THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504230191
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ASHBURN, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Would the Washington Redskins have selected Miami defensive tackle Warren Sapp had it not been for late reports of extended drug usage? Drafting Colorado's Michael Westbrook, who should fill their critical need for a tall receiver, gave the Redskins a convenient escape route Saturday.
``All of our scouts and the defensive coaches evaluated Warren Sapp and I think he's going to be an outstanding football player,'' said coach Norv Turner. ``I think if you got them alone, they'd say, `Yeah, we would love to have him.'
``But they also see the need of an offensive player that gets first downs and will help the defense in the long run.''
Late Friday night, ESPN reported that the league had sent notification to each team that its security branch had uncovered that Sapp had failed drug tests seven times while at Miami. Six of those were for marijuana, one for cocaine.
Instead of being among the first half-dozen or so picks, Sapp lasted until No. 12 and was taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Redskins dropped Sapp from further consideration when they determined they didn't have enough time to investigate the report.
``You can't change your opinion of him as a football player,'' Turner said. ``Obviously, when those reports come out, you want to find out if they are accurate or not. And there was a limited amount of time to do that with it coming out the night before.''
REBUILDING THE HOGS: Last year, the Redskins drafted offensive tackle Tre' Johnson in the second round and guard Joe Patton in the third. Saturday, they plucked the best center in the draft, Wisconsin's Cory Raymer, with a second-rounder.
``If you look at free agency, you know that you can not have enough young offensive linemen,'' general manager Charley Casserly said.
Casserly said what stood out most about Raymer was his consistency.
``He's an outstanding athlete, great quickness,'' Turner said. ``He comes from an offense that does a lot of things and that gives us great flexibility.''
NOT-SO-FABULOUS NO. 4s: Over the last 10 years, only one receiver other than Westbrook has been taken with the fourth pick in the draft - Desmond Howard. Those chosen with the pick: DE Chris Doleman (1985, Minnesota); DE Jon Hand (Indianapolis, 1986); RB Brent Fullwood (Green Bay, 1987); OT Paul Gruber (Tampa Bay, 1988); LB Derrick Thomas (Kansas City, 1989); Keith McCants (Tampa, 1990); LB Mike Croel (Denver, 1991); Howard (Washington, 1992); LB Marvin Jones (New York Jets, 1993) and DE Willie McGinest (New England, 1994).
The only players from that group to achieve a consistent level of acclaim are Gruber and Thomas, though McGinest had an outstanding rookie season in New England. Turner said he was unfazed about using the fateful fourth instead of dealing it off.
``Everyone wants to say you can't take a wide receiver with the fourth pick,'' Turner said. ``I worked for a guy (Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson) who said you shouldn't take an offensive lineman with the fourth pick. What's most important to me is to take a great player with that pick. We think we did that.''
``I know all of you will write that you shouldn't take a receiver with the fourth pick,'' Casserly joked. ``My argument is why don't we let him play a little bit before we jump to conclusions.'' by CNB