Looking for the next Rice and Montana
NFL's future stars draw comparisons to past football greats
Posted: Sun April 19, 1998 at 5:30 PM ET
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With luck, Michigan's Griese can learn under John Elway for a year and then take over the Broncos offense
(AP)
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PHOENIX (CNN/SI) -- Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King checked in with CNN/SI anchors Chris Rose and Steve Berthiaume on Sunday morning to talk about the first day of the NFL Draft.
Chris Rose: Peter, were you surprised that Randy Moss tumbled that far and wasn't even the top receiver picked?
Peter King: Not surprised at all, but I think it was the perfect spot to get him in terms of the risk-reward ratio. What are the Vikings out if this guy craps out after two years? I think that the reward could be so great because this guy could be the Jerry Rice of the first decade of the next century.
Two things about Moss that I think people have to remember: first, he's going to be going to a place with a coach who will nurture him for at least one year and with a wide receiver, Cris Carter, who has been down the troubled road before and now, at 32, is one of the real elder statesmen of the NFL. I think the second thing to realize is that the Minnesota Vikings right now have got probably the best group of offensive weapons, if Robert Smith stays healthy and the quarterback Brad Johnson comes back from his herniated disk. In the NFC, this is a team to be reckoned with and a player to be reckoned with.
Steve Berthiaume: You're in Phoenix with the team that has really transformed itself this off-season with trades and the draft, Arizona. The Cardinals suddenly really maneuvered themselves into contenders here. With Jake Plummer, Arizona wasn't going to take a quarterback anyway, so they traded down with San Diego and still get Wadsworth. He can line up now with Simeon Rice and Eric Swann -- a lot of trouble. They use an extra second-rounder from the Chargers, trade to get Corey Chavous, and Adrian Murrell has come over from the Jets to run the ball. Peter, this is suddenly a very formidable team.
Peter King: I think everybody agrees now that the name of the game in the NFL is to disrupt the opponents' passing game, that it has become a huge factor in football. You talked earlier in this program about how important it is to have great defensive linemen. This team now has three $5 million to $7 million players on the defensive line: Andre Wadsworth, Simeon Rice on the outside and Eric Swann in the middle. This team right now has the best defensive line in football, even before Wadsworth plays a game. I think the one other thing to realize is this is a team that in the past has made a lot of mistakes, not only on draft day, but doing other things. And I think they knew when to hold them [this time]. They had a chance, several chances in the last 48 hours -- in fact Bob Ferguson, their vice President in charge of the draft, told me Friday that there was as much as a 40 percent chance -- that they would trade this pick. But I think cooler and smarter heads prevailed and they took the guy who will be the next few years' version of Bruce Smith.
SB: Let's talk about the draft's top pick -- just how ready is Peyton Manning to play in this league as a rookie, and is he really that much further along than Ryan Leaf?
PK: I think he's ready a lot more right now to start a game 20 weeks from today, which is what he is going to have to do against Miami on September 6. The one thing about Peyton Manning that all general managers in the league will tell you is very simple: the NFL road is littered with Heath Shuler, Rick Mirer, David Klingler and very high first-round picks who didn't make it. Why will Peyton Manning make it? He can take the pressure of being the No. 1 pick, he can take the pressure the teams are going to throw at him and he can take the incredible 300-page workload of a playbook, dissect it and be ready to go in 20 weeks.
CR: Peter, Peyton Manning is not the only one to follow in his dad's footsteps -- Brian Griese was picked by the Denver Broncos in Round 3. Can he make it at the next level?
PK: I think he can. He goes to the perfect place for him, in Denver, where Mike Shanahan, I think, is the perfect mentor-type to a guy who is going to have two or three years to learn. Remember this: late third-round pick 1979, Joe Montana; late third-round pick 1998, Brian Griese.
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