Typically, pre-draft injuries are a bad thing. NFL teams are leery of any prospect with issues, whether they be character-based or health-related. Just ask Dennis Dixon (check his website!) and Jonathan Stewart. One player who is apparently unaffected, however, is Auburn linebacker Quentin Groves. At least as far as the 49ers are concerned. According to the Sacramento Bee's Matthew Barrows, "... the 49ers are eyeing [Groves] the upcoming NFL draft, [who] had minor heart surgery last month, but the team says it is not concerned about it."
Barrows also addressed the concern when answering a question about the team's draft plans on his 49ers blog:
I see the Niners' list of priorities like this. A.) If Groves falls to them, they take him. B.) If not, they try to trade down and grab a couple of additional picks. C.) If neither A or B pan out, then they take the BPA, no matter the position. That could be [Dan] Connor or [DeSean] Jackson or Early Doucet or a cornerback.Obviously, Groves' fate ultimately lies with whether team doctors give him a clean bill of health, but that San Francisco seems unconcerned suggests that his surgery was exactly that: minor. (Although, I'm not sure anytime doctors are messing about with your ticker it's anything but very, very major.)
For shiggles, if the 49ers end up with Groves, he'd join last year's Defensive Rookie of the Year Patrick Willis among the linebackers. That's a pretty formidable duo. Doesn't fix the offensive issues, but maybe Mike Nolan is taking the "the best offense is a good defense" approach to winning football.
