THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504220422
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
There are traces of agreement among the football analysts who have either published their own 1995 mock draft or who took part in The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star/Score 1310 mock draft conducted earlier this week.
All agree that the Jacksonville Jaguars will use their pick in Saturday's first round, the second overall, to select Southern Cal offensive tackle Tony Boselli.
All agree the Seattle Seahawks will use their first-round choice for a wide receiver, though there is disagreement whether that will be Michael Westbrook of Colorado or Joey Galloway of Ohio State.
Beyond that, there is widespread disagreement regarding practically every team.
Mel Kiper Jr. predicts in his 1995 Draft Report that the Carolina Panthers will use the first pick in the draft for Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins. That assumes the Panthers don't trade the pick.
Tom Hepler of Ourlad's Guide to the 1995 Draft stays on the same campus, but predicts the Panthers' choice will be Nittany Lions running back Ki-Jana Carter. Andy Friedlander of the Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald, a member of The VP/LS-Score 1310 panel agreed with Hepler.
Hepler predicts the Redskins will use the fourth pick on Miami defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Kiper predicts Washington will take defensive end Kevin Carter. And, in the mock draft, Dave Elfin of the Washington Times predicted the Redskins would nab Colorado receiver Michael Westbrook.
If the Panthers don't trade the No. 1 pick, the first major change in the draft could come from Cincinnati. The New York Jets have made no secret of their desire to wrangle away the Bengals' top choice, the fifth overall. They would use that choice to select the defensive lineman - Sapp or Carter - they feel the Redskins wouldn't take with the previous pick.
The Jets also were working on a deal with Arizona that would send receiver Rob Moore to the Cardinals and Buddy Ryan's No. 1 pick to New York.
But if Cincinnati doesn't deal the pick, the experts are at odds over which player the Bengals would draft. Would they take an offensive player - Michigan running back Tyrone Wheatley - or grab a defensive lineman to place alongside last year's No. 1 pick, Big Daddy Wilkerson? How 'bout Florida's Carter?
Kiper, way out on a limb, predicts Ki-Jana Carter will fall to the Bengals at No. 5.
The Minnesota Vikings desperately want a quarterback, and seem focused on Steve McNair of Alcorn State. They have the 11th pick in the first round. Will they have to trade up to get him?
Ourlad's Hepler says the answer is yes when he predicts the St. Louis Rams will take McNair with the sixth pick. Kiper says the Vikings can rest easy at No. 11; McNair will still be there when they pick.
VP/LS-Score 1310 panelist John McClain of the Houston Post doesn't think the Vikings have much of a chance for McNair, short of getting the No. 1 pick from Carolina. That's because he sees the Oilers drafting McNair with the third overall pick.
Everywhere you look, there's confusion and contradiction, even when analyzing a team with as few needs as the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers.
Ourlad's Hepler predicts the 49ers will use their first-round pick on running back Rodney Thomas of Texas A&M. Kiper says Thomas won't even be drafted until the fourth round, and by the Jets.
No one ever said drafting football players was an exact science. by CNB