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Draft trifecta San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis will be the power teams
Updated: Thursday February 15, 2001 8:23 PM
The NFL Draft is still two months away, but there's no question who the three power teams will be come April 21: San Diego, with the top pick in the draft; Seattle, with the seventh and 10th picks; and St. Louis, which should have three first-rounders by the time commissioner Paul Tagliabue steps to the podium in New York. The Chargers aren't leaning either way with the top pick right now, though they have all but decided to dump the biggest bust in recent draft history, quarterback Ryan Leaf. San Diego general manager John Butler wants some team to blow him away with an offer for the pick and hopes the entrance of Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick into the field enriches the value for the No. 1 selection. Seattle could be that team. Head coach and football architect Mike Holmgren has told the Rams he wants to be in the Trent Green trading sweepstakes at the end. Holmgren is also interested in learning everything he can about NFL-ready quarterback Drew Brees from Purdue. And he still could trade up with San Diego if he decides he wants Vick. But he definitely won't deal both first-round picks for Green, and he doesn't want to deal both for Vick. This will be a cat-and-mouse game until the end. Meanwhile, the Rams are sitting pretty. Head coach Mike Martz knows he can get at least a first-round pick for Green -- he wants at least two high picks -- and he told me this week the level of interest in unhappy defensive end Kevin Carter has been surprisingly high. He thinks he will end up with more than a first-rounder for Carter, after the free-agent pass-rusher is franchised and then a deal is worked out with a rush-needy team. I say Oakland will be in the running before it's over, though the Raiders' late first-round status will hurt them. Buffalo did the right thing in paying through the nose -- about $6 million a year -- to keep wide receiver Eric Moulds. Why? One AFC scout told me this week the Bills have no offensive weapon remotely close to Moulds in his ability to break a game open. As the scout said, Moulds can turn every eight-yard cross into a Randy Moss -type home run. Buffalo has no one else to strike fear into a defense. Though the Moulds' signing will likely cost the Bills the services of valuable defensive players Ted Washington, Phil Hansen and John Holecek because of salary-cap constraints, this was easily the most vital of new GM Tom Donahoe's goals. Due to cap problems, owner Red McCombs said this week the Vikings will not get Moss' contract done this spring, as the all-world problem child wide receiver had hoped for. If I'm McCombs, I'm making Moss play the 2001 season under his current deal to show whether he's going to be the pouting and untouchable prima donna he showed so often in 2000 or whether he can finally demonstrate the work ethic he needs to complement his enormous talent. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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