[CBFF] Plenty of noteworthy stores from the draft

[Tom Shannon]

May 2, 2007


Plenty of noteworthy stores from the draft
By Adam Schefter/NFL.com  
  

Leftovers sometimes can be tasty, especially when they come from a weekend's
draft notebook. 

* They despise him in Miami, but it's easy to understand why they love Nick
Saban in Alabama. LSU players were some of the most coveted ones in last
weekend's draft. Former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell and wide receivers
Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis all went in Round 1. It marked the first time
ever that one school had its quarterback and two wide receivers drafted in
the first round -- and those players, along with the rest of them picked
from LSU, were Saban recruits. This helps to explain why 92,000-plus showed
up about two weeks ago for Alabama's spring game. 
 
* Let's be clear about this: Miami might have made a mistake drafting wide
receiver Ted Ginn ahead of Brady Quinn, but it did not reach for him. Had
the Dolphins passed on Ginn, the Houston Texans very likely would have taken
Ginn one pick later at No. 10. Ginn was the player the Texans wanted. They
envisioned lining him up as the home-run threat opposite Pro Bowl wide
receiver Andre Johnson and giving them a pair of receivers that almost could
equal Indianapolis' Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. 

* These are the semi-six degrees of running back Marshawn Lynch. Had the
Bills not drafted him at No. 12, the Green Bay Packers absolutely would have
picked him at No. 16. And had the Packers picked Lynch at 16, then the
Denver Broncos probably would have been able to land Tennessee defensive
tackle Justin Harrell, the player they really wanted who wound up going to
Green Bay. And if the Broncos had Harrell, then they never would have traded
up to Jacksonville's spot at No. 17 to get Jarvis Moss, and he would have
been available later in the draft for another team, while the Jaguars
wouldn't have stockpiled all the draft picks they did. All because Lynch
went No. 12. 

* Very quietly, the Vikings drafted three wide receivers -- South Carolina's
Sidney Rice in Round 2, East Carolina's Aundrae Allison in Round 5 and
Florida International's Chandler Williams in Round 7. There's a little
message there and it's that former seventh-overall pick, wide receiver Troy
Williamson, might not make it out of training camp with Minnesota.
Williamson, of course, was the player acquired in the trade for wide
receiver Randy Moss. 

* Words you never guessed you'd read: The Raiders traded a third-round pick
for Florida State offensive tackle Mario Henderson and got back a
fourth-round pick for wide receiver Randy Moss. 

* More words you never guessed you'd read: Randy Moss got traded for
Cincinnati safety John Bowie. 

* Actually, the best thing the Raiders got in return for Moss was not the
fourth-round pick but the $7.7 million worth of cap room. They're going to
need it to sign Russell. 

* Despite all the speculation about their negotiations, the Raiders and
Russell made no significant progress in contract talks up to the draft.
Their only discussions consisted of basic introductions, each side
expressing it is looking forward to working with the other. But Russell
isn't any closer to signing now than he was at this time last week. Still,
it's worth pointing out: Russell's agents Eric Metz, Ethan Locke, Melvin
Bratton and Vance Malinovic have had four top 10 picks -- Vernon Davis,
Jordan Gross, Kevin Hardy and Joey Galloway -- and none was a rookie
holdout. 

* Once he started slip sliding away, Brady Quinn thought he would end up in
Baltimore. The Ravens were on the phone with him, telling him they intended
to draft him and as soon as Quinn hung up, thinking his future was in
Baltimore, the Browns completed a trade with the Cowboys and Quinn's future
was irretrievably altered. It marked the second straight year that a
quarterback in the Radio City Music Hall had unexpectedly dropped --
remember Matt Leinart? -- and landed in an ideal spot. 

* Quinn shouldn't feel too bad. He still went 177 spots ahead of Tom Brady. 

* When Baltimore drafted Heisman-trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith, it
sent the message that he's going to have the chance to become, at the very
least, the backup quarterback of the future. Former first-round draft choice
Kyle Boller is entering the last year of his contract and his job will be
within Smith's reach. The real prize would be the starting job down the
line. Steve McNair is 34 years old, and the Ravens need a quarterback of the
future. For now, Smith has a chance to vie for the job. 

* After years of having the worst offensive line in football, nobody has a
better left side than the Cleveland Browns. Third-overall pick Joe Thomas
will man left tackle, free-agent acquisition Eric Steinbach will man left
guard, and running back Jamal Lewis will run behind them all day. 

* New Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and his trusted assistant Russ Grimm
already have remade Arizona's offensive line. Last year's second-round pick,
right guard Deuce Letui, will be the only Cardinals offensive lineman that
starts in the same position this season that he did last season. First-round
pick Levi Brown will start at right tackle, free-agent signee Mike Gandy at
left tackle, free-agent signee Al Johnson at center and last year's left
tackle Reggie Wells at left guard. And keep this in mind: At right tackle,
Brown will be protecting the left-handed Matt Leinart's blind side. 

* Aliquippa, Pa., has produced such NFL standouts as tight end Mike Ditka,
running back Tony Dorsett and cornerback Ty Law. Don't be surprised to see
cornerback Darrelle Revis, the Jets' first-round pick, join that collection
of standouts. Law has befriended Revis and has been talking to him three
times a week. Nobody is better equipped to debrief Revis on what to expect
in New York, with Jets head coach Eric Mangini, than Law. Revis is poised to
become a standout. 

* The Broncos might as well be called the Denver Gators. Their defensive
line now will be predominantly Florida made. First-round draft pick Jarvis
Moss played at Florida, fourth-round pick Marcus Thomas played at Florida
and Denver's starting defensive tackle, Gerard Warren, played at Florida. 

* JaMarcus Russell can only hope he has a better year than other former No.
1 overall picks. This offseason alone, former No. 1 overall picks Keyshawn
Johnson, David Carr, Drew Bledsoe and Courtney Brown all have been released.
And former No. 1 overall pick Dan Wilkinson already has been traded. So it
has been great to be a "1" in the past. Just not now.