The Jaguars' top draft selections of tight end Marcedes Lewis and tailback Maurice Drew look pretty good on paper. But the ex-UCLA players will have to overcome the Pacific-10 Conference's checkered history when it comes to skill players delivering on their NFL investment.
Every league has eventual stars and warts among its draft picks. However, because Pac-10 offenses resemble a video game more than most major Division I-A conferences, I've often wondered if the numbers that quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends put up on the West Coast might inflate their true value.
So I reviewed the NFL careers of every Pac-10 player who played those positions and was drafted in the first two rounds from 1976 to 2000. It shows the odds aren't in favor of the Jaguars' UCLA connection being future stars.
Of the 61 Pac-10 skill players taken high in the draft in that 25-year period, about half of them (30) would be classified as busts. They either failed to stay around long or performed well below the standard expected of an NFL starter. Another 14 players had just average careers, a resume that didn't quite live up to the position in which they were drafted.
The flip side is 17 former Pac-10 players, including Hall of Famers John Elway (Stanford), Marcus Allen (Southern California), James Lofton (Stanford) and Troy Aikman (UCLA), had very good or great careers. When you add future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez (California), the combined Pro Bowls in that group alone is 36.
As excited as the Jaguars are about Lewis and Drew, the reality is only 28 percent of Pac-10 skill players chosen in the first two rounds during the modern NFL era can be expected to yield a high return.
If the Jaguars are going to be Super Bowl contenders in the coming years, they're banking on Lewis and Drew being exceptions to the rule. ...
One reason golfer John Daly wrote a provocative autobiography, in which he admits to gambling away $50-60 million (likely exaggerated to hype the book) in a 12-year period, was obviously for money to help erase his debts. But don't be surprised if the book costs him money, too. When CEOs read or hear about some of the explicit details of Daly's life, it's conceivable many will think twice about inviting him to corporate golf outings for a six-figure payday. ...
Credit Phil Fulmer's zero-tolerance policy for bad behavior as the reason Tennessee's football program is showing improvement. It's already May, and the Volunteers have had just two players either suspended or kicked off the team for stepping out of line, well behind last year's lawlessness pace. ...
A $15 million indoor practice facility is under construction at West Point and will be known as the Foley Athletic Center. The benefactor is graduate Bill Foley, the CEO of Fidelity National in Jacksonville.
Happy 75th birthday today to Willie Mays, the greatest all-around baseball player ever. One forgotten point about the former San Francisco Giants outfielder who hit 660 home runs: He missed nearly two full seasons to serve in the Army, and likely would have surpassed Babe Ruth's record of 714 before Hank Aaron did it. Mays' most amazing feat may have been stealing 23 bases in 26 attempts at age 40. ...
After the NFL Draft, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart was seen dancing and cuddling in Las Vegas with Paris Hilton. Leinart's stock continues its downward plunge.
gene.frenette
jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4540
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