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Notes: Getting QB Brees proves Chargers not fooled by Falcons
When quarterback Drew Brees dropped into the second round, where San Diego quickly plucked the former Purdue star off the board, it helped to turn the tide of public opinion among those who felt the Chargers were snookered by the Atlanta Falcons in the trade for Michael Vick.
The sentiment among many personnel directors is that Brees will actually start in the NFL before Vick, largely because of his superior experience, and because he has thrown more than 1,600 passes in a sophisticated offense. Most talent evaluators suggest that Vick's second option nearly every play is to run with the football when his primary receiver is covered. Brees is very adept at locating secondary receivers and dumping the ball off.
With the first-round pick the Chargers got in the swap with Atlanta, they got tailback LaDainian Tomlinson, the prospect rated first overall on the club's draft board. With the third-rounder gained in the Friday afternoon trade, San Diego selected Florida State cornerback Tay Cody.
But clearly the availability of Brees, which had Chargers officials holding their collective breath through the bottom portion of the first round, was the biggest plus. Brees is actually ½-inch taller than Vick and, while he lacks the mobility of the Virginia Tech star, he might fit better into the system being installed by new Chargers offensive coordinator Norv Turner.
"From what I understand," Brees said, "it's an offense based a lot on timing, sort of similar to what we had at Purdue. I know it will take a little while for me to be ready to play, but that's OK with me. I look forward to learning a lot from Doug (Flutie), taking in everything I can, and then being ready to play as soon as they want me to."
Brees, 6-feet-1, helps to complete one of the shortest quarterback contingents in the league. Flutie is only about 5-10 and CFL import Dave Dickenson is just a shade over 5-10.
As for tutelage from veteran quarterbacks, all one needs to know about what Vick could face in Atlanta is that Falcons incumbent starter Chris Chandler has declined to comment on the deal that brought the Virginia Tech standout.
Bucs GM McKay gets his man
If there were such a thing as an offseason MVP, the award winner would be
an easy choice.
Rich McKay, step up and pick up your award.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager continued his impressive offseason
Saturday when the Bucs traded up to 14th spot in the first round to draft
Florida tackle Kenyatta Walker. The Bucs moved from the 21st spot by trading away their second-round pick in the deal.
That didn't matter, a team that had made a series of good offseason moves
filled the one hole left on the roster by selecting Walker.
"This was by far the highest-rated player left on our board," McKay said. "I'm not sure it was even close."
Walker, who will move from his college position of right tackle to the left
side, becomes the latest piece in what now could be the Super Bowl favorite.
McKay signed quarterback Brad Johnson and defensive end Simeon Rice in free
agency, re-signed his own key free agents, tackle Jerry Wunsch and cornerback
Ronde Barber, and now gets Walker.
The Bucs had explored trading up to get Walker, but never thought they could
pull it off. When Walker fell past Jacksonville at No. 13, up the Bucs went.
They went up thanks to McKay, who continues to make good
moves, good enough that he is the offseason MVP.
-- Senior writer Pete Prisco
Around the draft
- As expected, IMG Football ruled the first-round roost among agents or representation firms, with the tandem of Tom Condon and Ken Kremer landing a record six choices. The IMG clients who went off the board in the first round were tailback LaDainian Tomlinson (No. 5), linebacker Dan Morgan (No. 11), offensive tackle Kenyatta Walker (No. 14), guard Steve Hutchinson (No. 17), cornerback Will Allen (No. 22) and wide receiver Freddie Mitchell (No. 25). IMG also had players selected in the second and third rounds. It is believed the runners-up for first-round picks were Pat Dye Jr. and Drew Rosenhaus, each of whom had three No. 1 choices. Dye represents defensive tackle Marcus Stroud, offensive tackle Jeff Backus and tailback Michael Bennett. Rosenhaus is the agent for Damione Lewis, Santana Moss and Willie Middlebrooks.
- The positive marijuana test that Oklahoma linebacker Torrance Marshall had at the combine two months ago probably cost him about one round in the draft. Most teams had Marshall rated as a second-round prospect but he didn't go off the board until Green Bay took him in the third round.
- So much for alleged "exclusivity" from ESPN. The word was that the sports network cut a deal to have reporter Andrea Kremer in the St. Louis Rams war room. She was indeed, there, but only for a few minutes before each choice. And Jim Thomas of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, one of the premier beat reporters in the country, was also permitted into the inner sanctum as the St. Louis picks neared.
- There were four quarterbacks selected on the first day of the draft but notable is that two of the passers who were supposed to be rising quickly on teams' boards, Mike McMahon of Rutgers and Florida's Jesse Palmer, were not among them. Look for both the quarterbacks to go off the board fairly early Sunday when the draft resumes with the fourth round.
- Cleveland rookie coach Butch Davis wanted to get a defensive lineman, a wide receiver and a tailback on the first day. He completed his shopping list but, after landing defensive tackle Gerard Warren in the first round and wideout Quincy Morgan in the second, Davis didn't exactly get a top-flight runner. Davis selected James Jackson, a back he coached at Miami, but who had not had very good workouts. Word is the Browns were trying to move up in the bottom part of the first round as Mississippi tailback Deuce McAllister kept plummeting. Cleveland was offering a second-round pick and a fourth-rounder to secure a late No. 1 selection and take McAllister. It could find no takers, though, and McAllister went to New Orleans with the 23rd pick.
- While on the subject of McAllister, it will be interesting to see how Saints incumbent tailback Ricky Williams reacts to his addition. It's no secret coach Jim Haslett is growing a bit weary of Williams' mind games. The oft-injured McAllister, who fell on everyone's draft board because of a series of soft-tissue hurts, will bring a nice change of pace for New Orleans. It's not likely, though, he'll challenge for the starting job.
- The University of Georgia had two defensive tackles, Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud, chosen among the first 13 overall selections. Middle linebacker Kendrell Bell was taken in the second round. That's kind of the college football equivalent of the Baltimore Ravens triumvirate of Sam Adams, Tony Siragusa and Ray Lewis, right? So just wondering: How did the Bulldogs ever lose a game in 2000, let alone four of them?
- Somewhat surprisingly, the University of Michigan didn't get the first-round offensive line trifecta most people felt it would. Guard Steve Hutchinson and tackle Jeff Backus went in the opening stanza, but tackle Maurice Williams lasted into the second round.
- The inability to land free agent defensive end Chidi Ahanotu certainly affected the Cincinnati Bengals' first-round decision to choose Missouri defensive end Justin Smith. The Bengals got on the phone with agent Eugene Parker within an hour of Ahanotu's release by the Tampa Bay Bucs on Friday night. The two sides negotiated late into the night and then again Saturday morning. Had the Bengals been able to secure an agreement with Ahanotu, they definitely would then have chosen offensive tackle Walker in the first round.
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