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Florida State WR
Peter Warrick
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NEW YORK — There was a time when Florida State WR Peter Warrick was predicted to
be the first player taken in the 2000 NFL draft.
And Warrick knows it.
That’s why, when asked about the Browns passing him up with the No. 1 pick,
Warrick responded this way:
"I’m glad that Cincinnati picked me," said Warrick, taken fourth by the
Bengals in the first round of Saturday’s selection meeting. "You know, Cleveland
gotta play Cincinnati twice, and those two times, I’m gonna give it to
’em."
As if the rivalry between the Browns and Bengals weren’t heated enough. Last
season, you’ll remember, Bengals QB Akili Smith taunted the Cleveland faithful after
rallying his team to victory in the final minute. Now Warrick, hardly shy in his own
right, joins forces with Smith.
At 5-10½, 195 pounds, Warrick doesn’t have the size of teammates Carl Pickens and
Darnay Scott, who are both at least 6 feet tall. But the former Seminole has great speed
and explosiveness and is deadly after the catch. The Bengals will use Warrick in the slot
in three-WR sets, much as the Vikings used Randy Moss his rookie season — and we all
know how that turned out.
"I feel like I have all the physical tools," Warrick said. "I feel like
I have a gift of what I do when I get the ball. I just gotta go out there and do what I
have to do, and that’s make plays."
There are a number of reasons for Warrick’s drop from No. 1 to No. 4. The
character issue cropped up when he was arrested and charged with theft following an
incident at Dillard’s department store. There was also a matter of need as far as the
Browns’ draft plans were concerned. With a good amount of depth at the WR position,
the Browns felt they could wait on a pass catcher and use their first pick on a dominating
defensive player. They chose Penn State DE Courtney Brown first overall.
But that day at the store kept coming back to haunt Warrick. Now, he says it’s all
in the past.
"That’s all behind me," Warrick said. "Now it’s time for me to
take a step forward in my life and move on."
Move on he will, only in a new setting. Rather than play for a Florida State team that
dominated the ’90s, Warrick will play for a Bengals team that suffered the most
defeats in the decade past.
"I feel like it’s not where you go, it’s what you do," Warrick
said. "I feel like I’m a playmaker, and I can make plays. I’m going to try
to do everything possible to make things happen. I know it’s not all about Peter
Warrick. It’s a team effort. Everybody has to come together and play as a team."
Those are definitely words to live by, but they’re also words the lowly Bengals
aren’t too familiar with. Still, the NFL presents a fresh start for Warrick, and that
pleases him — whether it’s in Cincinnati or Cleveland.
"Me not going to Cleveland," Warrick said, "my dream was just to be in
the NFL. That’s all that matters."
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