As previously mentioned, 3 Pitt Panthers were drafted in the first 2 rounds.
Kris Wilson was drafted #61 overall by the KC Chiefs in something of a surprise. Wilson was expected to go in the 3rd to 5th round. Going near the end of Round 2 may be considered a reach by some, but the Chiefs really liked him.
The Chiefs, however, are convinced Wilson, a 6-foot-1, 248-pounder out of Pittsburgh, can be a tight end/fullback type who can instantly contribute on special teams and certain offensive formations.
“Our tight-ends coach and wide-receivers coach worked him out and really thought he was extremely talented,” Chiefs team president/general manager Carl Peterson said. “He can catch the ball, can run, can block. His stature’s a little short at 6-foot-1 1/2, but he’s got excellent, excellent measurables — a guy we think will make our football team and make it better on game day.”
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The Chiefs envision using Wilson and Gonzalez to create matchup problems in two-tight-end sets.“You’re talking about a guy who can do a multitude of things,†said Chiefs vice president of football operations Lynn Stiles. “I had an in-depth discussion with Al Saunders yesterday and we talked about a variety of things he thought he could bring to the offense in either a two-back combination or two tight ends or split out from the formation.”
Would it be wrong to note that the article notes that back-up fullback Omar Easy will have to fight to stay on the roster because of Wilson being drafted. Easy played his college ball at Penn State. Heh.
Shawntae Spencer went at #58 to the SF 49ers.
Skip Bayless of the San Jose Mercury News didn’t like the pick of Spencer.
Yet unless Donahue can get one of Dr. York’s labs to pour Shawntae Spencer into Mike Rumph, the G.M. wasted the second-round pick that Philadelphia gave him to move up from 28 to 16. Spencer, from Pittsburgh, was not invited to the combine or a single all-star game, but he wowed gullible scouts with his individual workout.
That same AFC assistant, who studied the 6-foot-1, 181-pound Spencer’s game tapes, said: “We crossed him off because he runs from contact. He can run and cover but he will not tackle, and unless you’re Deion Sanders, a corner has to tackle in this league.”
Rumph, the 49ers’ top pick in 2002, can’t run or cover, but at 6-2 and 205 pounds he will knock your block off. If only Donahue could meld them into Shawntae Rumph.
(For a great ripping take down of Bayless as a columnist, read this.)
Yet the not tackling, but defending against the receiver was part of why Erickson drafted Spencer.
On the field, Spencer has shown the critical ability to cover while off the receiver.
“You have got to be able to play off because (of rule changes) you can’t touch (receivers) anymore,” Erickson said.
Larry Fitzgerald of course was the headline act for the Pitt players. The #3 pick overall. He went to the Arizona Cardinals, who had a rather surreal draft day as many still mourn the loss of Pat Tillman.
If the NFL draft weren’t surreal enough, the scene at Cardinals’ headquarters was straight out of The Twilight Zone. Cardinals officials found themselves doing a victory dance inside the draft room as soon as Fitzgerald was there for the taking. Yet just outside the facility, somber fans stood beside a Pat Tillman memorial, shedding tears, saying prayers and leaving flowers.
If the celebration was bittersweet, there was also a strange sense of destiny in the air. This reunion of Fitzgerald and Green seems almost too perfect.
The well know story, of course is that Fitzgerald was a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings for many of the years that Dennis Green (now the Cardinals head coach) was the Vikings’ head coach. Green made no secret that he was going to pick Fitzgerald if he was still there to make their receiving core one of the most potentially explosive.
In the 6-foot-2, 223-pound Fitzgerald, the Cardinals reportedly have a solid citizen and an uncommon talent. He will be paired with Anquan Boldin, a second-round pick last year who set an NFL rookie record with 101 receptions and led the Cardinals in receiving with 1,377 yards.
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Bryant Johnson, a first-round pick last year, is likely to be the team’s third receiver.The trio of young receivers could give the Cardinals an offense in the mold of what Green had in Minnesota with receivers such as Cris Carter, Jake Reed and Randy Moss.
“If we can put those things together, the way he (Green) has had it in the past, we have a great chance to be a successful football team,” Graves said.
Still up to 7 more Pitt players can be taken in day 2.
