Pro Football Weekly and Riddell present ...
2002 NFL draft
Draft rumors
Health concerns may dictate Lewis’ draft prospects
By Joel Buchsbaum, Contributing editor
April 12, 2002
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| ProFootballWeekly.com personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum reports on some of
the hottest rumors floating around the league with the NFL draft looming on April 20-21.  Colorado’s fine
safety Michael Lewis apparently has a minor heart rhythm abnormality, according to
his agent, Rodney Williams. Williams noted that other athletes who have
been diagnosed with the same condition have played through it. Rumors still persist that
Lewis may need surgery. The chances are he may be drafted lower than people expected
before this condition was detected.
Although they
will probably still go for a defensive lineman, the Chiefs are also very serious about
taking QB Joey Harrington of Oregon.
Apparently,
the Jets now have a great deal of interest in Miami CB Mike Rumph, who fits their
scheme well. One consideration in whether or not they draft him will be the status of
their efforts to sign former Tampa Bay CB Donnie Abraham.
The Saints are
supposedly very interested in Pittsburgh WR Antonio Bryant with their second
first-round pick but are not likely to take a wide receiver with their first pick,
reserving that pick for a defensive lineman, preferably a defensive end. Don’t be
surprised if they take DE Charles Grant of Georgia with that pick.
Apparently, if
Texas CB Quentin Jammer is not there at No. 6, Dallas is leaning toward selecting
Tennessee DT Albert Haynesworth.
Jacksonville
is apparently leaning toward a defensive lineman, as is Indianapolis and Arizona, so you
could see a tremendous run on defensive linemen. In fact, in the first 13 picks of this
draft, you could end up seeing six defensive linemen go, pretty much wiping out the upper
echelon of the DL prospects.
The one player
who does appear to be falling is South Carolina DE Kalimba Edwards of South
Carolina. Another player whose stock seems to have dipped is RB William Green of
Boston College. On the other hand, obviously those defensive linemen’s stock has gone
up.
Although
Tennessee WR Donté Stallworth has had top workouts and is rated very high on most
teams’ boards, he could last a little longer because of the position he plays. The
same may apply to Oklahoma S Roy Williams.
To April 10 "Draft rumors" |
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