Alabama linebacker McClain could be a surprise first-round pick for Chiefs
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
For all these months, it was going to be an offensive tackle. Or a safety. Maybe even another defensive lineman. The Chiefs have needs, and they have the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday. They have options, but at least the drama seemed limited to a handful of positions.
But it’s possible that another surprise could be ahead, same as when the Chiefs drafted defensive end Tyson Jackson last year with the third overall pick.
“Don’t be shocked if it’s Rolando McClain,” said Chris Landry, an NFL consultant and former scout. “It’s a safe pick.”
Reliability is among the most attractive features for a team that can afford no more draft-day busts. McClain was an All-America inside linebacker at Alabama last year. He’s 6 feet 3 and 254 pounds. He won a national championship. He excelled in the Crimson Tide’s 3-4 defense, calling the defensive signals since he was a true freshman. And he won the Butkus Award last season, the first Alabama player to be chosen the nation’s best linebacker since Derrick Thomas, the Hall of Famer and former Chiefs star.
“This is something I’m used to,” McClain said at the NFL combine. “I’m used to being the leader.”
Those are factors powerful enough to make any team notice — particularly a franchise that needs a consistent inside linebacker. The Chiefs’ top inside defenders are Derrick Johnson and Corey Mays, who became the starter last year after Zach Thomas was injured and then released. Mays signed his restricted free agent tender Tuesday, meaning he at least figures into the Chiefs’ immediate plans.
But it’s not as if the Chiefs don’t need help at the position. Most draft experts predict McClain will be selected in the top half of the first round but not in the top five. Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli proved last year he doesn’t conform to conventional thinking, passing over several higher-rated prospects in favor of taking Jackson at No. 3.
The Chiefs reportedly held a workout and had a dinner meeting with McClain earlier this month.
If the idea of another Derrick Thomas is tantalizing, some have suspected that McClain carries similar off-the-field baggage as what Thomas brought when the Chiefs drafted him fourth overall in 1989. McClain was involved in a fight during his sophomore year at Alabama, and he suffered burns and scrapes in 2008 when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed it into the back of a former teammate’s SUV. McClain was wearing a helmet but still spent several nights in a Tuscaloosa hospital.
The incidents — and whispers of other missteps — are enough to stir questions, but those who’ve known McClain longest said it’s not a measure of who McClain is now.
“He was Rolando. He knew he was gifted. You know how those kind of people can be at times,” said Brian Quarles, who helped coach linebackers at Decatur (Ala.) High when McClain was there. “He kind of had that mentality at times, but I wouldn’t say he did all the time.
“He’s kind of like every other person in the world. We have those moments where we do stupid things. … It’s just a misjudgment at those points in times, but I think he’s matured.”
Thomas was able to become a dominant linebacker in spite of occasionally questionable judgment, and some think McClain is the kind of talent whose play will overshadow all else. Those who know him tout his intelligence and NFL readiness.
But questions remain. The Chiefs drafted Jackson last year in part because Jackson possessed a spotless background. They’d never have to worry about him. If all else makes sense about the Chiefs considering McClain, his past is the only factor that might make him an imperfect fit.
That and the notion that Pioli might not select an inside linebacker with the fifth pick — a realm of the draft normally reserved for quarterbacks, linemen and receivers.
“I would doubt he would expend a fifth pick in the draft on an inside linebacker,” NFL.com analyst Mike Mayock said. “Even though you’re talking about the same philosophical question, you’re talking about two different positions of value. Left tackle is a much higher position of value than an inside linebacker in a 3-4.”
Still, the question is there. The drama remains. If it’s up to McClain, he said he’s made his points and is waiting to see which team grabs him.
“A lot of guys saw the way I worked (at Alabama), and they admired the way I worked,” he said. “It was tough sometimes, but they admired me. They actually listened.
“I’m a leader. I had to lead seniors as a freshman. My biggest thing is wanting to win. So if I have to be a leader in order for us to win, that’s what I’ll do, no matter the circumstance.”
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