Daddy D-Mac? We don't know -- and NFL teams shouldn't care

McFadden isn't the next Adrian Peterson -- not sturdy enough, not tough enough between the tackles -- but he might be the next Marshall Faulk. And that's not bad.

McFadden will be one of the fastest players on the field, and he will bring a skill set that includes running, catching and even throwing. McFadden will break open games with huge plays, and when those games are finished there won't be a single question about his one or two illegitimate kids. Assuming he has any.

Accusations aren't always accurate. At this time last year, Cal running back Marshawn Lynch saw his draft stock drop after a woman who claimed to be his former girlfriend claimed he had abused her. Google "Marshawn Lynch" and "character risk." You'll get tons of stories. And they were all wrong, because police never found enough evidence to charge Lynch, much less convict him.

But I'll throw little Mikey Freeman a bone. For the sake of argument, I'm going to assume McFadden is the father of the two kids in which first-time paternity tests await. That would still give McFadden one less kid than either Priest Holmes or Willis McGahee -- who have seven 1,000-yard rushing seasons between them. Children didn't slow down those guys. And they won't slow down McFadden.

If Freeman is so interested in ridding the NFL of character risks, maybe he should look into Boston College offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus, who was charged with assault and battery in an alleged three-on-one fight outside a nightclub that left a man with a very real broken neck. Or Freeman could investigate South Florida cornerback Mike Jenkins, who was suspended after being accused of disorderly conduct and obstructing a police officer at 3 a.m. outside a nightclub.

Not that the NFL cares. Both those players are first-round picks, and three of the first 10 picks last year -- Calvin Johnson, Gaines Adams, Amobi Okoye -- were taken after admitting to smoking pot. No. 17 pick Jarvis Moss was suspended in college for the same thing. No. 24 pick Brandon Meriweather had been involved in a gunfight and had stomped an opposing player.

If the NFL doesn't care about that stuff, it won't worry about Darren McFadden's family tree. Running the football is all about the mobility of your feet -- not the mobility of your sperm.