Well, we learned a little something today: Mel Kiper Jr. used to be a huge baseball fan.
He writes about it in an ESPN column that takes a slightly different approach than most. Instead of breaking down the 2014 NFL draft already, Kiper weighs in on current or former baseball players he thinks would have made it big-time in the NFL. Included on the short list are a couple of local legends:
Dave Winfield: Quietly as great an athlete as you could imagine, he got drafted by the Vikings on a whim even though he'd already been taken in the MLB and NBA drafts. He could have been a star at defensive end, or maybe even a first-generation Jimmy Graham, that impossible-to-defend tight end.
Joe Mauer: Bobby Bowden wanted him, but he couldn't pass on baseball after being taken No. 1 by his hometown team. But you're talking about the one-time best high school QB in the country, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound prototype with a mature approach and an NFL arm. Future star -- no way around that.
Here is the rest of the piece (insider required).
