First line of defense

Top-flight defensive tackles a premium in '02 draft

Last year, the top four defensive tackle prospects in the NFL Draft were gone by the 13th pick. With about a dozen teams considering taking a tackle in the first round, the top tackles this year could disappear off the board even faster. Right about now, as teams begin their mock draft process, they're starting to realize that they may have to move up to get their guy.

The good news is that two quarterbacks, David Carr and Joey Harrington, defensive end Julius Peppers and offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie likely will be the first four picks. Once San Diego goes on the clock with the fifth pick, though, the run on defensive tackles will be on.

If teams picking between Nos. 5-13 and like any one of the top tier tackles -- Tennessee teammates Albert Haynesworth and John Henderson, Wisconsin's Wendell Bryant and North Carolina's Ryan Sims -- there's a good chance they can stay put and wind up with one of them.

But many of the most heated discussions at this week's owners meetings in Orlando involved jockeying for better draft position in order to take a top tackle.

The Chargers lost John Parrella to Oakland in free agency but replaced him with former Titan Jason Fisk, so they could be looking at an offensive tackle and may be willing to move down. San Diego GM John Butler knows that makes him the gate-keeper for the defensive tackle stampede, considering that Minnesota at 7, Kansas City at 8, Jacksonville at 9, Indianapolis at 11, and Arizona at 12 all need one in the worst way.

New Colts head coach Tony Dungy built his Bucs defense around DT Warren Sapp, and Indianapolis can't afford to miss getting a Sapp clone in this draft. GM Bill Polian is a master of draft-day trades and should always be considered a player in discussions of pre-draft shuffling.

Two months ago, the Cardinals had to figure one of the tackles would be there at 12, but Jacksonville lost both starting tackles in the expansion draft. Then again, the Jaguars are rumored to be shopping their spot, and with their cap problems moving down is a real good idea. The Saints lost La'Roi Glover during free agency and could be enticed. The Raiders have multiple first-round selections and even though they acquired Parrella, Darrell Russell can't be counted on for next season, and Grady Jackson is a free agent (not to mention overweight).

If teams fail to land one of the big four, reaching for a player with a second-round grade late in the first round is a realistic possibility. The Steelers did this last year when they took Casey Hampton with the 19th pick. So did St. Louis, grabbing Ryan Pickett at 29 -- their second tackle selection of the first round. Hampton was a success, and Pickett improved as the year went on, though he didn't start any games for the Rams.

This year those teams could be the Redskins at 18, the Jets at 22, the Ravens at 24 and Green Bay at 28. They're all too far from the top spots to move up and none of them pick again before No. 52. They might consider reaching for Notre Dame's Anthony Weaver, Washington's Larry Triplett and possibly Alabama-Birmingham's Eddie Freeman.

With seven potential immediate impact players, the 2002 draft class is widely considered a good year for defensive tackles. But there are going to be several teams left out of the gold rush. For them, this good draft just won't be good enough.

Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNNSI.com.

 

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