What it did not provide the team, however, was a replacement for wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, traded to the Tampa Bay Bucs.

But help of a sort, most likely Cincinnati Bengals eight-year veteran Carl Pickens, probably is on the way relatively soon for a team that needs to augment an undersized corps that includes Wayne Chrebet and Dedric Ward.

While the typically overzealous New York-area media hyped the acquisition of Pickens for days leading up to the draft, talks between the two teams never reached the substantive stage. And the initial contact, contrary to many published and broadcast reports, actually was made by Bengals personnel director Jim Lippincott in a phone call to a Jets official.

Now that the Bengals have bolstered their receiving corps in the draft with the acquisitions of two former Florida State stars, Peter Warrick (No. 1) and Ron Dugans (No. 3), Cincinnati officials are expected to step up efforts to dump Pickens, who already has informed coaches he will not attend next weekend's minicamp.

It wasn't the selection of Warrick so much as it was the choice of Dugans, a bigger receiver whose possession-type abilities mirror those of Pickens, which will signal the end of the veteran's career in Cincinnati.

In the Bengals war room last Saturday night, team officials privately acknowledged that drafting Dugans would hasten the departure of Pickens. Much the same way, the team selected tailback Curtis Keaton of James Madison in the fourth round, in part to guard against a protracted holdout by incumbent Corey Dillon.

Bengals owner Mike Brown re-signed Pickens last summer against his better judgment, even after the wide receiver vowed he would never play in Cincinnati again. The return came only after coach Bruce Coslet told Brown he needed Pickens to be competitive. The five-year, $23.5 million deal included a signing bonus of $3.5 million and, since Pickens has refused to repay the prorated share of $2.8 million, the Bengals could sue if he skips minicamp, claiming breach of contract.

What, Keyshawn worry? Not after signing a fat deal with the Bucs and leaving the Jets looking for a fill-in.(AP)

No matter what transpires financially, Brown may not wait until June 1, when the hit against his team's salary cap can be ameliorated, to dump Pickens. Last year, Cincinnati ownership lopped quarterback Neil O'Donnell only days after the draft and absorbed a $2.7 million cap dent.

What remains to be seen is what kind of compensation the Jets will offer for Pickens, who at age 30 seems to be in decline. Cincinnati has been seeking a second-round draft pick, but that price may be a bit steep, given that Pickens hasn't been in shape for two years, caught just 57 passes last season and has never been a deep threat.

Ravens maniacs

The Baltimore Ravens have been lionized for getting tailback Jamal Lewis and wide receiver Travis Taylor with their two first-round choices last Saturday. But even if both prospects turn out to be the playmakers coach Brian Billick feels they will be, it's hard not to criticize the club for its dubious draft strategy.

What most fans ignore is that economics always are a factor when it comes to first-round choices, and Baltimore executives will pay dearly for staying put with their two first-round picks instead of trading back and likely getting the same two players.

Baltimore went into the lottery with the No. 5 and No. 10 overall picks. It could have swapped the No. 5 choice to Green Bay, which desperately wanted to move up for New Mexico linebacker Brian Urlacher, and gotten the No. 14 overall choice along with extra second- and fourth-round picks.

There is almost no way the first round would have played out in which the Ravens could not have gotten Lewis -- a player with a checkered past, a knee surgery in 1998 and only one truly productive season at Tennessee -- with the 14th choice.

That's where the economics come in. The Ravens will end up paying Lewis a signing bonus in the area of the $8.84 million upfront money Ricky Williams received last year as the No. 5 pick overall. Had they dropped back to No. 14, the bonus would have been about $4.2 million.

Even at the No. 5 pick, the Ravens figure to dole out more upfront money than a year ago. Baltimore also had the No. 5 pick in 1999 and paid corner Chris McAlister $3.75 million on a four-year deal, in part because agent Eugene Parker forced the shorter term.

This year, the Ravens will want a five- or six-year contract for Taylor and that means a bonus of about $5 million. So instead of shelling out about $9 million-$10 million for their first-rounders, the Ravens will pay more like $14 million. Getting the extra second- and fourth-round choices from Green Bay wouldn't have cost them nearly that much and they probably would have gained two more solid prospects as well.

The unpromised land

Very quietly San Diego coaches are growing increasingly dubious about the ability of 13-year veteran quarterback Jim Harbaugh, 37, to hold up physically over the course of the 2000 season. Fact is, several coaches feel it is possible that young Moses Moreno, 24, could be the Chargers' starter as early as opening day.

A two-year veteran who entered the league as the Chicago Bears' seventh-round pick in the '98 draft, Moreno has played in just three games and started only one. He has 24 completions in 50 attempts for 244 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. But he will get plenty of work in minicamp next weekend and a lot of snaps in preseason.

Meanwhile, prodigal quarterback Ryan Leaf has been showing up at the team's complex of late to rehabilitate his throwing shoulder. Leaf continues to have pain in the shoulder and there is no way of knowing how much, or even if, he will participate in minicamp. Two teammates who saw Leaf this week told SportsLine.com he looks out of shape. Beyond the shoulder woes, they both said he needs a lot of conditioning work.

Herock may land with Jets

He had neither lobbied for nor even discussed the job with Bill Parcells, but should "The Tuna" surrender his title of director of football operations with the Jets, longtime friend Ken Herock might be his replacement. Herock is currently vice president of personnel in Green Bay and is very loyal to Packers general manager Ron Wolf, his best friend.

Should the Jets phone, though, about an opening, Herock likely would be interested, but only with the blessing of Wolf. Of course, Wolf and Parcells also are close friends, so it's likely Jets rookie owner Woody Johnson wouldn't even pursue Herock unless the two confidants agreed such a move could be made.

The choice of Herock would be an excellent one for a Jets team where first-year coach Al Groh will require a knowledgeable personnel director and someone with inside experience at building and maintaining a solid front office structure.

Herock is a thorough, hands-on talent evaluator, not one for simply sitting behind a desk during the season and reading scouting reports from the guys in the field. He prefers to see prospects firsthand, is rarely in the office, and doesn't meddle in coaching matters.

During his stint as vice president of personnel in Atlanta, he was regularly ripped by some of the media there, but presided over the selection of Brett Favre and Deion Sanders and was one of the league's premier draft day manipulators.

His work has long been admired by his peers around the league, most of whom remember that he acquired much of the talent back in the mid-'70s that allowed the Tampa Bay Bucs to advance to the NFC title game in their fourth year of existence.

There is some feeling that Jets president Steve Gutman may counsel Johnson to stick with the status quo, to keep current personnel director Dick Haley on hand while grooming the respected salary cap boss Mike Tannenbaum for an eventual general manager-type post. But Haley likely will retire in about a year and Tannenbaum, for all his knowledge of dollars and sense, is not yet prepared to run the football operation.

Secondary matters in Carolina

Give credit to Carolina coach George Seifert and personnel director Jack Bushofsky for shaking up a secondary that needed refurbishing. And the overhaul of what suddenly has become a very crowded defensive backfield probably isn't over yet.

The Panthers added cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock (Minnesota) in free agency and drafted defensive backs Rashard Anderson (No. 1) and Deon Grant (No. 2) last weekend. While he played cornerback his senior year, Anderson is a more natural safety, and that's where he will line up in minicamp.

Grant was a disappointment last season but was too good to pass up once he slipped into the late second round. Having secured the two young interior players, Carolina released starting strong safety Brent Alexander.

Next on the chopping block looks to be seven-year veteran corner Doug Evans, an overpaid underachiever during his two seasons in Carolina. The team is high on '99 seventh-round pick Tony Booth, a cover corner who missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. With Booth, Hitchcock and Eric Davis on hand, Evans probably is expendable.

And should Anderson and Grant perform well in training camp -- and the Panthers eventually sign former 49ers standout Tim McDonald -- it would not be surprising to see Mike Minter traded or cut. Minter is a big hitter who moved to free safety in '99 and struggled, but has been told he will go back to his more natural strong safety spot this season.

Revamping the depth chart

The quarterback pecking order in Tampa Bay seems set for now, with Shaun King the starter, veteran backup Eric Zeier the No. 2 guy and rookie Joe Hamilton the third passer. But the depth chart is hardly written in indelible ink and we're betting that, come June 1, one of the backups is going to be bumped down a peg.

Even before the Redskins released Rodney Peete last week, Bucs coach Tony Dungy conceded interest in the veteran backup. Dungy also is monitoring the situation with Randall Cunningham in Minnesota. And the Bucs will also consider Shane Matthews if the Chicago Bears relinquish a right of first refusal they hold.

The smart money says the Bucs will solidify their quarterback corps sometime before camp opens, with Zeier likely moving back to the No. 3 spot and Hamilton getting a redshirt season on the developmental squad.

Rypien readying for return?

He hasn't thrown a pass since 1997 and is 37 years old now, but word is that veteran quarterback Mark Rypien has quietly been working out and, if he can get into shape in the next month or two, hopes to be in an NFL training camp this summer.

Rypien signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 1998 but then was forced away from that agreement when his family endured two tragedies. First his young son died of a brain tumor, then Rypien's wife was diagnosed with cancer of the cervix.

Last year, it appeared Rypien would sign with San Diego, but he decided his conditioning was not sufficient. The Chargers are the team most likely to grant him a tryout this time around as well.

Looking at April 2001

Mention the 2001 draft to personnel directors and the name most frequently mentioned is that of Michael Vick, the Virginia Tech quarterback who almost certainly will forgo his remaining eligibility to enter next year's lottery. But the position that had scouts and general managers most excited when SportsLine.com phoned around this week was the defensive line.

There could be as many as 8-10 linemen who project as first-round choices in 2001, a real bounty by recent standards, and scouts will be checking them out very early.

The group includes ends Roland Seymour and Jamal Reynolds (both of Florida State), Kenyon Coleman (UCLA) and Andre Carter (California). The top tackles are Ennis Davis (Southern California), Mario Ponds (Cincinnati), Richard Seymour (Georgia), Damione Lewis (Miami) and Casey Hampton (Texas).

Several personnel men pointed out there are also three to five top-shelf underclass defensive linemen who could swell the rolls at the position.

Beathard set to bow out

The whispers that began a year ago have grown into roars now, and it appears very likely that San Diego general manager Bobby Beathard will retire sometime before training camp. In fact, club and NFL sources told SportsLine.com early this week that Beathard's exit could come as early as the end of an upcoming minicamp and that, unlike two years ago, owner Alex Spanos and team president Dean Spanos will not attempt to dissuade him.

Beathard has only acknowledged that he is considering retirement but also allowed that he enjoys working with second-year coach Mike Riley.

Word is that Billy Devaney, the longtime director of player personnel for Beathard, will be promoted from his first lieutenant's post. There apparently was consideration, however, given to director of football operations Ed McGuire, the team's fine negotiator and salary cap chief.

Should he step aside, Beathard unfortunately will be recalled by some newer fans to the league as a personnel chief who gambled too many draft picks on unknown prospects from small colleges, such as last week's choice of Florida A&M quarterback JaJuan Seider, and as a general manager who selected quarterback Ryan Leaf in 1998.

But the Beathard legacy also includes a long stretch during which he made brilliant personnel moves and was essential in helping three franchises advance to Super Bowl appearances. Years ago, a Sports Illustrated cover lauded Beathard as "The Smartest Man in the NFL." While some Chargers fans might argue Beathard did not uphold that title in recent seasons, his career merits, we feel, Hall of Fame consideration.

Multifaceted

Upon further review of videotapes and some discussions with former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, the Washington coaching staff already is re-thinking exactly how it will use first-round linebacker LaVar Arrington this year.

At the combine, coaches were convinced the optimum place for Arrington was as the strongside starter, lined up opposite the tight end and with only a few responsibilities. The feeling now is the Redskins will move Arrington around a lot and attempt to make him a true weapon and difference-maker.

"For us, the word 'freelance' was a positive," coach Norv Turner said last week when asked if Arrington's alleged lack of discipline might have to be addressed.

Linebackers coach Foge Fazio, who rated Arrington a perfect 9 on the team's grading scale -- the highest mark the 13-year veteran assistant ever awarded a prospect -- envisions having his new star rush the quarterback on early downs from a standup position. Then on third down, the Redskins will try to camouflage Arrington's intentions, perhaps lining him up over a slot receiver, where he could either blitz or drop and cover.

"I know this much: He's a three-down player," Fazio said. "He's not coming off the field, no matter the situation."

Final chapter for Book(er)?

It has taken three unproductive seasons, but the Atlanta Falcons may finally be ready to close the book on one of the worst transactions in the history of a franchise hardly noted for great deals. The team shopped three-year veteran cornerback Michael Booker, its first-round draft choice in 1997, around the league last week. With zero nibbles, the Falcons might now simply release the former Nebraska standout after June 1.

Booker is a tease, a guy who passes the eyeball test but seems to always be nursing an injury and rarely plays up to speed even when healthy. In three seasons, Atlanta has paid him $5.1 million, but he has started only 10 games, his DNPs (six) equal his INTs and he has been unable to beat out journeyman Ronnie Bradford for the starting job opposite Ray Buchanan. He is scheduled to earn a base salary of $1.4 million in 2000 and, even if the Falcons whacked him before June 1, he would count just $840,000 against their salary cap.

Should the Falcons release Booker, it will be an admission that coach Dan Reeves squandered his initial first-round pick as Atlanta's football czar. What should be recalled is that Reeves actually traded down in the first round, from the No. 3 overall spot to the No. 11 hole, and bypassed the opportunity to select cornerback Shawn Springs or perhaps trade up for offensive tackle Orlando Pace or defensive tackle Darrell Russell.

Punts

• St. Louis general manager Charley Armey is disputing reports he fired Rams longtime scouting director John Becker. According to Armey, the veteran scout was offered a contract but declined to sign it. Some club sources insist Becker would have been dismissed anyway, since Armey is expected to elevate Dave Razzano to the top college post.
• While on the subject of the Rams, there is little doubt the surprising choice of tailback Trung Canidate with the team's first-round pick was the handiwork of coach Mike Martz. Armey had the Arizona sprinter rated as only the seventh-best prospect on the team's running back list, behind Thomas Jones, Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Ron Dayne, Reuben Droughns and Travis Prentice. The team also gambled on its second-round pick, Oklahoma State cornerback Jacoby Shepherd, who started only two games at the major college level and had just 22 tackles.
• Negotiations with Alabama offensive tackle Chris Samuels will be, we're betting, a little bit stickier than Washington officials want to believe. Samuels and agent Jimmy Sexton are at least mildly upset that the team took the tackle after selecting Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington. All along, the Redskins had led Sexton to believe that Samuels would be the second overall pick and Arrington third. The switch in strategy hasn't sat well with Samuels or his representatives. The Redskins would be wise not to mess too much with Sexton, since they must also deal with him on some promises departed general manager Charley Casserly made to another client, corner Darrell Green.
• Word is that Cincinnati first-round wideout Peter Warrick has dumped agent Michael George and SFX. The move shocked Bengals officials, who felt they had already developed a rapport of sorts with George. There are no hints yet as to who might represent Warrick. Our money, though, is on Eugene Parker. The agent has done a lot of business at Florida State since representing Deion Sanders in 1989, and he and partner Roosevelt Barnes recruited Warrick very heavily. In fact, Barnes was on the Seminoles' sideline for the Sugar Bowl with a pass supplied by Warrick.
• San Francisco officials seem unconcerned by the very low Wonderlic score (5 out of 50) posted by first-rounder Julian Peterson. The club feels that, while the former Michigan State linebacker will play a very sophisticated position with a lot of responsibility and movement, he will be able to grasp the role. But it's obvious on some videotapes of Spartans games that Peterson is being instructed by teammates where to align himself in the defense.
• Think you were shocked by the incredibly soft coverage of the draft by ESPN? Even some of the network's officials were taken aback by the softball queries lobbed up by reporters. Gee, what ever happened to the day when alleged draft guru Mel Kiper openly questioned picks? And what was that line by Chris Berman during the proceedings: "We root for everyone." Yeah, that was part of the problem, Boomer.
• Now that the Bears have re-signed wide receiver Bobby Engram, the Chicago brass will attempt to strike a deal to retain unrestricted free agent guard Todd Perry as well. It's not a given, though, that Perry will return and keep one of the league's most improving offensive lines intact. There were discussions this week with agent Howard Busch but the two sides aren't close yet, and Perry is a bit upset it has taken this long for the Bears to get serious about him.
• Indianapolis general manager Bill Polian is rolling the dice that he can keep tailback Fred Lane, acquired in a trade with Carolina, under control. Lane is facing weapons and alcohol charges and the Colts have already told him, sternly we might add, that he has no margin for error. If he walks the straight and narrow, Lane will be a tremendous backup for Edgerrin James. If he strays in the least, he'll probably be out of the NFL for good.
• Their respect for fullback Charles Way will keep Giants officials from making a quick move to sign recently released Pro Bowl performer Sam Gash of Buffalo. There are conflicting views on the stability of Way's knee, but team officials will wait until around training camp time to afford the veteran a sufficient recovery period. They would like to sign Gash, but have told him that if he gets another offer, to take it.