back, it also pushed me back,” Bobo said.

The same is true for Keathley, who was projected by most draft experts as a fifth- or sixth-round choice. Pete Prisco, a senior writer of Sportsline.com, said Keathley was one of the top-rated lineman who went undrafted.

“Somebody had to open all the holes for L.T.,” Prisco said. “He was a college tackle, and he will have to play guard in the NFL, which concerned some scouts.”

But Garner didn’t have to change positions. He has always played center, but he said that he prefers to simply be called a football player. Garner has had several knee surgeries, which may have hurt his draft status.

Millican didn’t attend the NFL Combine, where his size, strength, intelligence and speed would have been tested. Prisco said missing the combine almost makes a player undraftable in the current state of football.

Neither Garner, Keathley nor Millican could be reached for comment regarding their possible free agent signing status. But Bobo, who was contacted by Pittsburgh immediately after the draft, was the only TCU player listed on Monday’s NFL transaction list.
While the three unsigned offensive linemen haven’t reached an agreement with an NFL team yet, Prisco said that he expects that they will have an option to play at the professional level.

The only other thing that can be predicted at this time is that when they fly to their respective NFL cities, the offensive linemen won’t be flying in Tomlinson’s new style: first class.

Rusty Simmons
j.r.simmons@student.tcu.edu