Richard Sherman Can't Criticize the Media Because He Never Played the Game

Richard Sherman today criticized media coverage of the NFL Draft for frequently making incorrect predictions about which teams are going to draft which players.

It is amusing to imagine the person who thinks a mock draft is intended literally to be a prediction of the future, but the bigger problem is that, by his own criteria, Sherman is unqualified to offer his opinion on this matter, because he has never “played the game” so to speak — Sherman is a cornerback, not a draft analyst.

This is an idea Sherman has expressed on numerous occasions.

"“I think it’s foolish,” Sherman told Jim Trotter on SportsCenter, per ESPN.com. “But it sounds like something somebody who’s never played the game would say, something that they would suggest, because he doesn’t understand. He’s just a face. He’s just a suit. He’s never stepped foot on the field and understood how you can get a personal foul.”"

And again.

"“Because you’ve got a bunch of suits doing it,” Sherman said. “Like I said before, you don’t have a bunch of guys … let Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin talk about it for about 20, 30 minutes. Maybe Cris Carter. Randy Moss, let those guys have a roundtable discussion about what a catch should be and come up with a rule. “I guarantee you it’d be more effective than the rule they have now because those are the pass-catchers. Those are some of the best pass-catchers we’ve had. I think it’d be more straightforward and to the point. You’ve got a bunch of guys who have never played. They’ve probably touched a football to hold it out or to shake somebody’s hand, to take a picture, but they’ve never played the game.”"

So now you have a guy, this Sherman here, who has never worked for a professional media organization, has probably seen a few mock drafts but has never actually published one with his name on it, has not spent years developing sources and doesn’t know the first thing about the business he’s talking about.

He has, however, dabbled in personnel evaluation.

"“He’s an incredible athlete,” Sherman said in August, per the Seahawks’ website. “He’s going to be a great ballplayer. I continue to stand by what I’ve always said — he’s going to be better than me by the time it’s all said and done. The kid’s a player, he just needs to put it all together and hopefully he can stay healthy and it’ll be a fantastic year for him.” "

Sherman was talking about Tharold Simon, who was cut in 2016 after 11 months with the Seahawks and didn’t play in the NFL last season.