Mel Kiper's assessment: Everyone knows about QB David Carr as the No. 1 pick. With Troy Aikman-like accuracy and arm, Carr could be a franchise quarterback. Instead of WR Jabar Gaffney in the second round, I would have taken either Antonio Bryant or Josh Reed. As a Florida receiver, Gaffney must prove he can play at a high level in the NFL. So far Florida receivers are 0-for-5 under former coach Steve Spurrier. OT Chester Pitts was a reach in the second round. Fred Weary can play either guard or center. DT Charles Hill is another reach player. RB Jonathan Wells was a nice addition to start the fourth round. FB Jarrod Walker and DB Ramon Walker were solid fifth-round choices. DB DeMarcus Faggins lacked consistency, but he had decent workouts. DT Howard Green is a stay-at-home clogger in the sixth round. DE Greg White has a chance as situational pass rusher. DT Ahmad Miller, this year's Mr. Irrelevant, is a possibility as a backup. Grade: C Len Pasquarelli's assessment: They had a plethora of picks and, for the most part, used them wisely. General manager Charley Casserly isn't a gambler by nature and so, in his first draft for the expansion team, he wasn't about to become Diamond Jim Brady. It appeared the club followed its draft board religiously and, why not, given Casserly and one of the NFL's biggest scouting staffs had more than a year to prepare for this lottery. Every pick was solid down the line, but we especially liked the choices of wide receiver Jabar Gaffney (No. 2a), center Fred Weary (No. 3a), tailback Jonathan Wells (No. 4) and safety Ramon Walker (No. 5b). Don't be surprised if Wells is a starter by the second half of the 2002 season. Grade: B-plus
Titans Grades Mel Kiper's Assessment: DT Albert Haynesworth is a roll-the-dice pick. He could be a boom or a bust. He needs to gain sustained intensity and improve his technique to take advantage of his incredible athleticism at 6-foot-6, 320 pounds. He's a gamble on greatness, but the Titans needed a defensive tackle after losing Jason Fisk in free agency. DB Tank Williams is an in-the-box, rugged safety who acts as an extension of the linebacking corps. The question is how he will transition in coverage. LB Rocky Calmus was a great college player who must answer questions. Will he be engulfed by the NFL's massive offensive linemen? Will he hold up in pass coverage? As a productive player, Calmus could work his way onto the field. Don't count him out; he's not a bad third-round pick. He has a Chris Spielman mentality. CB Mike Echols isn't going to wow anyone with physical ability, but he's a playmaker with the pads on and is instinctive. CB Tony Beckham has athletic ability, but he isn't ready to handle coverages at the pro level. LB Rocky Boiman and WR Jake Schifino are both reaches. OG Jason Hartwig went where he was projected, as did WR Darrell Hill and DE Carlos Hall. Their late-round picks were all average. Grade: C Len Pasquarelli's Assessment: They had a plethora of picks and, for the most part, used them wisely. General manager Charley Casserly isn't a gambler by nature and so, in his first draft for the expansion team, he wasn't about to become Diamond Jim Brady. It appeared the club followed its draft board religiously and, why not, given Casserly and one of the NFL's biggest scouting staffs had more than a year to prepare for this lottery. Every pick was solid down the line, but we especially liked the choices of wide receiver Jabar Gaffney (No. 2a), center Fred Weary (No. 3a), tailback Jonathan Wells (No. 4) and safety Ramon Walker (No. 5b). Don't be surprised if Wells is a starter by the second half of the 2002 season. Grade: B-plus.
I can't wait until the Titans come back to town!!! They'll probablly kick our new team's ass (for the first few years anyways) but it's going to be fun booing the hell out of them. We can finally let Bud Adams know what a low-down, no-good, prison b**** he is!!!
I am not sure about the Gaffney pick or the Wells pick to surround Carr with talent. Picking Gaffney over Reed is a tough call. I don't agree with Kiper's take that Florida receivers are nothing special however. That is more coincidence than anything, plus the guy playing with the Giants is a solid pro player. Also, I think Travis Stevens and Davenport have a greater upside than Wells and were on the board. But then again Wells could become the next Priest Holmes--a less than spectacular college player who because a fine pro because of his versitility. It will be interesting to see.
Ummm...the TITANS as a cohesive unit of players did NOT have a part in the team moving to Tennessee. That was a...say it with me...."management decision." Do I like Bud Adams? No, because he took my favorite team away from Houston. But you can change the uni's and the name all you want, the Titans are still my team. The players are the same, and the team getting out of a hellhole of fairweather fans did nothing but help once they got settled down. The fact that you think it's silly that people still like the titans speaks volumes about your typical posts. I swear to god i could post that water was wet, and you'd try to convince me otherwise....
I agree Travis Stephens may have been a better pick at RB, but I guess the Texans wanted someone that could take a lot of hits his first few years and be sturdy. Jonathan Wells is big, 240, and can probably withstand 16 games injury-free, they hope. I think I may have taken Josh Reed ahead of Gaffney, too. That's a toss up. I would have drafted his quarterback at LSU, Rohan Davey. I never understood why he wasn't rated higher- 4th round?
i disagree. reed's smallish and not exceptionally fast -- he projects to be a possesion-type WR, something the texans likely already have in corey bradford. gaffney's a game breaker; a big, physical WR who also happens to be a terrific route runner, and that shouldn't be underestimated when you're trying to break in a young QB. gaffney's also less experienced but every bit as productive as reed, and because of that, i think the texans see a bigger upside. maybe... but don't forget davenport's been hurt quite a bit; he reminds me a lot of alonzo highsmith -- great physical talent who's always hurt and never able to put it all together. in wells, the texans see a highly-touted kid who struggled early at OSU and then, at last, blossomed as a senior. they're gambling 2001 was the beginning and not a abberation. plus, i think he reminds casserly a lot of stephen davis.
The person with whom Gaffney seems to match up with is Antonio Bryant. How do you think he matches up with / is better than him, Ric?
i'm not sure bryant does match-up with gaffney. iirc, 11 WRs went before antonio bryant, and 5 of those were taken post gaffney; i mean, bryant came this close to falling into the third round... obviously quite a few people besides casserly had their doubts about him. bryant, i think, hurt himself coming out early; he was never healthy this year and didn't do enough to make people forget he's been a major problem for walt harris. i think that uncertainity bothered the texans, who felt gaffney's upside was more attainable. obviously, a lot of WRs have exceled at florida, but few did so their freshman year; gaffney seems to be kind of special.
Respectfully, Ric, Bradford is known as anything but a posession reciever. Bradford is consistantly refered to as 'sideline burner', 'erratic', and there were even several refrences specifically to 'bad hands'.
yeah, i guess he's faster than i thought -- somewhere, i could've sworn i read he wasn't game-breaker fast. apparently, he runs a sub 4.5, or did in college, prior to all the injuries. maybe it was watching him run at muddy, sloppy lambeau field that clouded my judgement... still would taken gaffney over reed. and bryant.
ill tell you why i dont like the titans... when they won that dumb game against buffalo, with the lateral and what not, they interviewed Jeff Fischer after the game... he said something to the effect of "Yeah this is great. the city of Nashville, (or whereever the hell they play), has been waiting a long time for this." what?? theyve had the team for about 2 seasons. what about houston? going through millions of choking losing dissappointing seasons. only to see the fruit of all that pain, the glory given to another city in another state. they reap all the benefits. it doesnt matter if it was a management decision. the uniform says tennessee on it. everything the houston oilers went through, all the draft picks and disappointmenting seasons that made them a good team eventually, all of that was for the city of nashville tennessee, (or wherever the hell they play) if you live in houston. and are a football fan. and have any sort of city pride. you absolutely cannot root for the titans and get away with it. because its all for the glory of nashville, they dont give a damn about you.
i wonder is kiper is holding his pool pocket partner joey harrington accountable for akili smith's failures in the nfl? unreal what these guys come up with sometimes...
I like Gaffney, no real problem with the pick, but I think you are underestimating Reed. Reed is just as fast and quick as Gaffney, and is stronger and tougher to bring down (Gaffney is physical, but I would say Reed is even more so). Reed also has only played WR for 2 years (less experience than Gaffney), so his progress in becoming an all-around receiver is remarkable and I would say his upside is huge because of this. It will be interesting to watch both guys develop, I hope they both do well. BTW- I think Kiper's assertion that Florida receivers are 0-5 is stupid. Ike Hillard is the best WR on his team. Trends based on how a few players at a position at one school turn out to be pros makes a good storyline but is completely baseless way to evaluate talent IMO. To me the dumb WR pick was Walker by GB. The guy has physical tools but is no where near the natural receiver as either of the above two guys IMO. Field smarts count for something. The Texans could have had Foster and Bryant (or possibly Andre Davis would have then slipped to them as well) instead of Gaffney/Reed plus Pitts. I hope the Pitts fellow works out at tackle.
