I have been extremely critical of Cam Newton since the end of his collegiate career. I really wish he had stayed at Auburn for another season so we could have seen how he developed with another year under his belt. Lucky for him, he still ended up going first overall based solely on his raw abilities.
I have said it before and I'll say it again, Newton has the most potential of any player I have seen coming out of college since... wait for it, JaMarcus Russell. The one thing that Newton has going for him is he is significantly more intelligent than Russell was coming out of college. Newton is a lot sharper than most people give him credit.
However, it is not his intelligence that will hold him back. What scares me and most other evaluators is Newton's questionable moral character and his work ethic. He spent his entire college career relying on his athletic abilities to dominate opponents, but everyone in the NFL is an incredible athlete and Newton will have to work harder than he has ever done in the past for him to develop into a productive player. The only thing holding back Newton from greatness is himself, and possibly the Panthers' dreadful receiving corps. Newton has all of the God given abilities to become one of the most feared quarterbacks in the NFL, but he has a long way to go before he can get there.
Despite being critical of Newton, I will be rooting for him and hoping that he can keep his nose clean and focus on football. How he plays during his rookie season will be one of the more interesting story lines to follow in the 2011 season, whenever it begins.
Here is a great interview with Cam Newton from NFL Networks:
http://tinyurl.com/3z23azx
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