One of the biggest surprises of the 2025 draft involved not a player who was drafted — but a player who was not drafted.
Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond, projected to be a first-rounder by some if not most, finds himself waiting for his phone to ring, in the hope that he will be signed as an undrafted free agent.
But why did this happen?
On April 16, Bond was arrested on sexual assault charges — but rather obviously he has yet to be convicted of anything.
Isn't a man supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty — even in MAGAmerica?
And lest we forget Tyreek Hill, who was expelled from Oklahoma State in 2014 on domestic violence charges that later proved to be unfounded, forcing Hill to finish his college career at Division II West Alabama, leading to his being selected in the fifth round of the 2016 draft despite having run a blazing 4.29 at West Alabama's Pro Day.
But back to Bond, who ran a 4.35 at this year's combine — the exact same time that DeSean Jackson ran at the 2008 combine (Jackson is now the head coach at Delaware State, an HBCU). Meanwhile, Bond has sued his alleged "victim" in federal court for slander and defamation of character. He would appear to be a perfect fit for the Super Bowl champion Eagles who, despite their highly touted (and perhaps overrated?) offensive line, allowed 45 sacks in 2024, which was worse than the league average of 41.1. This would appear to be due to their lack of "blitz control" as Terry Bradshaw likes to call it, as none of their wide receivers — A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, or Jahan Dotson — are known for possessing elite speed.
In a way, Isaiah Bond is Jalen Hurts 2.0 — in that, where Hurts played first for Alabama and then Oklahoma, Bond played first for Alabama and then Texas.
If Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie could give Michael Vick a second chance, then why can't he give Isaiah Bond what could very well turn out to be no second chance at all? (Vick, as you recall, served time at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas on dog-fighting charges — the same prison where George "Bugs" Moran, the intended victim of the 1929 "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" in Chicago, died in 1957.)
And what about Ryan Leaf's "character" issues — which not only did not cause him to free-fall in the 1998 draft the way Isaiah Bond (and Shedeur Sanders) did this year, but Leaf actually moved up one spot when the Chargers gave up a boatload of draft choices to the Cardinals so that they could select Leaf? (Leaf of course is of the "Caucasian persuasion," while both Bond and Sanders are African-American.)
Hopefully Bond will win his lawsuit against his calumniator — and if the NFLPA has one quarter of a brain, they will demand that an "innocent until proven guilty" clause be included in any expedition of a new collective bargaining agreement designed to make an 18-game regular-season schedule a reality.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this column was written, Isaiah Bond has been signed by the Miami Dolphins.
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