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INDIANAPOLIS -- Give credit to the quarterback Class of 2003 for this much: Most of the top prospects participated on Sunday in throwing drills and, while there are still two months remaining before the draft, the group might have begun to separate itself into levels at the combine.
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Scouts take
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Some observations from an AFC general manager:
"This isn't a great group of tight ends, but it is a deep bunch, and it will produce a lot of guys who play in the league. Here's one who isn't getting lots of publicity, but who I really like, particularly as a receiver: (George) Wrighster from Oregon. He might have the best hands of any of the guys at the position. He doesn't fight the ball like some of them. He seems to run nice routes. Now he won't knock (a defender) off the line as a blocker but, from what I've seen, he is a willing blocker. At least from that standpoint, he gives you something to work with, and he'll get better."
"Everybody likes the guard from Hawaii (Vince Manuwai) and, heck, so do I, OK? But the tackle from over there, (Wayne) Hunter, is a really good player, too. He's a big, rangy guy, a blocker with natural pass protections skills. Pretty good feet for a guy with his dimensions. I mean they throw the ball over there so much in the run-and-shoot (offense), you'd better be able to pass-block, right? But June (Jones, the Hawaii head coach) seems to do a good job getting his kids ready for the combine. In Hunter's case, you'll have to project a little bit about how he'll be as a run blocker and how he will handle playing in a more conventional offense. But he's got a really nice upside to him. Well coached and a solid prospect."
"I was pretty anxious to see (wide receiver Kassim) Osgood from San Diego State, because he's got great size and looked good on tape when I watched him, and I wanted to see what he would run. Well, I saw, and he didn't help himself at all. I think we got him in, like 4.74 and maybe 4.82, in his two 40s. Not very flexible, it didn't seem, and you wonder if he could get off the jam at the line of scrimmage. He made some plays in the couple games I saw (on tape) but, now having seen him in person, I just don't know if he's going to make it at the next level."
"You might think I'm crazy but, if I had a pick in the top five, I wouldn't be so quick to jump on (defensive tackle) Jimmy Kennedy (of Penn State). And, hell, I'd love to get a big tackle like him to just clog everything up in the middle. But the guy scares the hell out of me. He takes too many downs off. There are times you look at him and he just doesn't seem interested in making the play. Like I said, probably I'm goofy, and he isn't going to be around anyway when we pick. So I guess it's a moot point, huh? But if he turns out to be just an average player, remember this conversation, man."
"Once again, and I know I say this every year to you, there aren't enough of the big, physical cornerbacks to go around. Big receivers? You betcha. Big corners to cover them? Nope. One of the few guys with some size, the (Andre) Woolfolk kid from Oklahoma, is going to slide. He's making the move from wide receiver, hasn't played enough corner, was terrible in some of the post-season stuff, and doesn't have functional strength. He did just 10 'reps' on the bench press and they felt sorry for him and gave him the last one, just to get him to double digits. I don't see it happening for him."
"On the opposite end of the spectrum, the cornerback from Tuskegee, (Drayton) Florence, I like a lot. Good size, a mean streak, played at a small-time level school but doesn't back off and isn't awed by all this. He has the size you want and he moved better than I felt he would. I haven't seen him enough yet on tape but, when I get back home, he's a player I want to do a little more digging on."
"There are so many backs who didn't run, and who we're going to have to see in campus workouts, it isn't even funny. But the one kid who didn't have a choice in the matter, and who I am anxious to see, if Artose Pinner (of Kentucky). He was on crutches with a broken leg, so you can't blame him for not running, not like some of those other (sissies) who bailed out. But I felt like he was the best pure tailback I saw last year, at least on the East Coast, and I hope he's healthy soon. He's got some wiggle, is built low to the ground, and catches the ball OK."
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Two players who got excellent reviews were Kyle Boller of California and Louisville's Dave Ragone, both of whom impressed scouts, although they did so in different ways. At 6-feet-3 and 234 pounds, Boller blistered a 40 time in the 4.6s, excellent for a man his size, especially a quarterback. The puzzling thing was that, after Boller got the early momentum, he declined to take part in the throwing segment of the workout.
"I really thought he made a mistake," said Houston Texans general manager Charley Casserly. "We had him at the Senior Bowl and throwing the ball is what he does best. He ran a great time and decided that was enough."
Ragone, who really needed a good workout to re-establish himself among the top prospects, arguably had the best session putting the ball in the air. He made some superb throws, scouts said, and got into a rhythm in which he was hitting just about everything. The scouts who were concerned about his accuracy, and there were more than a few, will have to re-assess him. Earlier in the combine, we listed him in this space as a prospect in decline, but that is hardly the case now.
Chris Simms of Texas was very good, showing that he could throw most passes, and he also exhibited a bit more speed than people felt he had. Southern Cal's Carson Palmer was not great, but didn't have to be, and did nothing to hurt his status as the likely first overall choice in the draft. Rex Grossman of Florida was up and down, and one scout recalled a sequence in which he skipped two balls several yards short, but followed up with two straight completions that demonstrated both touch and arm strength.
Of course, Byron Leftwich of Marshall did not participate in any drills, as he continues to recover from a fractured left leg.
The consensus was that Ken Dorsey of Miami really hurt his chances with a very poor performance on Sunday afternoon. New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel termed Dorsey "an adequate systems-type passer." Translation: He was awful on Sunday and it is anyone's guess now as to where he will be selected in two months. Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden several times over the weekend referred to Dorsey's winning record in college, with just two losses in three years as a starter, but that won't be enough to rehabilitate him in the big-picture evaluation process.
Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech was average, didn't show a lot of arm, and also looked like a "systems" guy. Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), Brooks Bollinger (Wisconsin) and Jason Gesser (Washington State) didn't do much to improve their stock.
One player who surprised a few teams, but ended up with mostly mixed reviews, was Josh Blankenship of Eastern Washington. A tad shorter than most teams like, Blankenship made some throws that turned a few heads but his overall accuracy was lacking. He may have impressed enough teams to get him drafted in the late rounds.
Around the combine
In a year when the defensive tackle position is very deep, one player who hadn't gotten nearly enough attention was Kevin Williams of Oklahoma State, but that is no longer a problem. Not after his performance over the weekend. Weighing in at 317 pounds, Williams was clocked by some scouts at about 4.85 seconds in the 40-yard dash. There were some tight ends on Sunday who would have killed for that time. There were a few teams who wondered if Williams, who played much of the '02 season in the 290-pound range, could move outside and play end. But that's not even a possibility now that he has bulked up and lost none of his quickness. He is a long-armed defender with terrific initial explosiveness and, when he gets his pads down, he can be very disruptive. Since several of the better known tackles are going to go off the board early, Williams' stock is going to rise, and he could get into the first round.
Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace didn't exactly endear himself to the scouts on Sunday afternoon. At just 5-feet-11½, Wallace simply isn't tall enough to play quarterback at the NFL level and teams requested that, in addition to the passing drills, he work out at wide receiver. But Wallace declined to participate in wideout drills, worked exclusively at quarterback, and hurt his stock. He ran a 4.53, essentially the same time that was clocked last year by Antwaan Randle El. But the versatile Randle El elected in 2002 to work at other positions, wound up getting drafted by the Steelers in the second round, and was a great addition for them. Teams might never know now if Wallace could have helped them as a receiver or return man because he was too stubborn to try those drills. "He's got to accept the fact that he probably can't play quarterback (in the NFL)," said Casserly. "But he has not accepted that yet. I think he's getting some bad advice."
There were some very good 40-yard times posted by wide receivers on Sunday but no one hit the kind of daily double that Kevin Curtis of Utah State did. One of the fastest-rising players in the offseason, Curtis clocked a time between 4.38-4.40. But get this: He also scored a 48 on the 50-question Wonderlic test, the psychological profile battery administered to players. That could be the second-best score ever. Former Cincinnati punter Pat McInally, a Harvard man, is believed to be the only player to ever record a perfect 50 on the test.
As noted in the Saturday combine notebook, Boss Bailey of Georgia is the consensus No. 1 weakside linebacker prospect. But look for the two other starting linebackers from the Bulldogs' 2002 unit to be drafted as well. Middle linebacker Tony Gilbert probably won't go until the middle rounds, but he was a tackling machine in college and a hard worker. Gilbert is the kind of guy who will play special teams for a couple seasons, be very good at covering kicks, then maybe become a starter later in his career. Chris Clemons, who actually played weakside linebacker at Georgia, is a very athletic performer but also very raw. Some observers were stunned when he decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility. He probably projects as a late-round pick but his overall athleticism should earn him a job.
Most teams have now scrapped plans to evaluate Bethune-Cookman safety Rashean Mathis at cornerback. The reason: Everybody wants a safety who can cover, somebody with great mid-field range, and Mathis appears to be a player of that ilk. He had a remarkable 14 interceptions in 2002 and brought back four of them for touchdowns. As one college scouting director noted: "I don't care if he was playing against high school kids. Fourteen 'picks' is a lot. Those balls didn't all just fall into his hands." Mathis is bulked up to 203 pounds now, a gain of about 12-15 pounds over his college weight, and is a good hitter and sure tackler. There may still be a few coaches who want to see if he can play cornerback. But the way the game is evolving, he sure looks like a safety prospect.
Don't be surprised if the league considers making the combine a television event. Remember, this is a league continually seeking new revenue streams, and the combine might be of interest to some network. Plus there are some scouts who feel that, if the workouts were televised, more players might decide to participate. With one day of workouts remaining it appears as if the changes made by the combine this year, providing more "down" time for players to rest, have not produced a higher level of participation. The top players still declined to run and the lack of participation at the running back spot was an embarrassment.
Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman, the premier prospect at the position and a guy who figures to be a top five choice, had extra MRI work done on some past shoulder and knee injuries. The word is, however, that Newman is fine. He is a rare prospect in that he is already 24 years old. The reason: He was held back in second grade. No one seems concerned by his age, though, and with good reason. Newman can "flat out cover," according to one NFC college scouting director. He is, perhaps, the lone viable "shut down" corner in this draft.
Momentum meter
 Tyrone Calico, WR, Middle Tennessee State: Depending upon whose watch you trust, wide receiver Tyrone Calico of Middle Tennessee State clocked between 4.39-4.41 in the 40 during Sunday's workout, and may have boosted his stock considerably. Everyone is looking for the bigger wide receiver but, after Charles Rogers (Michigan State) and Andre Johnson (Miami), there aren't many wideouts with the raw size, speed and receiving skills of Calico. The late Joel Buchsbaum called him "a poor man's Terrell Owens." But one scout noted on Sunday that, "(Owens) couldn't run with this guy." There are some concerns Calico does not play up to his stopwatch speed, and the former basketball small forward isn't the most natural route-runner, but it is hard to ignore his explosive nature. Calico seems to be able to naturally separate from a cornerback, is aggressive enough going after the ball, and can run away from people after the catch. He's starting to answer some of the doubters.
Momentum meter
 Anquan Boldin, WR, Florida State: Since you can't really teach speed, it's hard to suggest that Florida State wide receiver Anquan Boldin should have stayed in school and played his senior season in 2003, but it wouldn't have hurt him. There are a lot of big wide receivers in this draft who will run well, when they finally get to their campus workouts, but Boldin is a big wide receiver who is stiff and doesn't exhibit much quickness. He was clocked in the 4.75-4.83 range on Sunday, at least on two scouts' watches, and that doesn't even register as pedestrian speed for the position. At 6-feet-1½ and about 218 pounds, he certainly has the size and physical nature teams covet, but Boldin is very raw in terms of route-running, a former high school quarterback who is still learning the nuances of the wide receiver position. He has good, not great hands and will drop some easy balls because he gets lazy. The size might be there but the speed definitely isn't at this point.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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