In preparation for the June exit of Deion Sanders, whose contract will be officially terminated for salary cap purposes, the Dallas Cowboys selected cornerbacks with each of their first two choices over the weekend and three of their first four picks.

But to add depth to a position of need, Dallas had to be a little daring.

The Cowboys opted for Tennessee standout Dwayne Goodrich in the second round, with the 49th choice overall, and then Kareem Larrimore of West Texas A&M in the fourth round with overall choice No. 109. Both players have solid upsides but also dropped on some draft boards because of non-football issues. In the sixth round, with overall choice No. 180, the Cowboys went for Mario Edwards of Florida State.

Larrimore, as first reported Friday by SportsLine.com, was one of only three players who were at the predraft combine workouts to test positive in violation of the NFL's alcohol, substance abuse or steroid policies. He almost certainly will enter the league as a Level 1 offender and might have to undergo counseling. Larrimore possesses sub-4.5 speed and attracted the attention of scouts with a strong performance at the Senior Bowl all-star game.

One of the top two cornerback prospects in the spring, Goodrich saw his stock drop after a poor senior season with the Vols, and then his problems escalated when doctors discovered what they believed to be a heart murmur at the combine. Goodrich underwent extensive testing for several days at Northwestern University and then attended the combine re-check session two weeks ago, where he was cleared after an EKG and stress test.

At a recent workout, Goodrich began to rehabilitate his status with a sub-4.4 in the 40. The Dallas staff rated him the third-best cornerback prospect and was excited to land him. At least two teams SportsLine.com spoke with, however, didn't even have him on their boards because they still feared the heart problems. Agent Steve Zucker did a good job of disseminating the updated health information, but some clubs still wanted Goodrich to sign a medical waiver.

"He's not a cornerback out of Timbuktu," said Dallas personnel director Larry Lacewell. "He's coming out of a national championship school. There are a lot of arrows pointing up. As far as we are concerned, there's a big upside with the guy. It's not like he's never done it and has to learn how to play the game. He can play, and he's been in big games."

Edwards was the other cornerback rated in the top two at the position in the spring but suffered through an inconsistent campaign. He had a foot injury and was benched for two games, but for mental lapses, not physical problems. Edwards had flunked out of school the previous year but was readmitted after getting his academic situation in order.

Rookie head coach Dave Campo, who signed veteran Ryan McNeil to team with Kevin Smith as a starter, said he had no misgivings about the trio of young cornerbacks.

"We think they are all good, solid football players," Campo said. "They give us depth in an area where we needed it and I think all of them have a chance to be starters in this league at some point in their careers."

Some sense kicking

The Oakland Raiders apparently feel that the key to their improvement in 2000 is special teams. Just one day after taking the top-rated kicker, Sebastian Janikowski of Florida State, in the first round, the Raiders grabbed the top punting prospect. They used their fifth-round selection, the 142nd overall, for Shane Lechler of Texas A&M, completing the reshaping of their kicking game.

Lechler is a former high school quarterback who has good size and athleticism. He also has a very strong leg but tends to outkick his coverage at times. It marks the first time in at least the past 10 years that a team used two choices in the first five rounds for kickers.

All eight of the Raiders' defeats in 1999 were by seven points or fewer and the margin in those losses totaled just 34 points. Oakland lost three games by three points or fewer. Although many around the NFL were critical of the Raiders for using a first-round choice to get Janikowski, there was some support for the move.

"I love it," said Green Bay vice president of personnel Ken Herock. "It took a lot of guts but, in my mind, it was the right move for them. The guy is an incredible, rare talent. I'll bet you right now they win three more games this year because of him."

Isn't that special?

Another team that addressed its special teams needs was Cincinnati, which selected kicker Neil Rackers of Illinois in the sixth round and deep-snapper Brad St. Louis from Southwest Missouri in the seventh. St. Louis is listed as a tight end, but the Bengals want him strictly for his snapping ability.

Rackers blossomed in 1999, when he made 20 of 25 field goals and increased the distance on his kickoffs. Sources close to Doug Pelfrey told SportsLine.com on Sunday that the incumbent kicker was less than happy that the Bengals drafted Rackers. The seven-year veteran struggled in 1999, making just 18 of 27 field-goal attempts, and it is no secret the coaches have soured on him.

There is some chance Rackers could be used only as a kickoff man, but since St. Louis probably will occupy a roster spot and do nothing more than deep snap, that might be a luxury the Bengals cannot afford.

Frank(s)ly speaking

Had tight end Mark Chmura not been charged last week with third-degree sexual assault, an ugly allegation that likely will end his career in Green Bay, the Packers probably would not have taken a replacement for him in the first round, team officials conceded to SportsLine.com on Sunday.

But with a huge hole at the position, and with the Packers unable to trade up in the first round, the team was pretty much backed into a corner. And so Green Bay general manager Ron Wolf took University of Miami standout Bubba Franks in a close call over Anthony Becht of West Virginia. The two were rated nearly equal on the Green Bay draft board, but there were some questions on a foot injury Becht suffered, and Franks has a bigger upside.

"This team saw last year just how much (the lack of) a tight end meant to the offense," said new head coach Mike Sherman. "I think if you ask Brett Favre, he'll tell you, while not using that as an excuse, that it definitely hurt his performance."

Franks is expected to be an immediate starter. While the Packers have the same questions about his pedestrian 40-yard time (high 4.9s) as every other team in the league, they feel Franks is very quick over 10 yards and can separate from linebackers in the short zones. In the last 25 springs, the draft has featured only 22 tight ends in the first round, so Franks joins a rare fraternity. Of that group, seven players became Pro Bowl performers, but five lasted fewer than four seasons.

The Packers were one of several teams attempting to trade up to the No. 5 overall spot in the first round, but they could never reach a deal with Baltimore. But contrary to most reports, the player Green Bay was attempting to move up for was New Mexico linebacker Brian Urlacher and not Florida State defensive tackle Corey Simon.

Equal opportunity employers

The Steelers ended the free fall of Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin in the fifth round with the 163rd choice overall. Although a few teams had the athletic Martin rated a little higher, that was about the spot most clubs began to look seriously at him. Being snubbed for four rounds was a tough pill for Martin to swallow, but he vowed to bounce back.

"Once I get into training camp," he said, "it's going to be obvious that I'm better than that. Really it doesn't matter much now. Once it gets to July and you're on the field in camp, everyone seems to be pretty equal. If I do well, no one will remember where I was drafted."

The selection of Martin also reflected the continuing evolution of the position leaguewide. It is believed that the Steelers will now become the first team to go to training camp with three passers of African-American heritage on the roster, Martin joining starter Kordell Stewart and Anthony Wright, the No. 3 player on the depth chart. Twenty-five years ago, there weren't three black quarterbacks in the entire league.

No deal for Pickens

Despite plenty of broadcast and print reports about a possible trade of Cincinnati wide receiver Carl Pickens to the Jets, SportsLine.com has learned that New York officials never phoned the Bengals even once over the weekend to discuss a swap. The feeling was that the Jets would make a move on Pickens as a replacement for the departed Keyshawn Johnson.

"All the talk about a (Pickens) trade," said a Bengals source, "came from everywhere but our war room. We talked about it internally, but no one called us."

The perennially disgruntled Pickens might, however, be available in a trade later in the summer. Or he could even be released. Cincinnati drafted Ron Dugans of Florida State in the third round, and he appears to be a younger version of Pickens. The former Seminoles star, who will join teammate Peter Warrick in the Cincinnati receiver corps, is a big, physical possession receiver who does not have good speed but will move the chains.

Cincinnati wants to get younger at the position, and they appear to have done just that. If they get rid of Pickens, the senior member of the wideout corps could be six-year veteran Darnay Scott, who is 27 years old. Warrick and Dugans are guaranteed roster spots, and second-year veteran Craig Yeast also figures to be on the team.

Former roommates now teammates

When the Washington Redskins drafted Troy State guard Michael Moore in the fourth round, they reunited former Alabama standout recruits and roommates. Moore shared a dorm room with Washington first-round choice and offensive tackle Chris Samuels their first season at Tuscaloosa. In reality, he was a more heavily recruited player out of high school.

Ironically, while Moore handled the transition to college much better than Samuels, it was he who ended up transferring. He switched to Troy State after lettering three years for the Crimson Tide and became a standout left tackle at the smaller school. The Redskins will play Moore, who led all offensive linemen at the combine with 34 repetitions of the standard 225-pound bench press, at guard and hope he might be ready to replace Keith Sims in two years.

If that is the case, the Redskins could line up for the 2002 season with Samuels at left tackle and Moore next to him at left guard.

Samuels nearly bolted Tuscaloosa his first summer but stuck it out and became a first-round pick.

"To have (Samuels) there in Washington will give me an instant comfort zone," Moore said. "But he's going to be the one making all the money, so I hope he's prepared to pick up some the tab when we go out to dinner together."

Northern exposure

What a difference an international border makes.

Washington State defensive end Rob Meier, a native of British Columbia, was the first pick in the 1999 CFL draft. On Sunday, he lasted until the seventh round, where the Jacksonville Jaguars took him with the 241st selection overall.

Meier said he will "almost certainly" sign with the Jaguars instead of heading north to play.

"I came here to get better and feel I'm ready to play in the NFL," he said. "This has been a dream of mine for a long time. All I wanted was to be drafted, so I'm a happy guy."

Steelers and Jets feuding

It still isn't clear where the boondoggle occurred, but New York Jets officials are less than happy with their Pittsburgh counterparts and are claiming the Steelers reneged Saturday on a first-round trade they felt had been agreed upon. The Jets were attempting to move up in the first round to select Michigan State wide receiver Plaxico Burress, the player they had targeted to replace the departed Keyshawn Johnson.

But the Steelers took Burress themselves with the No. 8 overall choice in the first round, and New York director of football operations Bill Parcells is rumored to have fumed.

Eight choices later, while the Jets were on the clock with one of their four first-round choices, the Steelers phoned New York to see if they could acquire the pick to nab Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington, a player Pittsburgh was rumored to be taking earlier. Suffice it to say, the Jets were not very cordial in the brief conversation, and they grabbed Pennington for themselves.

Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher danced deftly around questions about the alleged snafu on Sunday. And he appeared on ESPN, where he did not deny that he told Pennington on Friday that he was going to be the Steelers' choice at the No. 8 spot. Pennington later blasted the Steelers for passing on him and one can only wonder what the Steelers were up to with these dual faux pas.

Going, going ...

As first noted by SportsLine.com on Friday, the career of former Detroit tailback Barry Sanders is likely over now that the 2000 draft has concluded without him being traded. Contrary to rumors, the Kansas City Chiefs did not make a trade proposal to the Lions for Sanders' services.

Lions officials confirm there have been no serious trade talks at all regarding Sanders and that no one has even phoned recently to explore the possibility of a deal. Coach Bobby Ross allowed that the team might have considered a blockbuster offer for Sanders, but that the point was moot since there were none.

Sanders retired last July 28, but there have been strong indications he would return for the 2000 season if he was traded or granted his freedom by the Lions.

The lonely linebacker

One of the higher-profile players who went undrafted this weekend was California linebacker Matt Beck. As a youth, Beck had a lot of off-field problems, was charged with DUI and admitted that he attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

None of those issues, though, factored into the decision by 31 teams not to draft him. Instead, it was a foot injury that limited Beck to just one game in '99, and had yet to be fully rehabilitated, that kept him from receiving a call from some franchise.

"He couldn't even work out for people, not even in the days right before the draft," one NFC personnel director told SportsLine.com. "With the salary cap ramifications, nobody wanted to risk drafting him and then having him hurt that foot again. It's a shame, because the kid really played hard. He was a hustler, but the injury did him in."

No mistaken identity

The Redskins selected wide receiver Ethan Howell of Oklahoma State in the seventh round. He has a twin brother, Evan, who is a defensive back at OSU. So on Sunday evening, Washington personnel director Vinny Cerrato was asked how he would know if the right Howell twin reported to training camp. Cerrato conceded that's a good question.

"When we called the kid, I asked the person who answered, 'So is this the defensive back or the wide receiver?'" Cerrato said. "And he said it was the defensive back. And I said, 'Well, sorry, but I need to talk to the wide receiver."

Cerrato knows a thing or two about twins, since his fiancee, Becky, is a twin.

Punts

• Washington has re-signed restricted free-agent wide receiver Albert Connell to the one-year qualifying offer.
• Dallas coaches already are talking about moving former Ohio State running back Michael Wiley, a fifth-round draft choice, to wide receiver.
• Denver drafted Notre Dame quarterback Jarious Jackson and might use him to run an option package in goal-line situations. The Broncos will also try Jackson as a running back and return specialist.
• Despite not owning a first-round draft choice, the Falcons landed a pair of highly regarded offensive linemen in guard Travis Claridge of Southern California and Tennessee State tackle Michael Thompson.
• Scouts and coaches around the league hit the phones immediately after the draft to begin contacting some undrafted free agent prospects. The most sought-after commodity according to several of the general managers we spoke with was the deep-snapper position.