The XFL draft happened on Wednesday night, and a slew of former NFL players were selected. Former Steelers wideout Martavis Bryant was one of the high-profile draftees, and a former Falcons first-round pick was chosen by the Vegas Vipers — Vic Beasley.
BIG TIMING. Welcome, Vic Beasley, OLB Clemson.
(@VicBeasley3) pic.twitter.com/Uo0NnQuDtv— Vegas Vipers (@XFLVipers) November 16, 2022
The new Spring football league owned by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will give the NFL offseason more life, but I’m not sure another league will ever be successful. Most of the league’s best players are using it as a platform to get back into the NFL eventually. I hope it works out for everyone involved, including the former Clemson Tiger.
Beasley was initially 8th overall in the 2015 draft and quickly burst onto the scene in his sophomore season, recording a league-leading 15.5 sacks and receiving first-team All-Pro honors. However, his production fell off a cliff. In all honesty, Beasley just regressed to the mean; the 2016 season was an aberration.
In the years following that All-Pro campaign, Beasley totaled 18.0 sacks across four seasons. After not being re-signed by the Falcons, he spent short stints with the Titans and Raiders. The former Falcons’ first-round pick had all the physical talent in the world; he just never had the intestinal fortitude to go along with those gifts. Former Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff spoke on the subject:
“You’re not going to miss on that cornerback’s right foot that’s splayed out and doesn’t allow him to cut right,” Dimitroff said via Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You’re not missing on the movement. You’re not missing on the athleticism. You’re missing on that Vic Beasley didn’t maybe have the, unfortunately, the passion that we wanted (him) to carry into it. You can look at that on a number of different levels.”
The difference between good and great players in every professional sports league is the internal drive and dedication to their craft. You can be the most physically talented prospect in the draft, but without the drive to be the best, complacency usually results in mediocrity. And Beasley is no different.
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