2001 NFL draft day coverage

Pulse of the draft, pick by pick

Go to round recap: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7

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Impressions of the fourth round

In a real quirk, three players from tiny South Florida were taken with consecutive picks at the start of Round Four. The Patriots got good value in Kenyatta Jones, an offensive lineman who can play either offensive tackle or guard, which is why they traded up to get him. The Pats need to overhaul their front wall, and they have made a good start with second-round pick OG Matt Light and Jones. … In South Florida S-CB Anthony Henry, the Browns got a player who has rarely played up to his talent level. … The selection of South Florida PK Bill Gramatica by Arizona marked the first kicker taken in this draft. He will be given every chance to beat out Cary Blanchard, and he has a good shot at doing just that.

Atlanta finally got some help for its beleaguered offensive line with the selection of Texas A&M C Robert Garza. He will have an excellent chance of starting as a rookie. … The Seahawks continued to upgrade their offensive line with Fresno State OG Orlando Huff. Combined with the addition of OG Steve Hutchinson in Round One, Mike Holmgren has more than made up for the loss of OG Pete Kendall in free agency. … Holmgren’s former team, Green Bay, made its first OL selection of the draft in this round, taking Wisconsin OG Bill Ferrario. If Earl Dotson is unable to return to health and reclaim his starting ORT spot, Ferrario will have a shot at winning a starting job at guard.

Carolina drafted a possible backup (or successor?) for new starting QB Jeff Lewis, taking Florida State’s Chris Weinke. Weinke originally was expected to go somewhat higher in the draft, but he elected not to play in the Senior Bowl and then had a poor showing at the Scouting Combine, both of which dropped his stock somewhat. Nevertheless, with many observers not convinced that Lewis is the long-term answer, Weinke could become a key figure in Carolina now that George Seifert has surprisingly jettisoned Steve Beuerlein.

Kansas City, which has so desperately needed a featured running back for several years, made a somewhat curious pick in drafting Texas Christian FB George Layne. Layne spent most of his college career blocking for LaDainian Tomlinson, but he has just above-average skills and needs to improve his blocking. The one possible explanation for the Chiefs’ choice of Layne is that he is a good pass catcher out of the backfield, and Dick Vermeil’s offensive schemes tend to include lots of passes to his backs.

Not quite as unusual as the selection of three South Florida players with consecutive picks was the fact that two Northern Illinois players were drafted in Round Four. Indianapolis tabbed Huskies OG Ryan Diem, and he could challenge ORG Larry Moore for a starting job. Meanwhile, Tennessee selected NIU WR Justin McCareins, who could be a valuable addition to a WR corps that has Kevin Dyson coming back from a knee injury and Chris Sanders still trying to live up to his potential, leaving Derrick Mason as their only top wideout they can count on for consistent production in 2001.

California’s Nick Harris became the first punter selected, when Denver grabbed him with the 120^th pick. The Broncos’ returning punter, Tom Rouen, is coming off a down year, so expect Harris to give him a serious challenge for a roster spot.

Besides Weinke, two other quarterbacks were drafted in this round, Sage Rosenfels by Washington and Jesse Palmer by the Giants. Rosenfels is considered to have poor throwing mechanics, but the Redskins figure they can be patient because they have Jeff George at the helm now. Palmer will try to win the No. 3 QB job with the Giants behind Kerry Collins and Jason Garrett.

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