2002 Draft

Positives: Good size and well-built. Has great speed and jumping ability, and unlike most sprinter-types, his strongest point may be running with the ball after the catch and on returns. Will rarely go down on initial contact, sees the field and can be a shifty and somewhat elusive runner who can be creative and make tacklers miss.

Negatives: Lacks soft, natural hands and may lose his focus at times. Likes to catch the ball against his body instead of snatching it with his hands. Will bobble, double-catch and drop a few. At times will jump, slide and dive for balls so he can catch them against his body or basket-catch them. May lack confidence in his ability to reach out, extend and catch the ball with his hands. Does not do the little things (work back to a quarterback under duress, read the blitz quickly and run hot routes) to help out his quarterback intuitively like scouts would prefer. Average route-runner who does not explode into and out of his breaks. More fast than initially quick and often will not play to his speed as a receiver. While he shows toughness as a punt returner, you could not call him a physical receiver. Has not been that durable.

Summary: (Sounds like another Morgan?) Davis has big-time speed and can be a gamebreaker, but he is not a really surehanded, polished receiver. He has many areas he must work on if he is to realize his enormous potential.

Positives: Very durable and has shown he will play through pain. Good leader and competitor. Fine intangibles. Took to the center position like a duck takes to water. Good athlete. Plays a lot quicker than he times. Can adjust on the move and block effectively on the second level. Will generally sustain his blocks. Has good feet and lateral mobility. Can slide and help out. Is learning how to long-snap. Is getting stronger now that his shoulder no longer seems to prevent him from lifting.

Negatives: Had surgery on his left shoulder in 1998 and '99, limiting the amount of work he could do to develop his upper body. Still is not as big and powerful as scouts would like. Quite frankly, even with a lot of lifting, Fowler lacks the frame to be really big and massive without sacrificing his athleticism and movement skills. Will need help when a really big and powerful man lines up over him, and it is his job to get movement for the running game. Shoulder may still need to be checked out.

Summary: A smaller, athletic type of center who is a lot like Glover, who played well for Detroit for more than a decade. However, Fowler is not quite as mobile or athletic as Glover was. They could have gotten G Terence Metcalf earlier...this guy is a stiff!

Positives: Bentley is a classic overachiever with a great work ethic who plays up to and beyond his ability level. He is very active and instinctive and will make a lot of tackles if he is freed up to run to the ball. He has worked very hard to build up his body and is also a student of the game. He stood out in the Blue-Gray All-Star game and should do very well on special teams.

Negatives: Lacks natural size and has to play on the weak side in a scheme that frees him up. Gets bounced around when he must confront linemen. Most of his plays come when he is totally unblocked. Is not a natural pass defender. May lack awareness vs. the pass.

Summary: A good but undersized player who must improve in coverage if he is to play regularly on the next level.

Positives: Top competitor with excellent intangibles. Prepares well, pays attention to the little things and knows the defense. Is a very active and instinctive player who has a motor that is going 100 mph. Makes plays. Catches the ball very well and has done some punting.

Negatives: Lacks size and strength at the point of attack and can't step up, shed and fill like scouts would like. Playing strength may always be a problem because of the way he is built (narrow without a good powerbase).

Summary: An active, instinctive and productive player who lacks size and must be protected by those in front of him to be effective.

Positives: Has excellent size and is a very large target. OK hands. Can block a little.

Negatives: On the stiff side and does not bend well. Lacks pop and explosion as a blocker, and plays with his pads too high, causing him to lose leverage. Does not adjust well to off-line and low throws. Struggles to get separation.

Summary: Came out a year too early as a fourth-year junior and may have to pay for it. Is not really ready and needs to play more and learn to play with better leverage.

Positives: Lost weight and gained quickness, speed and range without losing his playing strength. Supertough and very competitive. Plays hurt and plays through pain. Likes contact and hitting. Physical and aggressive. Heavy hitter. Is quick to fill and react most of the time. Can stuff the runner and control the middle, when he is at the top of his game. Seems to have a feel for pass coverage. Generally looks instinctive and looked very instinctive in the '01 Mississippi State game.

Negatives: Has not been that durable in the past. Can be a little bit hot and cold and does not always look that instinctive. Has games when he really is not much of a factor. Lacks great size and will lose speed when he bulks up. Is not that fast or agile. May struggle in man coverage. Will struggle to shed blocks at times. Missed a lot of tackles in '01, but it is hard to say if that was because of trying to compensate for the cast on his hand or not.

Summary: Showed dramatic improvement in '01, and in some games, like the the Mississippi State contest, played like a top-round draft pick should. However, he still had his share of down games.

Positives: Supersmart person who also is a very smart player. Understands blocking angles and position and plays with good arm extension. Gets into his blocks quickly and shows some ability to position and turn the defender. A warrior who will play in pain and not show he is in pain.

Negatives: Limited in terms of size, strength and athletic ability. Lacks natural strength and a good blocking base. Is not that flexible or agile and is not a natural knee-bender.

Summary: Overachiever who seems to find a way to get it done but will have a lot to overcome on the next level.

Positives: Fine athlete. Has exceptional quickness off the ball and will often be in the backfield before the blocker can react. Has explosive upfield speed and a closing burst. Could be a fine pass rusher if he will pay the price and work on the little things.

Negatives: Limited football background. Does not play the run very well and has a pass-rusher's mentality. Immature and can be temperamental and hard to coach. Gained weight but may have lost a step of speed.

Summary: Should have gone back to school and learned more about the game and about being a team player but does have big-time natural pass-rush ability, and with good workouts and interviews, he could move way up in the picture.

Positives: Good size and strength. Had above-average initial quickness, feet and lateral movement when his weight was down in the 300-pound area. Has played left tackle in college. Can be physical. Has improved a lot and still has upside.

Negatives: Has gotten heavy and lost his mobility. Doubtful whether he can play left tackle on the next level. On the short side for tackle and does not have the feet of a dancing bear. Does not bend his knees as well as you would like. Will duck his head at times but has gotten better at avoiding this and improving his overall technique, body and self control.

Summary: Needs to get his weight back down and regain his mobility to have a chance.

Positives: Huge and massive. Flashes real power when he bends his knees and plays with leverage. Good athlete. Moves well and is light on his feet. Looks like he can be special on some practice tapes. Can engulf and bury defenders. Has a huge upside. Seems dedicated. Went to Arizona to work out and learn from a group that included Joe Mendes after the season. Mendes then took a major position in the Redskins front office.

Negatives: Tends to get too heavy. Looks like a stud in practice, when he is being coached every step of the way and bends his knees. But in games, his first move is up, and he is a chest blocker who does not look nearly as athletic, mobile or light on his feet as he does in practice.

Summary: Works out like a Mercedes Benz but often plays like he came off the lot of "Rent-a-wreck" Could be special if he ever learns to play the way he looks on some of his practice tapes.

Positives: Big, well-built receiver with better long speed than quickness. Momentum runner who is deceptive and picks up speed as he goes.

Negatives: Inconsistent receiver who is often late reacting to the ball. Lacks great production, especially for a pro prospect on this level. Really needs to work on his pass-catching skills. Has not been used as a return man.

Summary:The biggest WR the Browns will have needs to work on pass-catching skills.

Positives: Good athlete. Great competitor. Has all the intangibles. Can long-snap.

Negatives: Lacks size and size potential. May never be big enough. Has a service commitment, which could be for the next five years

Summary: Browns are going to try him out in the H-Back position, but he probably will have a long stint in the military before he can even try pro football.

Positives: Good all-around athlete. Improved dramatically in '01. Catches the ball well, all things considered, and should only improve with experience. Jackson has long arms and big hands. He can throw the ball a long way, which will make him a threat on trick plays.

Negatives: As a receiver, he is still very raw, tends to round off his routes and likes to catch the ball with his body. Is not sudden and slows down to cut. Must work on dropping his weight and getting into and out of his cuts more quickly.

Summary: Developmental type of player who made major strides in '01. Spring workouts could be very important to him.

Positives: Excellent size for a corner. Solid against the run and is quick to support. Good in press coverage if he has help deep. Smart and productive college player who made a lot of big plays. Seems to break on the ball well and will break up a lot of balls without getting flagged very often. Has been very durable.

Negatives: May not be quick or fast enough to be a cornerback on the next level. Lacks deep catch-up speed. Does not have experience playing inside. Is a solid run-support corner but is not a big, intimidating hitter. May not have the range scouts look for in safeties.

Summary: Speed is the key. A very good college player who has marginal speed but good production.

Also signed:DB Eddie Canonico (Sacramento State), , LB Derrick Gibson, WR Frisman Jackson (Western Illinois), DB Kalvin Pearson (Grambling), and DE Thomas Pittman (Florida)

Also on the field this weekend are five tryout players: K’s Taylor Northrop (Princeton) and Matt Simonton (Southern Illinois), Kunle Williams (Penn) and Syniker Taylor (Ole Miss), and LB Robert Taylor (Grambling).