Wow. Among the pantheon of bad autographs, Laken Tomlinson’s is definitely near the top. A big bodied people mover, Laken was selected at the back end of round 1 in the 2015 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions after shooting up the boards in the weeks leading up to it. While a 4 year starter at Duke, he displayed nice straight ahead speed and didn’t allow a sack in his final two years. He was on rare form in the Senior Bowl, neutralizing defensive power players with ease. Laken was selected in 2014 as a first-team A.P. All-American and first-team All-ACC. He also earned Second-team All-ACC selection in 2013, and an Academic All-ACC selection in 2012 and 2011.
After looking overwhelmed initially, Laken began to adjust to the rigors of the NFL game. He ended up starting 14 of 16 games for the Lions in 2015 at guard. Unfortunately he regressed in 2016 and lost his starting job. With the Lions rebuilding their offensive line with the signing of TJ Lang- Laken’s future with Detroit looks cloudy at best.
Cam Worthy was quarterback Shane Carden’s favorite target at ECU in 2014. With natural size and the frame to go with it, Worthy has the body control to contest for many deep passes. He’d break the 1,000 yard plateau with 55 receptions for 1,016 yards and 4 TDs in his senior year.
Scouts were unenthusiastic about Worthy’s route running. He then later broke his foot during the Medal of Honor All-Star Game. Worthy went undrafted in 2015 but signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens. They placed him on the physically unable to perform list while he recovered from his injury. He was not retained for the 2016 season.
A really nice card of runningback John Crockett here. The clean photography and contrast really hearken back to the days of early media photography.
The 2015 combine positional leader in both the vertical jump and the broad jump, John Crockett has many of the athletic tools to make the jump to the NFL level. Playing for North Dakota State, he rolled up the yardage (4339 yards) in only 3 years with the Bison. Thanks to the stigma against players in small school conferences, Crockett did not turn very many heads, but still warranted enough interest that he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
After an impressive preseason, Crockett made the squad and was a back up for Eddie Lacy and James Starks. He saw action in 2 games rushing 9 times for 21 yards. John injured his shoulder in 2016. He spent the entire season on IR rehabbing. In 2017 he was not tendered by the Packers and became a free agent.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
