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Seminole draft for receivers
Posted: Tuesday April 11, 2000 12:40 PM
Penn State may produce the top two players in the draft, but Florida State could deliver three first-round picks at the same position. The draft is deep at wide receiver, thanks largely to the Seminoles' contributions. Peter Warrick is still being considered by some experts as the top overall pick, but his subpar 4.6 40 during his individual workout was a setback. He'll be an impact player, but without great speed or size, it's hard to consider Warrick the No. 1 player in the draft. Ron Dugans may be the top slot receiver available, which means he can step right into third-down packages and may even be good enough to start for teams using three-receiver sets. Laveranues Coles may drop because of concerns about his off-the-field behavior, but he's been clocked at 4.3 -- and that makes him worth the risk in the eyes of some teams. Who a team picks depends on who is doing the picking -- personnel directors are enticed by the measurable statistics, while head coaches are more concerned with character. That could determine whether a team prefers a prospect like Plaxico Burress, a tall, athletic receiver who one coach told me will be a perfect red-zone target like Keyshawn Johnson. But he doesn't play hard every down. Or whether they like Travis Taylor, perhaps the safest pick in a draft full of unsafe receivers. Taylor is a mature kid, he catches well and understands his routes, and his stock has skyrocketed of late. Scouts also love Jackson State's Sylvester Morris, and one guy who has helped himself considerably in the offseason is Todd Pinkston. I asked five coaches to pick a player who they like now but who wasn't even on their radar screen before the Senior Bowl -- three of them mentioned Pinkston. Though this draft is deep at the receiver position, don't expect the kind of impact players that came out in 1996: Johnson, Terry Glenn and Marvin Harrison. More likely this draft will produce a lot of productive players who will be No. 2 receivers at the NFL level. Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years in the NFL as a coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer.
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