Cam Newton A "Fake" And "Con Artist"?

The Plain Dealer has an interesting story on Cam Newton today which could definitely affect his projected draft position.  Why is this important to Browns fans?  Well, a lot of draft experts have Newton being picked in the top 5 picks which causes such top performers as A. J. Green and Patrick Peterson to fall to the Browns in many scenarios.

The Plain Dealer story was mostly based upon quotes from Pro Football Weekly's Nolan Nawrocki.  Nawrocki states that many decision makers have serious doubts about Newton's character.  Here are some of the quotes:

"Some of the comments that I've received were that he's full of himself, he's disillusional about the past, the term 'fraud,' the term 'narcissist,' the term 'con-artist,' they've all been used.  These are the opinions of the NFL scouting community. I think anybody who really investigates the character, the makeup of Cam Newton will come out with a lot of the same conclusions.''

Nawrocki has a scouting report that, among other positive comments about his skill set, characterizes Newton as:

"Very disingenuous — has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law — does not command respect from teammates and always will struggle to win a locker room. Only a one-year producer.  Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness — is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable.''

Talk about not pulling your punches.  We have seen what could be a few hints of this kind of thing in some of the incidents surrounding the NFL combine.  There have been a few Newton quotes that were troubling like the "I'm an entertainer" statement.  Though Newton was probably not too high on the Browns' draft list, I was sort of hoping one of the quarterback-hungry teams ahead of the Browns would use their pick on him.  Reports like this one could make him too big of a risk with a high draft pick.  Hopefully Cincinnati won't care about character and draft Newton anyway.