Watch CBS News

Daily Madden: Why The Niners Talked To Robert Griffin III

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - With the 30th pick in the NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers most likely won't have an opportunity to select Robert Griffin III, so why interview the star quarterback out of Baylor?

"If you have an opportunity to talk to these guys and interview them, I think you ought to take every advantage that you have," John Madden told the KCBS morning crew. "There's a very, very slim chance that you can get him, but you don't know that there may not be a chance down the road. And you're probably going to have to play against him. This guy is going to be in NFL players and coaches' lives... If I were in that situation, I would want to interview him too."

Madden just returned from the NFL Combine and meetings in Indianapolis, where he said the coaches and general managers had two priorities in evaluating players.

"One, the physical...You want to make sure that you're not getting damaged goods here, that the guy got through his college career and he's relatively healthy," Madden said. "And then the other thing is the interview. You'd like to talk to him, meet him yourself and kind of put the pictures of the player together with the guy."

"How high they jump and (how) strong... those are only measurables - if you know they can play. If you have those things and they guy can't play, you really don't care anyway." (9:05)

Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.