Monday, April 12, 1999
DRAFT PREVIEW: DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
McFarland top 10 pick, all else a risk
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When draft analyst Jerry Jones was doing his annual research for The Drugstore Listthis past season, he found a familiar theme among the NFL's defensive line coaches.
TOP DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
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1. Anthony McFarland, DT/L, Louisiana St.
2. Patrick Kerney, DE, Virginia
3. Ebenezer Ekuban, DE, North Carolina
4. Lamar King, DE, Saginaw Valley
5. Reggie McGrew, DT, Florida |
“There was depression,” Jones said. “It's just a very thin crop. The guys who can rush the passer can't stop the run. In fact, that's what guys were depressed about. Where are the run stoppers? There just aren't any.”
Which is why LSU's Anthony McFarland is going to go near the top 10 and be the first defensive lineman taken. He was athletic enough to not only make 18 stops behind the line of scrimmage, but as a true freshman he played fullback in some short-yardage situations, and has a touchdown catch against Florida to his credit.
The next headline players are guys who lived on the edge in the ACC, Virginia end Patrick Kerney and North Carolina end Ebenezer Ekuban. Lamar King was in the fine print while playing at Division II Saginaw Valley State, but he's also a possible first-round pick.
Kerney, a lacrosse player who played in the Cavs' 13-12 overtime loss to Princeton in the 1996 NCAA title game, has put on 30 pounds in four years and was bulky enough to ring up 15 sacks this season.
Ekuban is one of those huge, roll-the-dice picks. A native of Ghana, he had played just two years of football before arriving at Chapel Hill as a tight end. So he's played just two years at defensive end.
King may be as big a risk because he's played at Montgomery Junior College and Saginaw Valley the past four years. But this past year, he did recover three fumbles, forced three more and blocked two kicks, so he could be worth making a project.
“What makes him intriguing to a team like the Bengals is that he can play both inside and end in a three-man look,” Jones said.
After that, it's a bunch of questions.
• Can Florida tackle Reggie McGrew stay healthy?
• Can Florida State tackle Larry Smith play full-time after never doing so in college and playing about a third of the snaps last year?
• Can Iowa tackle Jared DeVries overcome an ankle injury that hurt his production in '98 but but didn't hamper his mastery of Wisconsin offensive lineman Aaron Gibson?
• Can 10-sack man Brad Scioli of Penn State stop the run? His supporters compare him to Michael McCrary, a seventh-round pick now a Pro Bowler who overcame not having a bulky build.
The dark horse is Fort Valley State defensive end Peppi Zellner who played center and power forward for the basketball team in 1997. Pro coaches will have to decide if he's an end or an outside linebacker.
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