Cam Johnson - Why he fell to the 7th round

[xwalker]

From ninersnation:

Johnson was actually rated fairly highly by most analysts as far as his talent was concerned. A week ago, Mike Mayock ranked Cam Johnson No. 50 among all players. So why was he a seventh round pick? Well, health issues are prominent due to a sickle cell trait. It is not sickle cell disease or sickle cell anemia. The disease is more serious and involves a mutation of the hemoglobin gene, while Johnson's sickle cell trait produces both abnormal and normal hemoglobin.
http://www.ninersnation.com/2012/4/2...kle-cell-trait

[jobberone]

Not normally a problem. High altitude can cause a problem for some. The trait is thought to confer some benefit in regards to malaria but I don't know if a good study has ever been done. Occasionally a trait patient acts more like a disease patient than you'd think. Not often.

[AmishCowboy]

I wondered what was causing him to drop

[RS12]

read sickle cell trait

[RamziD]

Sickle cell trait usually will not prohibit you from playing sports - it's not like having sickle cell disease. It's also more common in African-Americans, so it's likely that there are a handful of players in the NFL who also have it. I doubt this caused that much medical concern for him to drop that far.

[StanleySpadowski]

Originally Posted by RamziD

Sickle cell trait usually will not prohibit you from playing sports - it's not like having sickle cell disease. It's also more common in African-Americans, so it's likely that there are a handful of players in the NFL who also have it. I doubt this caused that much medical concern for him to drop that far.

There are a few, most notably Ryan Clark, who do not play games at altitude...i.e. Denver.