Picking Up the Pace: The 1997 NFL Draft

It's a beautiful time for football fans, late April. In the midst of the wasteland, the vast gulf between January and August, the NFL Draft comes like a refreshing spring shower. Or, in Boston's case, a blizzard.

Today, every team and every fan is filled with hope. The future of the franchise may hang in the balance as team officials in New York talk to the coaches and general managers barricaded in the "war-rooms" back home.

The coaches come out to talk to ESPN reporters then duck back hurriedly like frightened rats. They don't want to miss a single trade offer. Even worse, another team might be totally screwing up their mock draft at that moment by picking someone they hoped would be there later.

If you're like me, you have to take this week not only to get ready but also to work out. Because I'm going to do what I do every year--sit down in front of a TV and watch the first round. All seven hours. Not only do you have to flatten your derriere (I recommend "Buns of Steel") so you can sit for extended periods of time, you'll also be eating seven hours worth of junk food.

But like so many bags of chips, the time will all fly by, because you know these teams are determining the future of the world (football) for the next few years.

So if you've been studying for trivialities like midterms, writing papers, or just plain not paying attention, here's a guide which should get you through the first round of the draft. I added some trades which I thought could happen just to spice things up.

1. St. Louis Rams (from New York Jets): Orlando Pace, OT, Ohio State (pictured to the right). Bill Parcells lets new Rams coach Dick Vermeil get the best player in the draft because Parcells needs a lot of picks this year. Vermeil loves Pace.

Who blames him? He's big, quick and strong. He'll be protecting QB Tony Banks's backside for a number of years and be opening holes as long as RB Lawrence Phillips keeps getting weekend furloughs.

2. Detroit Lions (from Oakland Raiders): Shawn Springs, CB, Ohio State. The Lions fill a major need with this great cover corner. He ran 4.4 flat at the combine and can jump over 40 inches. I don't like him as much as Bryant Westbrook because he can't bring a load against the run like Westbrook.

3. Seattle Seahawks: Darrell Russell, DT, USC. He's a better value here than he would have been as the number one overall pick, which he would have been if the Jets had taken him. He can really collapse a pocket but can also disappear with alarming frequency. He'll be another very high defensive lineman pick who never lives up to expectations. The club of Sean Gilbert, Dan Wilkinson, and Eric Swann gets a new member here.

4. Miami Dolphins (from Baltimore Ravens): Peter Boulware, DE, Florida State. Jimmy Johnson makes the major move up because he gets a Florida player who has great speed--and we all know JJ has a speed fetish. He helps a poor defensive line with his unbelievable quickness and athleticism. A bit small at 6'4", 254, but it hasn't mattered on the field to date.

5. Oakland Raiders (from Detroit Lions): Walter Jones, OT, Florida State. Al Davis wanted Pace but wasn't willing to trade up with Parcells to get him. The only problem with Jones is that he only played real college football for a year, and he's not really worth the number two pick. But Davis is satisfied with this pick because Jones ran in the 4.75 range at the combine and has good power. Personally, I think Congress needs to pass legislation outlawing big men who can move that fast.

6. Houston Oilers (from St. Louis Rams, New York Jets): Bryant Westbrook, CB, Texas. Westbrook may end up being a better NFL player than Springs because of his size, fluidity and unbelievable hitting ability. As Keith Jackson would say, "Whoa, Nellie, will this boy hitchee!"

7. New York Giants: Dwayne Rudd, LB, Alabama. The G-men need a play-maker at linebacker. They have a bunch of solid guys, but no one who will turn a game around a la Lawrence Taylor. Rudd can cover, blitz, play the run, and knows how to play off blocks.

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Yatil Green, WR, Miami (Fla.). They need a big-play threat since Alvin Harper was more of a double-agent than a free-agent. Green runs a 4.38, vertical jumps over 40 inches, and has good size at 6'3", 200. He needs to stay healthy, however.

9. Arizona Cardinals: Rae Carruth, WR, Colorado. He is very fast and has a breakaway burst. He drops a lot of balls, but the Cardinals need a deep threat.

10. New Orleans Saints: Antowain Smith, RB, Houston. Mike Ditka dropped down to here from number two because the "Ain'ts" needs help in a lot of areas. You know Ditka loves to run the football, and Smith became the top-rated running back in the draft when he ran in the 4.4s in the combine. He has great size at 6'2", 224 but is a comparative geezer at 25.

11. Atlanta Falcons: Jim Druckenmiller, QB, Virginia Tech. Like Ditka, Dan Reeves traded down for additional picks. He needs a quarter-back to groom behind stand-in Chris Chandler, and Druckenmiller is the guy. He's not as good of a prospect as Tennessee junior Peyton Manning but will go this high simply because he's the best QB available. He is tall, has a strong arm, and lifted weights with the offensive linemen at school.

12. Seattle Seahawks: Tom Knight, CB, Iowa. Knight goes here because the Seahawks need a corner in a bad way. He's the third best one in the draft, though this might be a little high to take him.

13. New York Jets (from Houston Oilers): James Farrior, LB, Virginia. The Jets need an outside linebacker, and Farrior is the second best one in the draft after Rudd.

14. Cincinnati Bengals: Jamie Sharper, LB, Virginia. Sharper is very similar to his teammate Farrior. He doesn't always play as recklessly as you'd like, unfortunately. Maybe he was saving himself for the pros. Because Cincinnati is switching to a 3-4, they need more linebacking.

15. Baltimore Ravens (from Miami Dolphins): Reinard Wilson, DE, Florida State. Mel Kiper, Jr., says he's too small. I say he's too good, as his 101 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss and 13 sacks last year attest.

16. Tampa Bay: Warrick Dunn, RB, Florida State. The Bucs have Errict Rhett, who is a plugger but not a homerun threat. So they will take the small (5'8", 180) but phenomenally explosive Dunn, who catches the ball well. I love this guy's attitude-he's been like a father to his siblings since their mother, a New Orleans police officer, was killed in the line of duty four years ago.

17. Washington Redskins: Jayson Taylor, DE-OLB, Akron. They need help on defense, and this guy will give it to them. He has good speed coming off the edge but could get a little bigger.

18. Kansas City Chiefs: Tony Gonzalez, TE, California. This is an area of pressing need for the Chiefs. Gonzalez played power forward for the basketball team and has great hands and athletic ability.

19. Indianapolis Colts: Jerry Wunsch, OT, Wisconsin. The Colts need a left tackle or else Captain Comeback, Jim Harbaugh, will keep going back to the ER.

20. Minnesota Vikings: Tarik Glenn, OT, California. This guy's stock has gone up a ton after he lost 19 pounds since his tubby showing at the scouting combine. He has also taken nearly half a second off his 40 time. If he keeps working hard like this, he'll be a force to reckon with since he is young (20).

21. Jacksonville Jaguars: David LaFleur, TE, LSU. Pretty much everyone acknowledges that current TE Derek Brown stinks. Maybe even his mother. So they will get this 6'7", 280 behemoth who has occasional back problems.

22. Philadelphia Eagles: Renaldo Wynn, DE, Notre Dame. Coach Ray Rhodes wants to improve up front on defense (what former defensive coordinator doesn't?). He's a bit in between tackle and end but is dynamic.

23. Buffalo Bills: Corey Dillon, RB, Washington. He ran for 1,555 yards this year despite not getting the starting job until the fourth game. Dillon's size (220 pounds) and running ability mean he can replace Thurman Thomas.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Michael Booker, CB, Nebraska. In terms of physical ability, he's not as good as Kansas State's Chris Canty. Booker has better size and is not as cocky.

25. Dallas Cowboys: Kenny Holmes, DE, Miami (Fla.). Inconsistent but very quick and fluid. He might be the answer now that selfish borderline-psycho Charles Haley's back has finally called it quits.

26. San Francisco: Pat Barnes, QB, Cal. They probably considered QB Jake "the Snake" Plummer of Arizona State, who reminds people of Joe Montana.

But new head coach, Steve Mariucci, will take this kid, whom he helped develop into a prospect. He doesn't have Plummer's intangibles or footspeed. I wish they would take Plummer because of his grit, but Barnes is the coach's guy.

27. Carolina Panthers: Reidel Anthony, WR, Florida. They have confidence in last year's pick, Muhsin Muhammed, but Anthony adds 4.4 speed, the ability to return kicks, and a deep threat. He doesn't catch all the balls he should, however.

28. Denver Broncos: Trevor Pryce, DE, Clemson. He's very big at 6'5", 280. He's risk because of inconsistency, but can be dominating.

29. New England Patriots: Sam Madison, CB, Louisville. He provides needed help at corner, since he breaks on the ball well and is confident.

30. Green Bay Packers: Chris Naeole, OG, Colorado. They can go after Naeole because he's the best player left, and they don't have any glaring needs. Naeole will give you visions of B.A. Barracus and Clubber Lang with his intimidating Mr. T mohawk.

This is just a taste of what the draft is all about. It's even better than the Super Bowl in some sense because every team can participate in the anticipation and the build-up.

I love these two days. I get chills just imagining NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue coming up to the mike and saying those immortal words, "We have a trade."

We'll sort through all the carnage afterwards, so make sure to check back here on Tuesday for a complete draft review and grades for each team.