Tribune pro football writer Don Pierson analyzes the first round:
%% DRAFT ORDER PLAYER, POS. SCHOOL COMMENTS
1. Cleveland Courtney Brown DE. Penn State
Perfect fit for perfect prospect
2. Washington** LaVar Arrington LB Penn State
Thanks to Saints, Redskins in heaven
3. Washington**, Chris Samuels, OT, Alabama
Counting heavily on rookie left tackle
4. Cincinnati Peter Warrick WR Florida State
Instant offense for crummy team
5. Baltimore** Jamal Lewis RB Tennessee
A gamebreaker if knee holds up
6. Philadelphia Corey Simon DT Florida State
Bears almost traded up for Burress
7. Arizona Thomas Jones RB Virginia
Rated ahead of Lewis by Bears and others
8. Pittsburgh Plaxico Burress WR Michigan State
Steelers made decision for Bears
9. BEARS Brian Urlacher LB New Mexico
They said it was close with Burress
10. Baltimore** Travis Taylor WR Florida
Ravens hit both of their targets
11. New York Giants Ron Dayne RB Wisconsin
Giants love giant Big 10 runners
12. New York Jets** Shaun Ellis DE Tennessee
Couldn’t move up, so improved defense
13. New York Jets ** John Abraham LB South Carolina
A speed rusher to complement Ellis
14. Green Bay Bubba Franks TE Miami
Favre gets big target in middle of field
15. Denver** Deltha O’Neal DB California
Big-play man will replace Dale Carter
16. San Francisco** Julian Peterson LB Michigan State
Pass rusher starts rebuilding process
17. Oakland Sebastian Janikowski PK Florida State
Al Davis remembers punter Ray Guy
18. New York Jets Chad Pennington QB Marshall
Best QB in draft insurance for Testaverde
19. Seattle** Shaun Alexander RB Alabama
Holmgren rebuilds from ground up.
20. Detroit Stockar McDougle OT Oklahoma
Huge at 350 and still might play guard
21. Kansas City Sylvester Morris WR Jackson State
Big receiver complements running team
22. Seattle Chris McIntosh OT Wisconsin
Will move to right tackle and start now
23. Carolina** Rashard Anderson CB Jackson State
A big corner who lacks speed, polish
24. San Francisco** Ahmed Plummer CB Ohio State
They needed to get two starting corners
25. Minnesota Chris Hovan DT Boston College
Finally, help for neglected defense
26. Buffalo Erik Flowers DE Arizona State
Please, not the next Bruce Smith
27. New York Jets** Anthony Becht TE West Virginia
Can he replace Keyshawn in offense?
28. Indianapolis Rob Morris MLB Brigham Young
Defense desperately needed linebackers
29. Jacksonville R. Jay Soward WR USC
Another weapon for high-scoring team
30. Tennessee Keith Bulluck LB Syracuse
What if this sacker is another Kearse?
31. St. Louis Trung Canidate RB Arizona
Just what they need, more offense.
%%
**–First-round trades before the draft
Washington acquired No. 2 pick from New Orleans in 1999 when Saints drafted Ricky Williams. Washington acquired No. 3 pick from San Francisco in 2000 for 12th and 24th picks. Baltimore acquired No. 5 pick from Atlanta in 1999 when Falcons drafted Reggie Kelly. New York Jets acquired No. 16 pick from New England in 2000 when coach Bill Belichick joined Patriots. Seattle acquired No. 19 pick from Dallas in 2000 when Joey Galloway signed with Cowboys Carolina acquired No. 23 pick from Miami in 1999 when Dolphins drafted Patrick Surtain. New York Jets acquired Nos. 13 and 27 from Tampa Bay in 2000 for Keyshawn Johnson. Bucs acquired No. 13 from San Diego in 1998 when Chargers drafted Mikheal Ricks. Baltimore acquired No. 10 from Denver for No. 15 and No. 45 in second round in 2000. New York Jets acquired No. 12 from San Francisco for No. 16 and No. 48 in second round in 2000.
