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As advertised Rogers' size, speed may shake up draft's first few picksPosted: Tuesday March 18, 2003 6:49 PMEAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Twenty-eight NFL teams saw in person Tuesday what they've seen on tape: Charles Rogers is very fast and extremely talented. The Michigan State star receiver, expected to be one of the top few selections in the draft next month, ran the 40-yard dash, pass routes, caught passes and had his vertical and broad jump measured. Coaches from teams with the top three picks -- Cincinnati, Detroit and Houston -- were in attendance with stop watches and clipboards. "It was just more of a confirmation of what we already knew he could do," said Sheldon White, Lions director of pro personnel. "He ran exceptionally fast for a taller receiver. He doesn't catch every ball, but who cares?" A team can overlook a bobble here or a drop there because Rogers, who is 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, was timed in the 40 between 4.26 and 4.33 seconds. He had a vertical leap of 37 inches and cleared over 10 feet in the broad jump. Tony Softli, Carolina's director of college scouting, watched Rogers work out even though he believes there's no chance Rogers will be available when the Panthers pick ninth overall. "He's a superb athlete who has all the tools you're looking for -- "height, weight, speed and athleticism," Softli said. The Bengals have the first pick and are believed interested in taking a quarterback or trading the choice. If a team wants Rogers, it will likely have to make a trade with Cincinnati, because Detroit appears a certainty to grab him in the second spot. The Lions desperately need to put talent around quarterback Joey Harrington, last year's third overall selection. Kevin Poston, Rogers' agent, said he wouldn't be surprised if a team traded with the Bengals to take Rogers. "There have been conversations about that, because I think Charles Rogers is the best athlete in the draft," Poston said. The last receiver to be picked first overall was Keyshawn Johnson by the New York Jets in 1996. "I'm not picky or greedy about when I get picked because I know I'm in a great situation," said Rogers, who thinks he will be taken second or third overall. Rogers, who caught a school-record 68 passes for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns for Michigan State last season, decided to skip his senior season to enter the draft. He set NCAA and Big Ten records by catching TD passes in 13 straight regular-season games and 14 consecutive games overall. In just two seasons, Rogers made his mark in Michigan State's record books, which is not easy to do because Andre Rison, Plaxico Burress and Muhsin Muhammad were Spartans receivers. Rogers set records with 27 TDs and 12 100-yard receiving games and finished second with 2,821 yards receiving. Rogers and Burress, whom Pittsburgh drafted eighth overall in 2000, are the only receivers in school history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. "Charles Rogers is a better receiver right now than I ever was in college," Burress said in August. "I can't believe how good he is." |
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