Sunday, April 11, 1999
Picking the draft order is dumb, but my boss made me
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Know why they call it a mock draft? The person attempting to predict the whims of 31 NFL draft rooms makes a mockery of his profession, his career and his family name.
Especially six days before the NFL Draft, which in draft time is like human years and dog years. The number of teams trying to trade out of their spot would make a Wall Street dealer melt.
The uncertainty starts at the top. Since Chris Palmer became the Browns coach, the Tim Couch talk stopped and Akili Smith surfaced.
There's still a nagging feeling the Browns may fall back on the safe pick — Couch — especially if he does better than expected at today's workout for the Browns.
Since no one really knows what the Eagles leave the Bengals if Couch goes No. 1, that would make things interesting.
Smith or Donovan McNabb?
In fact, the Bengals may be the only predictable entity in this mess. They'll take the quarterback the Browns and Eagles don't.
And when Saints General Manager Bill Kuharich calls his Cincinnati counterpart this week to offer all his picks and some future ones for the third pick and Ricky Williams, Mike Brown politely declines moving down to the 12th pick.
“It gets your attention when you say the whole draft list for just one pick,” Brown says. “It sounds like a lot, but the first-round pick is likely too low to get a top quarterback and that means something to us. And they don't have a second-round pick and that takes on a different look for the draft list.
“If we had a quarterback who was playing well,” Brown says, “a deal like this would be attractive to us. Especially if it included choices next year.”
Figure the Saints somehow get up to No. 4 to take Williams. It shouldn't be long for the next trade.
The Bears at No. 7 may swap with Minnesota for the No. 11 and 29 picks. That way the Vikes can be assured of Arizona cornerback Chris McAlister, and the Bears can shock the world and take UCLA quarterback Cade McNown at No. 11.
That will make them sleepless in Seattle and moon-faced over Miami, where Jimmy Johnson must be toying to trade up if McNown inches to No. 24 after smuggling him in for a workout.
Don't weep for Jimmy. He'll trade that 24th pick - probably to Carolina for the 34th pick - and still get his man in McNeese State running back Cecil Collins.
Plus, don't look for Denver to stay at No. 31, watch the Patriots try to use the Nos. 20 and 28 picks to trade up for one of the top running backs, and see if Baltimore buckles when the Ravens actually get the chance to take Central Florida quarterback Daunte Culpepper at No. 10.
They probably won't, since McAlister should be off the board.
And by then, the Pats probably find out they just don't have enough juice to get into the top six or seven to take Miami's Edgerrin James.
The McNown pick will break the heart of new 49ers boss Bill Walsh, maybe thinking himself about a trade up for McNown from No. 27.
But The Genius looks to have something up his flow chart.
Remember what Walsh did with a smart, accurate 6-foot passer he nabbed in the third round 20 years ago? Meet Tulane's Shaun King as a huge possibility if the Niners stay at the bottom of the round.
All of which drives the poor mock drafter just trying to slog out a living absolutely nuts.
Logic says this is the year the Niners can finally get a solid offensive lineman late in the first round. Quarterback Steve Young continues to be abused and yet the Niners have taken just one first-round lineman in the last 30 years.
In the name of Harris Barton, get on with it.
What a mockery.
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