Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be selected in a NFL draft when he was taken in the final round by the St Louis Rams on Saturday.
Sam would become the first openly gay man to play in the NFL should he make the team's 53-man regular season roster this summer.

The 24-year-old played college football with the Missouri Tigers for four years but garnered widespread media coverage earlier this year by announcing his sexuality in media interviews.
Sam, who was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year in 2013, was the 249th pick overall out of 256.

Rams head coach Jeff Fisher told ESPN: "In the world of diversity we live in now, I'm honoured to be a part of this and I'm excited about his opportunity to help this football team win."
Sam posted a picture of himself sporting a Rams cap on Twitter along with the message: "Thank you to the St. Louis Rams and the whole city of St. Louis. I'm using every ounce of this to achieve greatness!!"

Congrats to him, pretty sure he was selected later than usual cuz nobody wanted a gay boy on their team.

Nah. He wouldn't have been picked if he weren't gay.

Michael Sam, 7th Round pick


Jackson Jeffcoat, went undrafted.

Meh, he was the Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC, so I would disagree with that statement. I think he would have gone a bit earlier if he were straight. Maybe in the 5th. I doubt the Rams wanted a player simply because he's gay. I have much more respect for Jeff Fischer to state that. I think he truly believes he's gonna help his football team. He said he thought he was going in the 6th and thought it was a good deal to get him with a 7th rd pick.

We got Jeffcoat though.

So you think the NFL takes on known drug dealers, guys that kill dogs, guys that are up for murder investigations, guys that go to prison for vehicular manslaughter (Killing a person while drunk driving) but they draw the line at openly gay?

Hate to break this one to ya, but there are gay players in the NFL. Not "openly" but there are. "Openly" in this sense doesn't mean someone that isn't in denial. It means someone that is actively seeking for it to be public knowledge. There are guys in the NFL with the same relationship with their teammates and organization that Sam had at Missouri. If Michael Sam fell because of something not on the football field (Which totally didn't happen) it was because he was insistent on being a celebrity for things off the football field, not because he was gay. If Riley Cooper can be a known racist and no one cares, Michael Sam could be gay and no one would care.

Franchise wrote:

So you think the NFL takes on known drug dealers, guys that kill dogs, guys that are up for murder investigations, guys that go to prison for vehicular manslaughter (Killing a person while drunk driving) but they draw the line at openly gay?

That's exactly what i'm saying. LOL

That's how ridiculous our society is.

And now you seem to be making an argument saying that his sexuality didn't make a difference, which is it?

Yeah, people make more of a deal that he's gay rather than how he plays. I also believe simple logic would say he wouldn't have been drafted had he been straight.

The Rams have been shit for years. Ticket sales are plummeting. What's a good way to get free publicity?

Draft the gay guy.

Sam was originally projected to be a fairly early pick (I think third or fourth round) at the time he came out. He then proceeded to suck at virtually every drill at the combine and his pro day. Plus, he's considered too small to be a DE, which has been his only position since high school. So hes a project at best, and they're hoping he can transition to Linebacker.

All of that added to the Tebow-like media circus, and Sam is lucky the Rams were looking to sell some jerseys, or he wouldn't have been touched in the draft.

I highly doubt they would waste a draft pick on a guy that they only want because of his sexual orientation. We already know the guy can play he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He did suck at the combine but they know he's a good player. Like I said before, Fischer wouldn't waste a pick on a player just because.

I think you just want to believe there are these evil monsters out there so when you say you're pro gay rights you feel important without actually having to do anything.

He was drafted because they're going to exploit him for the many revenue streams he'll create. The opportunity to exploit him wouldn't exist if he weren't 'openly' gay. From a football stand point there was no reason he was a draftable player. If you push aside the "SEC" and "SEC Player of the Year" what did he do?

If he were exactly the same player with the same production, but was a straight guy that played in the Big XII, he wouldn't have been picked.

His best chance at success, according to his physical numbers, is to bulk up and play strongside end in a 3-4.

I put on the Vandy tape, the one where he posted 3 sacks in the vaunted SEC.

Mike Sam gets worked in the run game. Missed runners on 4th and 1 twice while beating 1-1 protection lined up over a guard. No lateral quickness (As his numbers suggest.) Protection slides Kony Ealy's way, not his.

His sacks:

1st - comes in no-back formations with a 20 point Mizzou lead, where he had one blocked dedicated to him, a freshman RT. RT sells out inside and QB doesn't step up. Nothing there.

2nd - Obvious passing down. 4th Q -- 4th and 13. Sending just 3 rushers. Vandy still commits just 1 blocker to Sam. He runs arch and beats freshman RT with speed. Misses at first (despite there being no reason for it) and then gets him shortly after. QB had running lane to step up into and didn't. Nothing there.

3rd - Obvious passing down. 4TH Q -- 4th and 9. Huge lead still intact. Sending just three. RG has no assignment. Sam beats Freshman RT with speed again. Gets held, still sacked. For some reason, the QB has no clue he can move up in the pocket and avoid this. Only legitimately good play he made all day.

So in conclusion, the 24 year old SEC Player of the Year got absolutely worked on the ground, missed open runners, couldn't do anything as far as pass rushing goes unless it was a painfully obvious passing situation where he didn't need to worry about run responsibilities. Worked a freshman for three sacks, but lost majority of 1v1s vs. Vandy Freshman.

If he's staying as an edge player it's as a one-down pass rushing specialist for Gregg Williams. There is value in that. Enough value for him to be drafted? I don't think so. Again, he's not the pass rusher Jackson Jeffcoat is. Louis Nix III is a three down player that teams fear MIGHT be a 2 down player and he fell into the 3rd round.

Michael Sam is a guy with no natural position, that would struggle mightily if asked to start anywhere. His best case scenario in the short term is he's a successful pass rushing specialist that can log time at special teams.

His production came because at 23 he had the experience to work younger guys. If you look at the guys he was beating, you'd probably need to google their names. Protection slid Kony Ealy's way all year. Sam was Co-SEC Defensive Player of the Year because of numbers, not actual tape.

If you take away Vanderbilt and Florida, he logged 1.5 sacks in SEC games.
1 against South Carolina and 0.5 against Texas A&M.

So no, Michael Sam is not a "good player." He's a player that ended up with a really nice looking box score.

Stinger8 wrote:

Sam was originally projected to be a fairly early pick (I think third or fourth round) at the time he came out.

Early on, before people got to really watch his tape. He was projected early when guys are put on sites based on production and maybe an initial flash. Mike Sam flashes. His tape didn't hold up. It happens a lot.

El Tri wrote:

I highly doubt they would waste a draft pick on a guy that they only want because of his sexual orientation. We already know the guy can play he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He did suck at the combine but they know he's a good player. Like I said before, Fischer wouldn't waste a pick on a player just because.

Waste a pick? It was the ass end of the 7th freaking round!   


They abso-fuckin-lutely would "waste" a 7th round pick on Sam for the marketing value and jersey sales alone. Plus, now the Rams get to act holier than thou because they "were the first to draft an openly gay player".

The Rams have racked up on D. I'd be acting holier than thou too if I made some of the deals they got done on this draft.

Also, in a salary cap sport, you can never have enough defensive end prospects ... rotation should give him a chance, that's all he wants. The guy has some talent.

Franchise wrote:

I think you just want to believe there are these evil monsters out there so when you say you're pro gay rights you feel important without actually having to do anything.

He's THE FUCKING SEC Defensive Player of the Year. AKA one of the top division in College Football. If it was some random schmuck then I might actually agree with you. But he's not. I don't need you to tell me what i'm thinking, I know exactly why I have this opinion. Saying he got drafted BECAUSE he's gay is the dumbest fucking thing i've ever heard.

Stinger8 wrote:

Waste a pick? It was the ass end of the 7th freaking round!   


They abso-fuckin-lutely would "waste" a 7th round pick on Sam for the marketing value and jersey sales alone. Plus, now the Rams get to act holier than thou because they "were the first to draft an openly gay player".

So you would waste a pick in the 7th round?

Are you not aware that you could get good players in the 7th round?

You CAN get a good player in the 7th round, however the overwhelming odds put that at about 1 out 100. You are by no means expecting a 7th round pick to do jack shit for you. If they even make the team they've done more than you expected them too. Any player projected to be worth a damn is already gone. So if I'm the Rams, and its the 8th to last pick in the entire draft, and there is a guy who I know will immediately sell me jerseys, get publicity, and sell a few tickets, than you better believe I'm going to consider it.

Stinger8 wrote:

You CAN get a good player in the 7th round, however the overwhelming odds put that at about 1 out 100. You are by no means expecting a 7th round pick to do jack shit for you. If they even make the team they've done more than you expected them too. Any player projected to be worth a damn is already gone. So if I'm the Rams, and its the 8th to last pick in the entire draft, and there is a guy who I know will immediately sell me jerseys, get publicity, and sell a few tickets, than you better believe I'm going to consider it.

1 out of 100? You're blowing that way out of proportion. They did not draft a player because of his sexual orientation. Like I said before I have to much respect for Jeff Fischer to think he would do that.

But do you have enough respect for the front office guys whose sole purpose in life is to make the team money?

El Tri wrote:

Stinger8 wrote:

You CAN get a good player in the 7th round, however the overwhelming odds put that at about 1 out 100. You are by no means expecting a 7th round pick to do jack shit for you. If they even make the team they've done more than you expected them too. Any player projected to be worth a damn is already gone. So if I'm the Rams, and its the 8th to last pick in the entire draft, and there is a guy who I know will immediately sell me jerseys, get publicity, and sell a few tickets, than you better believe I'm going to consider it.

1 out of 100? You're blowing that way out of proportion. They did not draft a player because of his sexual orientation. Like I said before I have to much respect for Jeff Fischer to think he would do that.

No, I'm pretty sure I nailed that. If anything I under-sold it. How many pro bowlers are 7th round picks?


You do realize that Jeff Fisher does not pick the players right? That's the GM and the rest of the front office's job. The most they would've done was ask Jeff "Would you be ok with us drafting Sam?" and that is only if they wanted to.