1

4

1

8

1

10

3

90

By in large, a year to forget for the drafted Wide Receivers. Michael Westbrook, the first receiver taken overall, was an absolute bust and a major cancer for the Washington Redskins. His most notable accomplishment during his less-than-stellar career was a fistfight with then-Washington teammate Stephen Davis during training camp in 1997. While it was an embarrassment to Westbrook and the Redskins, Davis ended up with the most pie on his face (how do you take a beating from Westbrook of all people?!!! Davis had almost twice the size and strength!) The next WR taken in the class of '95 was Joey Galloway, who produced very little during stints with Seattle and Dallas before landing in Tampa Bay. When everyone thought his career was over, Galloway put together the finest season of his NFL career (at age 33). Drafted two spots behind Galloway back in '95 was J.J. Stokes - quite possibly one of the all-time biggest busts the NFL Draft has ever seen from a Wideout. Stokes had size and speed comparable to Randy Moss (minus the attitude) and in San Francisco, he was supposed to be the protégé and heir apparent to teammate Jerry Rice. Didn't happen. Instead, Stokes turned out to be an average possession receiver in the NFL, but he never eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark (actually he never eclipsed 800 yards). The [pleasant] surprise of this class was Antonio Freeman, who was drafted in round three and went on to become a key ingredient to the dominant Packer teams of the mid to late 90's. As Favre's favorite weapon and the team's #1 receiver during much of his career, Freeman helped the Packers win a Super Bowl title.

What a difference a year makes! As bad as the 1995 WR Draft class turned out to be (only four notables and very little to show for it), the 1996 class was sensational. So good, in fact, that it will probably go down as the best year ever for Wide Receiver drafting. Whether you love to hate him or hate to love him, Keyshawn Johnson has been a very good NFL player – not the best of this class despite being drafted #1 overall – but a very good NFL player. He's been durable throughout his career and between 1998 and 2002, he averaged over 1,000 yards and 7 TDs a season. He was also a key member of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl team. A headache at times, but Johnson isn't the only superstar problem child of this draft class (more on that later). Terry Glenn helped lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl (a loss to Green Bay), and has been a personal favorite of Coaching Guru Bill Parcells since entering the league (teamed with Parcells in New England and Dallas). Eddie Kennison has been a decent NFL receiver during his journeyman career (St. Louis, New Orleans, Chicago, Denver and finally Kansas City). He put up his best numbers after bouncing around the league for seven years before landing in Dick Vermeil's K.C. offense as the #1 WR and recording back-to-back 1,000 yards seasons in 2004 and 2005. But Kennison was a bust when you consider who was drafted behind him, starting with the very next pick, Marvin Harrison, a mainstay in Indianapolis, holder of virtually every team record in receiving, and a future hall of famer. Eric Moulds, also drafted in round one, has put a nice career together. Round two gave us Amani Toomer and Muhsin Muhammad, two very productive NFL receivers. Muhammad led the league in receiving with over 1,400 yards and 16 TDs in 2004 during Carolina's Super Bowl run (when they lost to New England). Arguably the greatest WR steal in draft history occurred during the very next round, when the 49ers drafted a young man from small-school Tennessee-Chattanooga named Terrell Owens. At the time, San Francisco had Jerry Rice at the pinnacle of his career and 1995's first rounder J.J. Stokes firmly entrenched as starters. But T.O. turned those plans (and the organization itself) upside down. After a few years, T.O. became a legitimate stud, bypassing Strokes on the depth chart and forcing San Francisco to dump 49er legend and fan favorite Jerry Rice. After taking San Fran to the playoffs a few times, T.O.'s attitude became too much for the organization and the rest of his antics are a soap opera that needn't be retold. Round 5 gave us another diamond in the rough in JuCo grad Joe Horn, who spent a few seasons rotting away on the bench in Kansas City before shuffling off to New Orleans and cell phone infamy.

Proving the cyclical nature of the NFL Draft, a very good year for drafting Wide Receivers in 1996 was followed up with a disastrous 1997 class. The University of Florida gave us two first rounders (a remarkable achievement), but unfortunately for the Gators Press Club, neither panned out to be much in the NFL. Ike Hilliard, the first WR drafted overall, was an average #2 receiver in the NFL. His UF teammate Reidel Anthony was never more than a bench-warmer in the NFL. Sandwiched in between them was Yatil Green from the U, and the less said about his NFL career, the better. Carolina drafted Rae Carruth from Colorado (the alma mater of Michael Westbrook – see the '95 review above). As if Westbrook didn’t embarrass himself enough, Carruth was determined to better his Colorado counterpart. Westbrook brawled with a teammate. Carruth topped that with his murder conviction. Again, the less said about Carruth's NFL career, the better. The lone bright spot from this class was diamond in the rough Derrick Mason, a fourth round steal who became a #1 receiver for Steve McNair in Houston / Tennessee and again in Baltimore.

A solid and memorable year for Wide Receiver drafting. With the exception of Moss, all of the WRs listed above had memorable Super Bowl moments (for better or worse). Kevin Dyson, the first WR taken overall at #16, turned out to be a decent player but by no means did he live up to his first round billing. He spent the majority of his career with the Oilers / Titans but played second fiddle to teammate Derrick Mason (drafted in round four one year prior). Dyson's most memorable NFL moment occurred during Super Bowl XXXIV when he ran the quick post pattern, caught the Steve McNair pass and was tackled at the 1-yard line as time expired resulting in Tennessee’s 7-point (or one TD) loss to the Rams. Randy Moss was the star of this class, but coming out of college he was widely considered a high-risk case because of his character (or lack thereof), which is why his stock plummeted in the days leading up to the '98 draft. While Moss has never won many awards for good behavior, his production vastly exceeded that of Dyson. In his first six seasons with the Vikings, Moss averaged close to 1,400 and 12 TDs per season. Despite putting up the best career numbers of this draft class, Moss was the only one (of those listed above) not to make a Super Bowl appearance. Joe Jurevicious was a quality round two pick. He went on to become a very good possession receiver in the NFL and helped win a Super Bowl ring for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. The steal/surprise of this class was Hines Ward, who had a good (not spectacular) college career but went on to become a legend in the annals of Steeler History, becoming one of the team's most celebrated Wide Receivers, one of Pittsburgh’s classiest citizens, and of course, leading the team to a Super Bowl title in 2005, earning MVP honors in that game. Tim Dwight, while not as celebrated as the other receivers of this class, has been a skilled return specialist and slot receiver in the NFL. He made his own Super Bowl appearance for the Falcons back in 1999, returning a Denver kickoff for a touchdown.

A respectable class led by Torry Holt, who is still one of the top receivers in the game. Holt helped turn the Rams offense into the "greatest show on turf" and bring the Super Bowl crown to St. Louis back in 2000. David Boston and Peerless Price, the next two Wide Receivers taken in the 1999 Draft, can both be classified as one-hit wonders. Like most things in Arizona, Boston was a disappointment. He had back-to-back good years on bad Cardinal teams, but once he hit the free agent market, he disappointed for every team he joined, including San Diego and Miami. Same goes for Price, who put up 1,200 yards and 9 TDs during his breakout season in 2002, but he was traded to Atlanta for a first round pick the next season and he never came close to repeating his ’02 production. After two seasons, Atlanta kicked him to the curb. Brandon Stokely has been a very good #3 receiver in the NFL with both Baltimore and Indianapolis. And Donald Driver went from seventh round, small-school nobody to Brett Favre's #1 target in Green Bay.

Peter Warrick was the top WR taken. He did very little for the Bengals and was eventually overtaken on the depth chart by Cincy teammates Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, both of whom were drafted out of Oregon State the next year. Plaxico Burress, a TE / WR in college, turned out be a very nice player, especially for younger NFL QBs (like Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning) who learned quickly how to throw jumpball hail marys in Plaxico's direction. While not at all worthy of #10 overall, Travis Taylor has been a decent #2 receiver in the NFL. If you look up "bust" in an NFL Draft dictionary, you’re likely to find the next two first round WRs – Sylvester Morris and R. Jay Soward. The geniuses running the “where Are They Now?” department can’t even find these two anymore. Dennis Northcutt and Jerry Porter have played well for second rounders, and Laveranues Coles and Darrell Jackson both became #1 receivers for their respective teams despite being drafted in round three.

The 2001 Draft - otherwise known as the most enigmatic WR Draft Class in history. David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Rod Gardner and Freddie Mitchell all failed miserably. Terrell's ego was too big for his own good. Robinson recorded more trips to rehab than he did to the endzone. Gardner was basically Michael Westbrook reincarnated for the Redskins and Freddie Mitchell...well...he was just Freddie Mitchell...the mini-me to T.O.'s Dr. Evil in the city of brotherly love. Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne were the gems of this first round and both starred together at the U. Amazingly, the talent got better as the draft progressed. Chad Johnson became one of the top 5 receivers in the game – and Freddie Mitchell was taken ahead of him. Then Chris Chambers was drafted toward the end of the second round - and Freddie Mitchell was drafted ahead of him! In round three,

Donte Stallworth was all about speed when he left Tennessee early for the NFL. He never lived up to the hype in New Orleans – struggling to hold on to the ball and run clean routes. A 2006 preseason trade to Philly brought out the best in him as he quickly forged a strong bond with Donovan McNabb. Ashley Lelie, also drafted in the first frame of 2002, had his share of problems in Denver too. When he became too much for Mike Shanahan to stomach, he was dealt to Atlanta. Why? Because Denver swung a deal with Green Bay a few months earlier to land Javon Walker, drafted in the same year by Green Bay. Walker has put up the best numbers of this class, and will enjoy the best career in all likelihood, but he hasn’t yet captured a ring, something second round steals of the '02 Draft, Antwan Randle El and Deion Branch, managed to accomplish quickly in their young careers. Of course, their contributions to Super Bowl winning teams (Pittsburgh and New England respectively) were soured when both left town. Randle El dissed the Steelers (and vice versa) over money (what else?) and took his game to D.C. via free agency. Branch and the Patriots got into a hissing match (also over money, of course) that led to an in-season holdout and eventual trade to Seattle. Overall, a talented Draft class – but certainly not a loyal one. Of the seven names listed above, NONE were on the 2006 opening day roster for the club that drafted them.

Clearly not a very good draft class. Charles Rogers set all kinds of records at Michigan State. As a rookie for the Lions in 2003, he got off to a fast start, quickly becoming the team's #1 receiver before derailment. Two shoulder injuries and one drug suspension later - BOOM! Come opening day 2006 Mr. Rogers is walking the neighborhood unemployed. Andre Johnson is a special talent – you can still see it today. He was definitely worth #3 overall, but Houston is still stuck in expansion hell and Johnson's true talent hasn't yet been realized, through no fault of his own. Give him a competent QB with competent protection and a Head Coach or Offensive Coordinator who actually owns a playbook and watch out! The odd thing about this class was Arizona's draft overall, but especially at WR. Bryant Johnson was drafted in round one, #17 overall. Anquan Boldin was drafted in round two, #54 overall. About a week into 2003 training camp, Boldin became the Cardinals best playmaker. Today, he's a star and Bryant Johnson is still making the "NFL adjustment."

Seven! That's right. Seven Wide Receivers drafted in round one. For those of you mathematically challenged, that’s almost 25% of the entire first round devoted to Wide Receivers – a very hefty number considering the history of WR drafting and the tremendous potential for error. It's still very early to assess this class in broad terms, but already Larry Fitzgerald and Roy Williams are emerging as potential superstars. Both are #1 receivers for their respective teams. Reggie Williams had the most raw talent coming out of Washington, but that "rawness" has taken a great deal of time to ripen in Jaguar-ville. Ernest Wilford, stolen in round four by the Jags, quickly overtook Williams on the depth chart down in Jacksonville. Ouch. Williams' days aren't numbered yet however. Lee Evans and Michael Clayton, also drafted in the first frame, have shown flashes of almost-greatness, but neither has had the luxury of teaming with a competent QB at this point in his career. Michael Jenkins is looking like a decent NFL receiver, but likely never a world-beater. Rashaun Woods was a first round bust, joining an elite club that includes David Terrell, Sylvester Morris, Yatil Green and a laundry list of others for which we simply haven't enough webspace to print.

The art, craft and idiocy of Wide Receiver drafting has brought great joy and sorrow to fans over the years. It'll take years if not generations before we forget the names of J.J. Stokes, Michael Westbrook and R. Jay Soward. We'll wonder how talents like Terrell Owens and Steve Smith, both third round draft selections, were unnoticed and unappreciated by Draft gurus and Scouts alike on their respective draft days. We'll wonder, for as long as football is played, how the equipment manager in Cincinnati felt when he learned that the Bengals drafted a man named "Houshmandzadeh" and was instructed to prepare a jersey with his name slapped across the back.

And we offer up these final nuggets that we hope you'll read and enjoy ten years from now. The 2006 Draft class hasn't even completed their first full season in the "big leagues" yet, but our crystal balling is telling us something. It's telling us that WR Chad Jackson will go down as the star of this class, ahead of the only first round WR taken, Santonio Holmes. With only one WR landing in round one, it's hard to slap a bust tag on anyone. But there is a sleeper in this class and his name is Derek Hagan, drafted in round three (82nd overall) by the Miami Dolphins. Every class has a surprise/sleeper, and our money's on Hagan.

Happy Drafting.