McFadden gets grilled, praised

Most of us saw this coming. Former Arkansas running back Darren McFadden has been answering tons of questions about his off-the-field demeanor at the NFL Scouting Combine this week.

From the altercation outside a nightclub before the 2006 season that left him with a hurt big toe, to the recent handcuffing outside another Little Rock night spot, the national media and NFL general managers have a few questions for the greatest tailback in Arkansas history.

McFadden, like most of us, saw the arrows flying over the horizon Friday at an NFL press conference.

“It’s not surprising to me at all. I know there’s going to be a lot of character issues, questions and things like that. It’s something I knew would come up.”

McFadden answered questions for about five minutes Friday afternoon. Most of the latter half of the press conference (which you can watch here) involved his off-the-field adventures, including the recent story of a paternity lawsuit. The Little Rock native said he had taken one paternity test that came up negative, but has been asked to submit another.

And that’s how McFadden’s press conference ended. It wasn’t too heated, but certainly if you’re trying to up your stock in the April 26 NFL Draft, constantly being hammered with questions about fisticuffs and lawsuits is not helpful.

McFadden tried to clear his name a few times during the press conference.

“I’m not the guy that’s going to go out and make the same mistake over and over.”

Former teammate wide receiver Marcus Monk defended McFadden on Friday in Indianapolis, according to Pro Football Weekly.

“He’s a great person, a great teammate,” said WR Marcus Monk. “We make mistakes. He knows what’s on the line just from talking to him. He knows he needs to stay focused.”

McFadden was weighing the idea of not participating in workouts Sunday in Indianapolis, but announced Friday he would at least take part in the 40-yard dash. So watch out for that Sunday.

As for McFadden’s on-field heroics, the two-time Doak Walker Award winner was viewed highly by a couple of the NFL Network’s analysts Friday evening. Analyst Jamie Dukes says McFadden is one of five “sure-fire guys” in the draft.

Some discussion was brought up about where he would go in the draft. Rumors had been spreading that Dallas might try and trade up to the No. 1 pick held by Miami to draft Arkansas’ all-time leading rusher, but that looks unlikely.

But don’t be surprised if Dallas’ Jerry Jones ends up picking Felix Jones in the latter section of the first round, the NFL Network analysts suggest.

Filed under: Arkansas Football, Uncategorized by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: February 23, 2008 at 2:21 am