First-round NFL draft choices aren’t what they used to be. With the 29th pick in the April 20 draft, the Bears are so far down the talent totem pole they don’t even bother to look up.
Director of college scouting Greg Gabriel admits the Bears aren’t paying attention to players like Julius Peppers or Bryant McKinnie or Joey Harrington. A top-10 pick might fall, but never all the way down to No. 29. Randy Moss, the most celebrated fall guy of our time, dropped only to No. 21.
Only eight years ago, before the addition of four expansion teams, a No. 29 pick led off the second round.
In 1965, when the Bears drafted Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus in the first round and watched other first-rounders Joe Namath, Donny Anderson, Ken Willard and Mike Curtis, the No. 29 pick would have led off the third round. It was a 14-team NFL in those days.
So the Bears must rationalize their position, the price of their unexpected 13-3 season. Blake Brockermeyer, the left tackle they released last week and hope to re-sign, was a 29th pick, the first No. 1 pick taken that low when the league expanded from 28 to 30 teams in 1995. He was the third No. 1 pick of the Carolina Panthers that year.
In the six years since, the 29th pick has been a disaster in waiting. Bears general manager Jerry Angelo takes notice and is approaching his chances with caution.
Pittsburgh drafted tackle Jamain Stephens, now a Cincinnati backup. New England took cornerback Chris Canty, now out of the league. Miami selected running back John Avery, who played for Chicago in the XFL. Minnesota got stuck with defensive lineman Dimitrious Underwood, who has bounced from Miami to Dallas under psychiatric care. Jacksonville drafted receiver R. Jay Soward, suspended for drug abuse. St. Louis got backup defensive line help from underclassman Ryan Pickett.
Angelo said he will tolerate no mistakes on character, one of the few variables over which a team has some knowledge and control. Angelo has suggested that taking a chance on such players as ex-Bears first-rounder Curtis Enis or seventh-rounder John Capel will not happen under his watch.
At the same time, taking a chance on a good football player who happens to be a tad small or slow is one of the advantages of drafting low. Last year’s second-round choice, Anthony Thomas, was the 38th pick, the offensive rookie of the year and a serious miss by teams who passed him up.
Angelo’s obvious task is to find the Neal Anderson (27th), William Perry (21st), Mike Hartenstine (31st), Mike Singletary (38th), Matt Suhey (46th), Mike Brown (39th), Tony Parrish (35th) or Bobby Engram (52nd) and avoid the Russell Davis (48th), John Allred (38th), Pat Riley (52nd), Marcus Spears (39th), Carl Simpson (35th) and Troy Auzenne (49th).
The failure of second-round picks from the late 1980s (Vestee Jackson, Ron Morris, Dante Jones, John Roper) and into the ’90s is as responsible for the Bears’ failures of recent years as their more publicized first-round mistakes Stan Thomas, Alonzo Spellman, Rashaan Salaam, Enis and Cade McNown. Likewise, the success of second-round picks Parrish, Brown and Thomas had as much or more to do with last year’s success as first-rounders Walt Harris, Brian Urlacher and David Terrell.
Angelo believes the success of later picks is not entirely coincidental.
“In the first round, you’re always looking at the ceiling–what a player could be,” Angelo said. “Later, you’re looking at floors. You’re looking at production and good football players. It’s where you really see good scouting.”
At worst, for example, Singletary was going to be a hard-hitting, hard-working, hard-studying football player who happened to be short. Anthony Thomas was going to be a hard-running, between-the-tackles, low-risk producer who wasn’t as fast as Wisconsin’s Michael Bennett.
“You look at last year’s draft and the second round outweighs the quality of the first round,” Angelo said.
Starting with Thomas’ contribution, second-rounders indeed contributed as much or more than first-rounders in many cases. In Miami, receiver Chris Chambers earned some offensive rookie-of-the-year honors and made more of an impact than first-round cornerback Jamar Fletcher. In Pittsburgh, linebacker Kendrell Bell was defensive rookie of the year and was more visible than first-round teammate Casey Hampton.
Overall, 31 second-rounders started 210 games while the 31 first-rounders started 263, and second-rounders made a sweep of honors.
Low first-round picks and second-round picks usually dedicate their careers to proving doubters wrong. Moss vowed to embarrass every team that passed on him. Singletary carried a chip on his shoulder all the way to the Hall of Fame. Thomas thought for sure he was a better back than Bennett, who went to Minnesota in the first round and gained 682 yards with a long of 31 compared with Thomas’ 1,183 yards with a long of 46.
One player who likely will be available when the Bears pick is Syracuse pass rusher Dwight Freeney, short at 6 feet 1 inch and a bit light at 260. He had 17 1/2 sacks last season. He said the Bears sounded “very interested” during interviews at the March scouting combine in Indianapolis.
“Hopefully, I can add some pass rush to their defense,” Freeney said.
Freeney is not short on philosophy. On his stature, he says: “I look at that and say, `You know, that’s all right.’ I’m a little bit lower to the ground and that’s better because I’m not going to be picked up and thrown around because someone has to get under me to do that. If I can get good leverage–and I’m always low to the ground anyway–I’ll be all right.”
In Angelo’s 14 years overseeing Tampa Bay’s scouting department, the Bucs didn’t impress anyone with their drafts until the last seven years after Rich McKay took over as general manager and ended the chaotic organization driven by coaches Ray Perkins, Richard Williamson and Sam Wyche.
In 1995, with the 25th pick, the Bucs took undersized linebacker Derrick Brooks, who’s now a perennial All-Pro. In 1996, the Bucs got running back Mike Alstott in the second round and cornerback Donnie Abraham in the third. In 1997, they took offensive tackle Jerry Wunsch in the second round and cornerback Ronde Barber in the third. In 1998, they took receiver Jacquez Green and cornerback Brian Kelly in the second round and linebacker Jamie Duncan in the third. In 1999, they got quarterback Shaun King in the second round and kicker Martin Gramatica in the third. In 2000, they got guard Cosey Coleman in the second round and linebacker Nate Webster in the third.
Every one of those picks contributed significantly to the Bucs’ four playoff teams in the last five years. Their only mistake was their failure to reach a Super Bowl. The record got Angelo a promotion to Chicago, where he will be pulling the trigger on draft day for the first time.
Early entries
PLAYER P YR SCHOOL
Terreal Bierria S Jr. Georgia
Antonio Bryant WR Jr. Pittsburgh
Phillip Buchanon CB Jr. Miami
Joe Burns RB Jr. Georgia Tech
Reche Caldwell WR Jr. Florida
T.J. Duckett RB Jr. Michigan St.
Trev Faulk LB Jr. LSU
Toniu Fonoti G Jr. Nebraska
Jabar Gaffney WR So. Florida
Charles Grant DE Jr. Georgia
William Green RB Jr. Boston Col.
Al Haynesworth DT Jr. Tennessee
Gary Hobbs T Jr. Arkansas
Dennis Johnson DE Jr. Kentucky
Ryan Johnson WR So. Memphis
Michael Josiah DE Jr. Louisville
Ashley Lelie WR Jr. Hawaii
Tavon Mason WR Jr. Virginia
Mike Pearson T Jr. Florida
Julius Peppers DE Jr. N. Carolina
Clinton Portis RB Jr. Miami
Saleem Rasheed LB Jr. Alabama
Tellis Redmon RB Jr. Minnesota
Josh Reed WR Jr. LSU
Derek Ross CB Jr. Ohio State
Darnell Sanders TE Jr. Ohio State
Lito Sheppard CB Jr. Florida
Jeremy Shockey TE Jr. Miami
Bobby Sippio DB Jr. Western Ky.
Akil Smith T Jr. Clemson
Derek Smith TE Jr. Kentucky
Bo Springfield DB Jr. TCU
Luke Staley RB Jr. BYU
Dontae Stallworth WR Jr. Tennessee
Jerramy Stevens TE Jr. Washington
Glenn Sumter DB Jr. Memphis
Ramon Walker S Jr. Pittsburgh
Roy Williams S Jr. Oklahoma
(Chicagoland edition Sports section, Page 13).
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