The QB rush is on
Posted: Friday February 19, 1999 09:06 PM
There's an excellent group of quarterbacks available in this draft. But the teams evaluating them at this weekend's combine have changed drastically. This week Philadelphia and St. Louis went out and signed free-agent quarterbacks and Washington traded with Minnesota for Brad Johnson.
The Eagles and Rams both pick ahead of Chicago, which may now get the first crack at Syracuse's Donovan McNabb. McNabb was projected as a third-round pick earlier this season but now he has proven that he's not just an option quarterback and his stock is rising. Baltimore lost out on the Brad Johnson bidding and must now go to the draft for a quarterback.
The Ravens will take a close look at Central Florida's Daunte Culpepper. Minnesota lost Johnson, an insurance policy for 35-year-old Randall Cunningham, so the Vikings may use the 11th pick in the draft on Oregon's Akili Smith as their quarterback of the future. So assuming Tim Couch goes to Cleveland, four quarterbacks should be taken in the first 11 picks.
The Eagles and Rams have their quarterbacks so they will target the two top running backs. Ricky Williams will go no lower than No. 2 and Miami's Edgerrin James should be a Top 10 pick. Robert Edwards' injury forces New England to hope a running back is available at No. 20. The Patriots will hope to choose from Michigan State's Sedrick Irvin, LSU's Kevin Faulk and West Virginia's Amos Zereoue.
During a weekend when players don't have to play one down of football to move up in the NFL draft, look for players like West Virginia outside linebacker Gary Stills or Boston College running back Mike Cloud to improve their lot because of their ability to run good 40-yard dashes.
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