Tribal Warfare
02-23-2007, 01:18 PM
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/abox/article_1587376.php
Jarrett must prove he's quite a catch
By MICHAEL LEV
The Orange County Register
Over the next few days at the NFL scouting combine, Dwayne Jarrett will begin the process of proving he can separate from pro-caliber cornerbacks.
And from Mike Williams.
At one time, Jarrett would have viewed any comparison to his predecessor at USC as a compliment. Today, it is no longer in Jarrett's best interest to be like Mike.
Like Williams, Jarrett is a tall, record-setting Trojans receiver with a questionable 40-yard dash time who entered the draft early. Williams had even bigger concerns regarding his work ethic and maturity. Detroit selected him with the 10th pick in 2005, and he has done little to change those perceptions.
"This kid has some of the same issues," Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki said of Jarrett. "It's fair to compare them."
When longtime ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. talks to NFL scouts about Jarrett, "the first thing they bring up is Mike Williams," Kiper said.
Jarrett can demonstrate he isn't Mike Williams II by wowing team officials in interviews (mandatory) and making scouts double-check their stopwatches in the 40 (optional). Whether Jarrett runs at the combine remains to be seen; repeated efforts to reach him through his agent were unsuccessful.
The 40 is considered particularly important in Jarrett's case. He has desirable size (6-foot-5, 210 pounds), great dexterity, excellent hands and a highlight reel full of clutch catches.
"The key for Jarrett is going to be what he runs," an AFC personnel executive said. "If he can run in the mid to low 4.5s, he will go in the top 20. If not, then he will end up in the second round."
Early mock drafts have Jarrett going anywhere from 11th (to San Francisco) to 19th (to Tennessee, where Jeff Fisher and Norm Chow have USC ties) to Round 2. Oakland - coached by Lane Kiffin, who tutored Jarrett in college - picks first in the second round.
Since the star-studded, Keyshawn Johnson-led receiver class of 1996, disappointing first-round receivers have become almost an annual tradition. The list includes Yatil Green, Reidel Anthony, Rae Carruth, Marcus Nash, Troy Edwards, Peter Warrick, Sylvester Morris, R.Jay Soward, David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Freddie Mitchell, Charles Rogers and Rashaun Woods.
And, of course, Mike Williams.
Kiper is quick to note that Williams faced unusual circumstances: He sat out a year after trying unsuccessfully to enter the 2004 draft as a sophomore.
Jarrett started for most of three seasons. Although tall like Williams, Jarrett has a different body type - which some scouts view as a positive, others as a negative.
"He is smoother than Mike Williams - more like a basketball player - but not as strong or physical," the AFC personnel executive said.
Jarrett's lack of strength could cause him to struggle against big, physical cornerbacks.
"I don't think Dwayne Jarrett has the skills today to get off the line of scrimmage against quality NFL corners," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "(But) he's a great athlete, he runs better than Mike Williams, he changes direction better than Mike Williams, he's nowhere near as stiff through the hips as Mike Williams."
Nawrocki said Jarrett is "much more athletic" than Williams and plays faster than he times. Nawrocki praised Jarrett for beating top Michigan prospect Leon Hall in the Rose Bowl and, the season before, Fresno State's Richard Marshall, a second-round pick last year who started eight games for Carolina.
But, Nawrocki added, Jarrett "couldn't get off the jam in the Arkansas game against Chris Houston. He must show he can beat press coverage. Guys in the league are a lot bigger and more physical."
This is the time of year when scouts pick apart prospects, so in that way Jarrett isn't unlike most other would- be draftees. The only receiver in this class considered a sure thing - if that's possible - is Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson.
"I don't think another receiver will go in the top 10," Kiper said, "unless Dwayne Jarrett has a great combine."
He'll look great in a Chiefs uniform :rockon:
Jarrett must prove he's quite a catch
By MICHAEL LEV
The Orange County Register
Over the next few days at the NFL scouting combine, Dwayne Jarrett will begin the process of proving he can separate from pro-caliber cornerbacks.
And from Mike Williams.
At one time, Jarrett would have viewed any comparison to his predecessor at USC as a compliment. Today, it is no longer in Jarrett's best interest to be like Mike.
Like Williams, Jarrett is a tall, record-setting Trojans receiver with a questionable 40-yard dash time who entered the draft early. Williams had even bigger concerns regarding his work ethic and maturity. Detroit selected him with the 10th pick in 2005, and he has done little to change those perceptions.
"This kid has some of the same issues," Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki said of Jarrett. "It's fair to compare them."
When longtime ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. talks to NFL scouts about Jarrett, "the first thing they bring up is Mike Williams," Kiper said.
Jarrett can demonstrate he isn't Mike Williams II by wowing team officials in interviews (mandatory) and making scouts double-check their stopwatches in the 40 (optional). Whether Jarrett runs at the combine remains to be seen; repeated efforts to reach him through his agent were unsuccessful.
The 40 is considered particularly important in Jarrett's case. He has desirable size (6-foot-5, 210 pounds), great dexterity, excellent hands and a highlight reel full of clutch catches.
"The key for Jarrett is going to be what he runs," an AFC personnel executive said. "If he can run in the mid to low 4.5s, he will go in the top 20. If not, then he will end up in the second round."
Early mock drafts have Jarrett going anywhere from 11th (to San Francisco) to 19th (to Tennessee, where Jeff Fisher and Norm Chow have USC ties) to Round 2. Oakland - coached by Lane Kiffin, who tutored Jarrett in college - picks first in the second round.
Since the star-studded, Keyshawn Johnson-led receiver class of 1996, disappointing first-round receivers have become almost an annual tradition. The list includes Yatil Green, Reidel Anthony, Rae Carruth, Marcus Nash, Troy Edwards, Peter Warrick, Sylvester Morris, R.Jay Soward, David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Freddie Mitchell, Charles Rogers and Rashaun Woods.
And, of course, Mike Williams.
Kiper is quick to note that Williams faced unusual circumstances: He sat out a year after trying unsuccessfully to enter the 2004 draft as a sophomore.
Jarrett started for most of three seasons. Although tall like Williams, Jarrett has a different body type - which some scouts view as a positive, others as a negative.
"He is smoother than Mike Williams - more like a basketball player - but not as strong or physical," the AFC personnel executive said.
Jarrett's lack of strength could cause him to struggle against big, physical cornerbacks.
"I don't think Dwayne Jarrett has the skills today to get off the line of scrimmage against quality NFL corners," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "(But) he's a great athlete, he runs better than Mike Williams, he changes direction better than Mike Williams, he's nowhere near as stiff through the hips as Mike Williams."
Nawrocki said Jarrett is "much more athletic" than Williams and plays faster than he times. Nawrocki praised Jarrett for beating top Michigan prospect Leon Hall in the Rose Bowl and, the season before, Fresno State's Richard Marshall, a second-round pick last year who started eight games for Carolina.
But, Nawrocki added, Jarrett "couldn't get off the jam in the Arkansas game against Chris Houston. He must show he can beat press coverage. Guys in the league are a lot bigger and more physical."
This is the time of year when scouts pick apart prospects, so in that way Jarrett isn't unlike most other would- be draftees. The only receiver in this class considered a sure thing - if that's possible - is Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson.
"I don't think another receiver will go in the top 10," Kiper said, "unless Dwayne Jarrett has a great combine."
He'll look great in a Chiefs uniform :rockon: