| Finally. About noon ET on
Saturday, April 15, they’ll be hitting the beach for real.
Rumors with varying degrees of substance will continue to bombard the NFL landscape
like those machine-gun bullets in the opening battle scene of "Saving Private
Ryan."
And one by one, they will either be substantiated or quickly dismissed by NFL
commissioner Paul Tagliabue, as he officially introduces pro football’s newest rookie
crop to a national audience that appears to be more intrigued than usual by the
league’s annual April extravaganza.
Yeah, D-Day 2000 figures to be a lot of fun — in great part due to all the
behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing that has transpired the last few months.
It really started getting interesting back in late February in Indianapolis, where
Daniel Snyder, the Redskins’ high-energy owner, juiced up a rather bland NFL Scouting
Combine with the news that Washington had traded up to acquire the 49ers’ second
overall spot in the draft.
In an instant, Washington had secured the second and third picks in this year’s
draft. Initially, most people in the know figured the Skins wouldn’t hesitate to
select Penn State defensive dynamos Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington with those picks.
Right after the Browns made Florida State’s Peter Warrick the third wideout in
league history to be selected with the draft’s No. 1 overall pick, of course.
By mid-March, though, that scenario changed when Brown and Arrington turned in sterling
performances in private workouts at the Penn State campus on the same day Warrick slipped
up a tad in a private workout on the Florida State campus.
In an instant, Warrick was no longer the Browns’ no-brainer No. 1 pick, having
been replaced in the eyes of most experts by either Brown or Arrington.
Now, while most draftniks are automatically assuming Warrick will be the first wide
receiver taken Saturday (with the Bengals’ No. 4 pick), recent history suggests the
experts just might be thrown for a big-time loop.
Will the penny-pinching Bengals be able to sign Warrick? Or might they opt for someone
else who suddenly bursts through the high-round woodwork the same way RB Edgerrin James
catapulted over Heisman Trophy hotshot Ricky Williams last year?
Someone, maybe, such as Florida WR Travis Taylor, whose stock has quietly skyrocketed
behind the scenes?
Am I saying that’s going to happen? While I think it would be a grave mistake to
bypass Warrick — who I feel is the best pure offensive talent by far in this
year’s draft, regardless of his size-speed ratio — I’m certainly not ruling
it out.
Nor am I ruling out the following:
 Before
Saturday runs its course, look for as many as two high-profile players with either
franchise or transition tags to be traded. That doesn’t include Bengals RB Corey
Dillon, a restricted free agent who definitely seems to have worn out his welcome in
Cincy. It does include Jacksonville DE Tony Brackens, Arizona DE Simeon Rice, Detroit DE
Robert Porcher and perhaps even Washington RB Stephen Davis, despite the claims of his
agent, Steve Weinberg, that Snyder is determined to reward Davis with the
megamillion-dollar contract he so richly deserves.
Before
Saturday runs its course, Florida State’s Sebastian Janikowski will be the first
kicker since Russell Erxleben to be selected in the first round — either by the Rams
with the 31st pick or the Bears, who will trade into one of the last five spots
in the first round to nab him. I know this flies in the face of the standard belief that
you just don’t pay so high a price for a lowly kicker. But I also know that with
parity leveling the playing field the way it has, a kicker such as Janikowski could make
the difference between victory and defeat in 3-4 games. Convention be damned.
Before
Saturday runs its course, wily Bill Parcells will definitely have used at least one of
those record four first-round picks the Jets have obtained to acquire a proven NFL talent
(Rice maybe?). While youth certainly springs eternal, Parcells and the Jets badly need
some veteran firepower and leadership to replace what Keyshawn Johnson brought to the
table.
I believe a lot more strange and wonderful things could happen, but my brain is
starting to short-circuit.
So with no apologies whatsoever to the aforementioned Keyshawn …
just give me the damn draft. |
