Centrists

PHOENIX — On the same day Dez Bryant performed at an exclusive workout for NFL coaches and scouts in Lufkin, Texas, one of his rivals for the distinction of being the first wide receiver picked in the 2010 draft ran pass routes for the first time in six weeks.

WR Demaryius Thomas showed first-round ability in a triple-option offense at Georgia Tech, totaling 1,154 receiving yards in 2009.

Ran would be an overstatement.

Demaryius Thomas jogged gingerly on the FieldTurf outside the Athletes Performance training center here Tuesday as he went through his route tree.

First, a slant. Then a hitch, followed by a quick out and a dig. A comeback, a post and a post-corner completed the repertoire. Thomas ran the routes several times from both sides of the field — visualizing catching the ball each time — under the watchful eyes of John Stemmerman, general manager and performance manager at AP.

"We have 16 days, basically," Stemmerman said. "I don’t want to fast-track you, but I want you to get as many reps as possible."

Thomas is on a mission. The former Georgia Tech wide receiver is preparing himself for a late pro day in Atlanta on Sunday, April 18, just four days before the draft.

"I’ll be the last man standing," he joked.

It’s remarkable that Thomas can jog, much less stand firmly on both feet. On Feb. 16, while training for the NFL Scouting Combine, he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot while running the 3-cone drill here.

Five days later, he underwent surgery.

Dr. Robert Anderson, an orthopedic surgeon for the Carolina Panthers, removed bone marrow from Thomas’ hip and injected it into the area of the fracture, which was repaired with a pin. A few days after that, Thomas flew to Indianapolis for the Combine, hobbling his way around on crutches.

Thomas graduated from a half cast to a walking boot March 4. The next day, he began intense physical therapy at AP. In the beginning, he used a bone stimulator, wore electrodes on his foot when he slept and received massage therapy. Gradually, he began upper-body weight lifting and non-weight bearing cardiovascular exercises on a treadmill and in a pool. The goal all along has been to help Thomas optimize the healing process, keep his calves, quads and glutes from atrophying and focus on proper form and mechanics in an attempt to prevent future injuries to his back or knees.

"This should be just a little hiccup, a speed bump, in his career," said Anna Hartman, an AP athletic trainer who has worked closely with Thomas during his rehab. "My goal is to make sure this is a hiccup for him and not something that creates (other) injuries for him down the road."

On Monday, Thomas did some rudimentary cutting on the field for the first time.

Stemmerman, who was working with him for the first day, looked at Hartman and asked which foot he had broken.

"Watching him, you can’t tell what foot he had surgery on," Hartman said.

After running routes Tuesday morning, Thomas did some resistance and acceleration exercises. The session concluded with Stemmerman, standing 10 yards away, throwing about 50 passes to Thomas, several of which purposely forced Thomas to lean or stretch. Once, he had to jump a foot off the ground to catch one of the throws. "My bad," Stemmerman said. "I didn’t mean for you to get up that high."

Before his injury, Thomas was rated as a first-round pick — remarkable considering Thomas played in a triple-option offense at Georgia Tech, where running plays were called about 80 percent of the time.

When the Yellow Jackets did throw, Thomas was the primary target. A vertical threat, he had 46 receptions for an ACC-leading 1,154 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He averaged a staggering 25.1 yards per catch.

NFL personnel men aren’t as concerned about Thomas’ foot injury — they know he’s well on the road to recovery — as they are his route-running skills. He ran mostly vertical routes in college.

"The bigger questions you have on him aren’t necessarily the physical ones," and AFC college scouting director said. "You don’t see him running a big route tree and that wasn’t a consistent passing offense, so you don’t see him run route after route after route.

"As a player, he’s a talented guy, no doubt. He’s big and he’s fast and he’s physical. I wouldn’t call him a refined route-runner, but not everyone is coming out."

As he lunched on a beef burrito here Tuesday, Thomas was asked where he thought he would be drafted.

"Looking at the mock drafts, it seems like no (wide receiver) is in the top five (picks)," he said. "I feel like I’m a top-10 athlete compared to everyone else. … Just watching the other (receivers) and seeing what they do, I feel like I block the best, I make more plays. I’m more explosive, bigger, maybe the fastest. I can’t say that yet; I haven’t run the 40."

That will come April 18. That’s when the last man standing hopes his eleventh-hour workout for scouts and personnel men will lead to some last-minute changes on NFL draft boards.

Dennis Dillon is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at ddillon@sportingnews.com.

A look back at the best and worst picks of the first draft of the previous decade:

Steals

Value personified: Tom Brady in Round 6.

Tom Brady, QB, Michigan
Patriots: Round 6, Pick 199

Let’s see, he has three Super Bowl rings, is the only man in NFL history to throw for 50 touchdowns in a single season. Quarterbacks taken ahead of Brady include Giovanni Carmazzi, Tee Martin and Spergon Wynn. New England got away with grand larceny here.

Brady on Brady before the 2000 draft: "I think my best asset as a player is that in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, I have the desire to win and the feeling that our team is not going to lose."

Adalius Thomas, OLB, Southern Miss
Ravens: Round 6, Pick 186

Things haven’t quite worked out for Thomas with the Patriots in recent years, but before joining them, he was a two-time Pro Bowl player alongside Ray Lewis in Baltimore.

Dante Hall, WR, Texas A&M
Chiefs: Round 5, Pick 153

Hall (5-8, 187) was too undersized to hold up at his college position of running back. But with his great quickness and elusiveness, "The Human Joystick" found his niche on kickoff and punt returns and racked up 12,397 career return yards and 10 touchdowns.

Mark Tauscher, RT, Wisconsin
Packers: Round 7, Pick 224

The Packers took a flyer on the Wisconsin product, and he and Chad Clifton (Round 2, Pick 44 in 2000) started immediately as bookend tackles. Tauscher has battled injuries but has stuck with the team.

Brian Waters, G, North Texas
Chiefs: Undrafted

Throughout the decade, the four-time Pro Bowl guard was the dominant force behind Kansas City’s prolific rushing machine, paving the way for monster seasons by Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson.

Stinkers

Courtney Brown, DE, Penn State
Browns: Round 1, Pick 1

Cleveland had the misfortune of taking its namesake, who was derailed by knee injuries after his rookie season, limiting him to only 19 career sacks.

R. Jay Soward, WR, Southern Cal
Jaguars: Round 1, Pick 29

Jacksonville officials overlooked his off-field problems in taking him here, and he didn’t even make out it of training camp as a rookie, succumbing to several suspensions that stemmed from alcohol and drug abuse.

Erik Flowers, DE, Arizona State
Bills: Round 1, Pick 26

He started only six games for Buffalo before being released after only two seasons. He ended up as journeyman with five sacks over his six bad NFL years.

Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin
Giants: Round 1, Pick 11

Dayne came in as a Heisman winner and the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher, but the New Jersey native was best known for being "Thunder" to Tiki Barber’s "Lightning" for a few seasons before falling out of shape—and the team’s favor. He also is known as the back New York drafted instead of Shaun Alexander.

Travis Taylor, WR, Florida
Ravens: Round 1, Pick 10

Taylor was one of five wide receivers drafted in the first round, none of whom made the Pro Bowl. After five mediocre seasons in Baltimore, he bounced around, playing for five other teams before failing to find a seventh NFL home in 2009.

First round

1. Cleveland—Courtney Brown, DE, Penn State
2. Washington—LaVar Arrington, OLB, Penn State
3. Washington—Chris Samuels, OT, Alabama
4. Cincinnati—Peter Warrick, WR, Florida State
5. Baltimore—Jamal Lewis, RB, Tennessee
6. Philadelphia—Corey Simon, DT, Florida State
7. Arizona—Thomas Jones, RB, Virginia
8. Pittsburgh—Plaxico Burress, WR, Michigan State
9. Chicago—Brian Urlacher, MLB, New Mexico
10. Baltimore—Travis Taylor, WR, Florida
11. N.Y. Giants—Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin
12. N.Y. Jets—Shaun Ellis, DE, Tennessee
13. N.Y. Jets—John Abraham, LB, South Carolina
14. Green Bay—Bubba Franks, TE, Miami (Fla.)
15. Denver—Deltha O’Neal, CB, Cal
16. San Francisco—Julian Peterson, OLB, Michigan State
17. Oakland—Sebastian Janikowski, K, Florida State
18. N.Y. Jets—Chad Pennington, QB, Marshall
19. Seattle—Shaun Alexander, RB, Alabama
20. Detroit—Stockar McDougle, OT, Oklahoma
21. Kansas City—Sylvester Morris, WR, Jackson State
22. Seattle—Chris McIntosh, OT, Wisconsin
23. Carolina—Rashard Anderson, FS, Jackson State
24. San Francisco—Ahmed Plummer, CB, Ohio State
25. Minnesota—Chris Hovan, DT, Boston College
26. Buffalo—Erik Flowers, DE, Arizona State
27. N.Y. Jets—Anthony Becht, TE, West Virginia
28. Indianapolis—Rob Morris, LB, Brigham Young
29. Jacksonville—R.Jay Soward, WR, USC
30. Tennessee—Keith Bulluck, LB, Syracuse
31. St. Louis—Trung Canidate, RB, Arizona

Second round

32. Cleveland—Dennis Northcutt, WR, Arizona
33. New Orleans—Darren Howard, DE, Kansas State
34. Cincinnati—Mark Roman, CB, Louisiana State
35. San Francisco—John Engelberger, DE, Virginia Tech
36. Philadelphia—Todd Pinkston, WR, Southern Miss
37. Atlanta—Travis Claridge, G, USC
38. Pittsburgh—Marvel Smith, OT, Arizona State
39. Chicago—Mike Brown, FS, Nebraska
40. Denver—Ian Gold, LB, Michigan
41. Arizona—Raynoch Thompson, OLB, Tennessee
42. N.Y. Giants—Cornelius Griffin, DT, Alabama
43. San Diego—Rogers Beckett, S, Marshall
44. Green Bay—Chad Clifton, OT, Tennessee
45. Denver—Kenoy Kennedy, S, Arkansas
46. New England—Adrian Klemm, OT, Hawaii
47. Oakland—Jerry Porter, WR, West Virginia
48. San Francisco—Jason Webster, CB, Texas A&M
49. Dallas—Dwayne Goodrich, DB, Tennessee
50. Detroit—Barrett Green, LB, West Virginia
51. Tampa Bay—Cosey Coleman, G, Tennessee
52. Seattle—Ike Charlton, CB, Virginia Tech
53. Miami—Todd Wade, OT, Mississippi
54. Kansas City—William Bartee, CB, Oklahoma
55. Minnesota—Fred Robbins, DT, Wake Forest
56. Minnesota—Michael Boireau, DE, Miami (Fla.)
57. Carolina—Deon Grant, S, Tennessee
58. Buffalo—Travares Tillman, FS, Georgia Tech
59. Indianapolis—Marcus Washington, LB, Auburn
60. Jacksonville—Brad Meester, G, Northern Iowa
61. Philadelphia—Bobbie Williams, G, Arkansas
62. St. Louis—Jacoby Shepherd, DB, Oklahoma State

This story appears in the April 1 edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only sports digital daily, sign up today.

A slew of NFL scouts, coaches and personnel men made the trip to Austin on Wednesday for Texas’ pro day but really didn’t learn anything they didn’t already know about QB Colt McCoy, outside linebacker/defensive end Sergio Kindle, safety Earl Thomas and defensive tackle Lamarr Houston.

Colt McCoy’s physical skills didn’t impress scouts at pro day.

• McCoy has received a ton of hype as an elite prospect, but he did not look like a top-level prospect during his workout Wednesday.

As expected, McCoy was attentive to detail and sound fundamentally but his physical skills just aren’t noteworthy. He was consistently accurate throughout his workout, but that’s his forte.

McCoy again showed limited arm strength and confirmed our concerns that he will not be able to complete the 15- to 20-yard passes with zip. In fact, many of his passes fluttered.

McCoy won more games and garnered more media attention in college career than Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, but McCoy’s workout was not close to as good as Bradford’s on Monday and the difference between the two prospects is glaring.

• Kindle was unable to "wow" NFL personnel men Wednesday in terms of athleticism, but he definitely impressed with his toughness and commitment.

Kindle tweaked an ankle/knee injury during the 60-yard shuttle early Wednesday and then clearly wasn’t 100 percent during the position drills later in the day. He still toughed it out and completed the workout.

He was more impressive moving forward in the defensive end drills than he was in the linebacker drills, but some of that definitely could be traced to his leg problems and the fact he played end in college.

His struggles in the linebacker drills Wednesday should not hurt his draft stock, and his willingness to work through the pain will help him in many coaches’ eyes.

• Thomas pulled a hamstring running the 40-yard dash Wednesday and basically disappeared thereafter. He was not able to do any more of the Combine-type tests and did not go through any position drills. If he is to pass Tennessee’s Eric Berry and become the first safety drafted—a real possibility—he must schedule a workout in mid-April.

• Houston had a good all-around workout and showed his athleticism. He showed the quick footwork and hands that NFL coaches covet and gave an excellent effort throughout the workout—sort of his trademark. Houston did not have a knockout day, but he looked good in nearly all the drills.

For more than 640 player scouting reports from Russ Lande and his team of former NFL scouts — plus an updated mock draft (now three rounds long), Super 99 rankings and more — go to warroom.sportingnews.com.

AFC

Baltimore Ravens
Aug. 12 Carolina (ESPN)
Aug. 19-23 at Washington
Aug. 26-29 N.Y. Giants
Sept. 2-3 at St. Louis <

Buffalo Bills
Aug. 12-16 at Washington
Aug. 19-23 vs. Indianapolis in Toronto
Aug. 26-29 Cincinnati
Sept. 2-3 at Detroit

Cincinnati Bengals
Aug. 8 vs. Cincinnati in Canton, Ohio (NBC)
Aug. 19-23 Denver
Aug. 20 Philadelphia (Fox)
Aug. 26-29 at Buffalo
Sept. 2-3 at Indianapolis

Cleveland Browns
Aug. 12-16 at Green Bay
Aug. 19-23 St. Louis
Aug. 26-29 at Detroit
Sept. 2-3 Chicago

Denver Broncos
Aug. 12-16 at Cincinnati
Aug. 19-23 Detroit
Aug. 29 Pittsburgh (Fox)
Sept. 2-3 at Minnesota

Houston Texans
Aug. 12-16 at Arizona
Aug. 19-23 at New Orleans
Aug. 28 Dallas (CBS)
Sept. 2-3 Tampa Bay

Indianapolis Colts
Aug. 12-16 San Francisco
Aug. 19-23 vs. Buffalo in Toronto
Aug. 26 at Green Bay (ESPN)
Sept. 2-3 Cincinnati

Jacksonville Jaguars
Aug. 12-16 at Philadelphia
Aug. 19-23 Miami
Aug. 26-29 at Tampa Bay
Sept. 2-3 Atlanta

Kansas City Chiefs
Aug. 12-16 at Atlanta
Aug. 19-23 at Tampa Bay
Aug. 26-29 Philadelphia
Sept. 2-3 Green Bay

Miami Dolphins
Aug. 12-16 Tampa Bay
Aug. 19-23 at Jacksonville
Aug. 26-29 Atlanta
Sept. 2-3 at Dallas

New England Patriots
Aug. 12-16 New Orleans
Aug. 19 at Atlanta (Fox)
Aug. 26-29 St. Louis
Sept. 2-3 at N.Y. Giants

New York Jets
Aug. 16 N.Y. Giants (ESPN)
Aug. 19-23 at Carolina
Aug. 26-29 Washington
Sept. 2-3 at Philadelphia

Oakland Raiders
Aug. 12-16 at Dallas
Aug. 19-23 at Chicago
Aug. 26-29 San Francisco
Sept. 2-3 Seattle

Pittsburgh Steelers
Aug. 12-16 Detroit
Aug. 19-23 at N.Y. Giants
Aug. 29 at Denver (Fox)
Sept. 2-3 Carolina

San Diego Chargers
Aug. 12-16 Chicago
Aug. 19-23 Dallas
Aug. 27 at New Orleans (CBS)
Sept. 2-3 at San Francisco

Tennessee Titans
Aug. 12-16 at Seattle
Aug. 23 Arizona (ESPN)
Aug. 26-29 at Carolina
Sept. 2-3 New Orleans

AFC

Arizona Cardinals
Aug. 12-16 Houston Aug. 23 at Tennessee (ESPN)
Aug. 26-29 at Chicago
Sept. 2-3 Washington

Atlanta Falcons
Aug. 12-16 Kansas City
Aug. 19 New England (Fox)
Aug. 26-29 at Miami
Sept. 2-3 at Jacksonville

Carolina Panthers
Aug. 12 at Baltimore (ESPN)
Aug. 19-23 N.Y. Jets
Aug. 26-29 Tennessee
Sept. 2-3 at Pittsburgh

Chicago Bears
Aug. 12-16 at San Diego
Aug. 19-23 Oakland
Aug. 26-29 Arizona
Sept. 2-3 at Cleveland

Dallas Cowboys
Aug. 8 vs. Cincinnati in Canton, Ohio (NBC)
Aug. 12-16 Oakland
Aug. 19-23 at San Diego
Aug. 28 at Houston (CBS)
Sept. 2-3 Miami

Detroit Lions
Aug. 12-16 at Pittsburgh
Aug. 19-23 at Denver
Aug. 26-29 Cleveland
Sept. 2-3 Buffalo

Green Bay Packers
Aug. 12-16 Cleveland
Aug. 19-23 at Seattle
Aug. 26 Indianapolis (ESPN)
Sept. 2-3 at Kansas City

Minnesota Vikings
Aug. 12-16 at St. Louis
Aug. 22 at San Francisco (NBC)
Aug. 26-29 Seattle
Sept. 2-3 Denver

New Orleans Saints
Aug. 12-16 at New England
Aug. 19-23 Houston
Aug. 27 San Diego (CBS)
Sept. 2-3 at Tennessee

New York Giants
Aug. 16 N.Y. Jets (ESPN)
Aug. 19-23 Pittsburgh
Aug. 26-29 at Baltimore
Sept. 2-3 New England

Philadelphia Eagles
Aug. 12-16 Jacksonville
Aug. 20 at Cincinnati (Fox)
Aug. 26-29 at Kansas City
Sept. 2-3 N.Y. Jets

St. Louis Rams
Aug. 12-16 Minnesota
Aug. 19-23 at Cleveland
Aug. 26-29 at New England
Sept. 2-3 Baltimore

San Francisco 49ers
Aug. 12-16 at Indianapolis
Aug. 22 Minnesota (NBC)
Aug. 26-29 at Oakland
Sept. 2-3 San Diego

Seattle Seahawks
Aug. 12-16 Tennessee
Aug. 19-23 Green Bay
Aug. 26-29 at Minnesota
Sept. 2-3 at Oakland

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Aug. 12-16 at Miami
Aug. 19-23 Kansas City
Aug. 26-29 Jacksonville
Sept. 2-3 at Houston

Washington Redskins
Aug. 12-16 Buffalo
Aug. 19-23 Baltimore
Aug. 26-29 at N.Y. Jets
Sept. 2-3 at Arizona

Sporting News’ Pro Football War Room has hundreds of player evaluations in preparation for the 2010 NFL draft. Here is a capsule look at prospect Cam Thomas.

NFL position: DT/NT
Height: 6-4
Weight: 330
40 time: 5.33
Current projection: Third-round pick

Strengths: Has a big, thick body with rare strength and quickness. Shows the foot quickness and instincts to consistently be the first lineman moving at the snap; can jolt pass blockers upright and drive them into the QB. Can beat one-onone pass blocks by guards. Can get inside "reach" blocks, hold his ground and disrupt plays in backfield. Has the strength to hold his ground against double-team run blocks; flashes the ability to split it and make tackle on runs at him. Flashes good competitiveness and quickness moving through traffic and chasing down ballcarriers between the tackles.

Weaknesses: Lacks ability to explode through gaps to penetrate consistently. Has a bad habit of getting upright and not playing aggressively, causing him to get tied up too often. Does not deal well with side blocks, and can be either ridden down the line or sealed by them. Does not pass rush effectively if unable to jolt offensive linemen with hand punch. Lacks the speed to make plays outside the tackle box. Does not play with great intensity on every snap.

Bottom line: Thomas has the ability to be a dominant player at the point of attack when aggressive but was somewhat of an underachiever in college. During Senior Bowl practices, he was exactly the same—showing flashes of talent to be a dominant player but then giving inconsistent effort throughout the week. He is a boom-or-bust prospect, so G.M.s should be careful not to overdraft him on his potential. He fits at tackle in a 4-3 scheme but might have more value as a nose tackle in a 3-4 system. He shouldn’t be drafted until the middle of the third round, at best, but could find his way into the second simply because so many 3-4 teams are desperate for a young nose tackle.

For more than 640 player scouting reports from Russ Lande and his team of former NFL scouts — plus updated mock draft, Super 99 rankings and more — go to warroom.sportingnews.com.