With the eighth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons took running back Bijan Robinson out of Texas. But while Robinson may have been their top prospect at the time, their head coach may have lost interest in another prospect simply by talking to him.
In a recent piece for The Athletic, Connor Allen wrote that offensive tackle Peter Skoronski told him that Falcons head coach Arthur Smith called him “boring” during their interview. Skoronski said that Smith kept looking at his computer over the course of the interview.
“You’re really boring me right now. Your answers are so boring,” Smith said, per Skoronski. “The whole meeting, he kept looking at his computer.”
Skoronski wound up going No. 11 overall to the Tennessee Titans and was the third offensive tackle taken in the draft.
Obviously there are some people raking Smith over the coals. But not everyone is convinced that Smith was being malicious here. Some believe that this was an effort by Smith to see how Skoronski would respond in a situation like that:
Arthur Smith said to Peter Skoronski during his visit with the #Falcons, “You’re really boring me right now. Your answers are so boring.”
Skoronski added “The whole meeting, he kept looking at his computer.”
Interesting piece from @danpompei:https://t.co/CKEckbYvM4
— Connor Allen (@ConnorAllenNFL) May 4, 2023
“Smith has no personality. Every press conference is the same stuff. Even behind the scenes he’s like that apparently,” one user replied.
“The interview tactics are always interesting to hear about. They really try to throw guys off and see how they respond,” wrote another.
“This probably says more about Smith’s shortcomings as a talent evaluator than about Skoronski,” a third wrote.
Will Peter Skoronski wind up making Arthur Smith regret calling him “boring?”