Williams may tip scales to Couch
Posted: Tuesday February 23, 1999 01:59 PM
Texas running back Ricky Williams wants very badly to be the first pick in the NFL's April draft, but he has a funny way of showing it -- just like last year's top-pick wannabe, quarterback Ryan Leaf.
Williams waddled into the NFL scouting combine weighing 244 pounds. He played 22 pounds lighter last fall as the Heisman Trophy winner. And as one general manager told me: "The first thing I thought of when I saw Ricky was Ryan Leaf."
Leaf, you may recall, reported to last year's combine at 261. The Colts, picking first, would have taken Peyton Manning anyway, but the slovenly appearance didn't help Leaf. Nor will it help Williams, who has another potential problem to overcome if he wants to get picked number one by expansion Cleveland. That's his stated desire to give baseball an honest shot this spring and summer, which could become a convenient leverage point in negotiations. It's a lot easier to hold out when you've got a legitimate alternative and you're not just sitting around waiting to report to camp. Don't underestimate the baseball wedge. It could be a huge factor.
Other nuggets from the combine:
- Miami running back Edgerrin James solidified his top-10 status. Three years ago, the Rams made a huge mistake by taking Lawrence Phillips with the sixth pick. This year, they're leaning strongly toward taking James with that pick. He's faster and runs between the tackles better than Phillips ever did.
- North Carolina State wideout Torry Holt, who was a certain top-10 pick at the end of the college season, will be lucky to be a top-20 choice now. He said he's only 85 percent after minor knee surgery in January.
- UCLA quarterback Cade McNown is fed up with NFL people knocking him over his size and speed. Bottom line: He's three-quarters of an inch shorter than Steve Young and faster than Peyton Manning. Tampa, picking 15th, will consider him strongly.
- The Patriots will have to consider selecting a back in the draft now that Robert Edwards is out for the year after his beach-football knee injury earlier this month. But it may not be such a priority if they can come to terms with Packers free agent Travis Jervey, who visits Foxboro this week and is highly regarded by the Pats.
- The Giants are one team that won't be drafting a quarterback now that they've signed the wayward Kerry Collins. You figure the logic here. Collins, by any measure, was the NFL's worst starting quarterback over the past two years. Four of the teams most in need of a quarterback-- Seattle, Baltimore, Washington and St. Louis -- never even called Collins' agent to inquire about him. He had no offers on the table from any team. Saints insiders say no Giants official ever called to inquire about his stay in New Orleans last fall. And yet the Giants made him the highest-paid-player, in terms of average salary, in their history. Gives new meaning to the phrase "football intelligence."
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