1. BAL QB Tony Banks
He had to feel like a kid on Christmas morning as before the first
10 picks were over on Saturday, Banks had the best RB in the draft
(in the Raven's opinion) with Jamal Lewis and the 3rd best WR in
Travis Taylor. Don't know how they could give him any more to work
with.
2. NYG QB Kerry Collins
No more excuses as they add RB Ron Dayne to the backfield. This
should take some pressure off the passing game and allow much more
flexibility with routes. I'd expect you'll see opposing defenses
play something like they did against New Orleans last year loading
the box and daring Collins to pass. The Billy Joes for Ditka couldn't
make the defenses pay for that gamble and we'll see if Collins can.
3. KC QB Elvis Grbac
Not unlike Kordell Stewart, Grbac should immediately benefit from
the addition of first rounder Sylvester Morris who's a big target
at 6'3" / 200.
4. WAS QB's Brad Johnson / Jeff George
OT Chris Samuels appears to be the type of guy who can anchor the
line from the all important Left Tackle position for years to come.
At Alabama, he faced big time defenders and he should be able to
make the transition smoothly.
5. TB QB's Shaun King / Eric Zeier / Joe Hamilton / Randall Cunningham?
Whoever lines up behind center will benefit from the Keyshawn addition.
I'd expect Alstott and Dunn to rise slightly as well with another
weapon to keep the defense busy.
6. ARZ QB Jake Plummer
The addition of a game breaker like RB Thomas Jones will surely
improve Plummer. Let's face it, it would be difficult for him to
be any worse. The O Line still has questions but a little help in
the backfield can only be a positive, especially a RB with receiving
skills like Jones.
7. CIN QB Akili Smith
I'm no fan of Akili Smith but he must move up your board with the
addition of game breaker Peter Warrick. Another Seminole WR, Ron
Duggans in the 3rd round should help as well. Let's hope Warrick
learned some lessons from Smith's disastrous holdout last year and
keep your fingers crossed someone comes to their senses and they
find a running back.
8. DET RB James Stewart
Stewart benefited from the draft not only from who the Lions selected,
but who they didn't select. Huge OL Stockar McDougle was their first
pick while some had speculated they might go for a RB. They did
select Oregon RB Reuben Droughns in the 3rd but he's not expected
to be big threat. Instead of competition in camp, Stewart got the
350 pound behemoth to clear the rushing lanes for him. Stewart filled
in admirably for Fred Taylor last year and it'll be interesting
to see how he handles the starting role.
9. PIT QB Kordell Stewart
Whether you like him or not, it'll be hard to argue his situation
didn't drastically improve with the addition of 2 huge WR's in Plaxico
Burres (6' 5") and Danny Farmer (6' 2") For a guy with major league
accuracy problems, there's a lot more receiver there to hit than
the little guys like 5' 9" Troy Edwards.
Guys That
Moved Down On My Draft Board:
1. NYJ QB Vinny Testeverde
One QB who's value went down after the draft. WR Laveranues Coles
and TE Anthony Becht are supposed to make up for Keyshawn? Please.
2. GB TE Mark Chmura Ron Wolfe took a page from Mike Brown's School of Subtlety
here with the selection of TE Bubba Franks in round one. If you've
got the neck injury and the unbelievable off the field problems,
when your GM takes the #1 TE in the first round of the draft, I
think I could read between the lines there…
3. NE RB's Kevin Faulk / Raymont Harris
Faulk did nothing last year to disprove the contention he wasn't
big enough to stay healthy at this level. And Raymont Harris hasn't
been healthy it seems since the Bush Administration. With the addition
of J.R. Redmond, who many felt was a top 5 back, both these guys
could be in trouble.
4. BAL RB Preist Holmes For Holmes owners, the joy of seeing
Errict Rhett go to Cleveland quickly faded when the Ravens selected
Jamal Lewis in the first round. While I'm not on the overly crowded
Lewis bandwagon, teams don't draft a Running Back at #5 overall
without giving him every chance to be the main guy.
5. BAL WR Pat Johnson Johnson showed some nice flashes with 3 TD's last year but
if WR Travis Taylor does what's expected of him, Taylor will likely
slide into the #2 WR opposite Qadry Ismail. We'll see how fast he
picks up the system but it could be trouble for Johnson. NYG RB
Joe Montgomery Sorry Joe, it was fun while it lasted but unless
Ron Dayne gets on the Eddie Murphy Nutty Professor Bulk Program
(which is a possibility), Montgomery will be wearing a baseball
cap more than a helmet this year.
6. CIN WR Carl Pickens The Bengals spent 2 of the top 3 selections on Wide Receiver,
including of course, their #1 pick on Peter Warrick. When it comes
to delivering messages, subtlety is not Mike Brown's strong suit.
7. ARZ RB Michael Pittman Last year's favorite sleeper pick should be riding the pine
unless Thomas Jones can't find his way to the airport. Jones is
too good and like the situation with Baltimore, teams don't draft
a Running Back with a top 10 overall pick and then stash him away
to "develop".
8. PIT WR Hines Ward Ward looks to move to the #3 guy with the addition of Plaxico
Burress. Adding another tall WR in Danny Farmer won't help his case
either. Burress just has too much potential to not be on the field.
And it's not like Ward is the most polished receiver in the league.
9. SEA RB Ricky Watters ESPN's John Clayton recently said he could envision a scenario
where Watters became a June salary cap casualty now that Holmgren
lucked into RB Shaun Alexander slipping all the way to them. I don't
know about that, but the overall point is very clear that Alexander
is likely the RB of Seattle's (possibly near) future.
Rookies To
Watch: RBs
1. SEA RB Shaun Alexander
After Jones, he was my #2 RB in the draft. A complete package of
skills to go with a tough character. Seattle may have received the
best value in the 1st round with Alexander at #19. As I mentioned,
I've heard rumblings that Ricky Watters position could even be in
danger with salary cap concerns. Holmgren's offensive system is
not one that's picked up overnight but I'd be surprised if you don't
see Alexander make a significant contribution this year.
2. MIN RB Doug Chapman I don't care if it was at Marshall, when you score 61 TD's
in your college career, you're saying something. And besides, those
Marshall jokes are wearing thin by now anyway. He's a classic overachiever
making the most out of what he's been given. 5' 10" / 215 so he's
got the size and the 4.55 40 time is adequate. The biggest plus
he has going for him is that he plays behind Robert Smith. Don't
be surprised to see him get a shot and make the most of it.
3. NYG RB Ron Dayne I'm interested to see which Ron Dayne steps forward in New
York. Will it be the fat plodder doing the Ricky Williams get hit
behind the line act or will it be the more nimble steamroller we
saw in Wisconsin? The Badgers featured a solid line last year and
you must give credit there (Lawrence Phillips, anyone?) He'll have
a far less dominant unit to work behind with the Giants. The more
tape I watched, the more I was impressed with his ability to make
guys miss instead of just bowling over tacklers. He's certainly
capable with his size, but the guy has some special running skills
that he doesn't get credit for simply because he's so big.
4. ARZ RB Thomas Jones I liked Jones as the best back in the draft by a good margin.
Love that little shake'n bake stutter move but at 215 pounds he
also has nice power. Jones behind the Ravens front would have been
scary but I'm afraid he may be limited in Arizona. I think Adrian
Murrell is a better back than many give him credit for and we saw
last year in Arizona and New Orleans that without a solid line and
passing game, few backs will produce. His biggest benefit to the
team will likely be in making QB Plummer better both in the area
of keeping defenses honest and also catching the ball out of the
backfield which he does well.
5. CIN RB Curtis Keaton Depending on how the Corey Dillon saga plays out, Keaton could
contribute. He was one of those guys shooting up draft charts last
week with some nice workout numbers. At 5' 10" / 215 he's got good
size and runs a 4.45 40. Nice vision and seems to pick the holes
well. I don't discount anything happening when Mike Brown is involved
so I'd keep an eye on this situation.
6. BAL RB Jamal Lewis
If you read the above, you know I'm not fawning over Jamal Lewis
like the rest of the world. I just had too much opportunity as a
Vol fan to watch him underachieve after the knee injury. I've yet
to talk to anyone close to Tennessee Football that thinks he's worthy
of a #5 pick. But it's obviously a great situation for him. Billick's
offensive talents are well documented and few think Priest Holmes
is the answer behind that strong front line. If Thomas Jones had
gone there, I'd be all over him, I'm just having a hard time getting
too excited about Lewis based on what I saw last year.
7. CLE RB Travis Prentice Not a show stopper but a good solid back that could easily
blossom. Could make a very nice combination with new Brown Errict
Rhett. Went forever in college between fumbles (862 carries without
a fumble) and what coach doesn't like that? Couch will likely be
improved this year along with the WR corps.
8. NE RB J.R. Redmond
In the revolving door of New England RB's, (Remember Robert Edwards?)
Redmond at 5'11" 210 seems to be a much better alternative than
Kevin Faulk or self proclaimed "Ultra back" Raymont Harris. If he
can keep his head screwed on straight and stay healthy, he's very
likely the best RB on the team.
9. JAX RB Shyrone Stith
How many people think Fred Taylor can stay healthy for 16 games?
I don't. And Tavian Banks is still rehabbing. Stith doesn't have
the blistering 40 time you'd prefer but James Stewart is no burner
and he filled in pretty nicely when he was there. Stith was a productive
hard nosed player for the #2 team in the country last year and it
wouldn't surprise me to see him make some waves behind Taylor.
Rookies To
Watch: TEs
1. GB TE Bubba Franks The Packer offense has slipped so far from what it once was,
it's hard to know what to expect this year but an asset like Franks
could easily be a big producer with Brett Favre throwing the ball.
They've certainly shown a tendency to rely on a soft handed TE in
the past and Franks clearly fits that bill.
Rookies To
Watch: WRs
1. PIT WR Plaxico Burress
Be the one guy at your draft to pronounce his name right. It rhymes
with "Mexico" Bypassing Chad Pennington for the big guy said a lot.
If he can stay focused and motivated, the sky is the limit for Burress.
Very soft hands and long arms to go with the height. Matching him
on a fade route against a 5' 10" corner will be a joke. Of course,
the only question mark is how well Stewart or Graham will be able
to deliver the ball. Steelers thought enough of him to assign him
#88. You may remember a pretty good WR named Swann who wore that
jersey…
2. KC WR Sylvester Morris
Nice target at 6'3" and should be able to start opposite Derrick
Alexander. It's a big jump from Jackson State to the NFL but others
have done it. If the Chiefs can find a running game, he might pay
some nice dividends. BAL WR Travis Taylor Will be pushing for the
best WR on the team. The pass happy Florida system doesn't always
translate into success at the next level partly because Steve Spurrier
puts his guys in such great positions and schemes. But I like Travis
on this team. Coach Billick certainly knows how to score points
and new TE Shannon Sharpe will likely be a good influence. Weak
link in my opinion is if QB Tony Banks can keep up the pace.
3. CIN WR Peter Warrick
Warrick is on the other end of the spectrum from RB Jamal Lewis.
Lewis earned his slot based upon his 1997 season and four games
in 1998 coupled with super human workout numbers. Warrick earned
his slot with 4 years of stellar on the field performance for arguably
the best team in the nation the last few years. As we all know,
he posted less than dazzling workouts. Last time I checked, they
don't score the games based on the workout numbers. Just for the
record, Lewis had a very similar "shopping" experience to Warrick
in High School so we'll call the character issue a draw. Certainly,
Florida State and Tennessee are not the NFL. But they're as close
as you can get. One player excelled at that level of competition
for 3+ years. The other player excelled at that level of competition
3 years ago before blowing out his knee. Certainly Akili Smith and
whatever Running Game they can assemble are huge pieces of the puzzle
but I like what I think we'll see from Warrick.
CHI WR Dez White
Not only was this an incredible value for the Bears in the 3rd,
I like the fit of a big (6'1" / 218) athletic WR in any system run
by Gary Crowton. Keep an eye on what they do with Bobby Engram but
White could be a real contributor if given the playing time while
opponents try to stop Marcus Robinson.
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