Receiver not draft worry; no worry now
UNION-TRIBUNE
May 16, 2006
There are more mock NFL drafts on the www.coms than there are nerds. I scanned too many of these things, some terribly premature, some up to date, most of them drastically under-researched. So many draftniks rely on which player they think a team should take, rather than do some homework and come up with one it actually might select.
Before the April 29 draft, the mockers' consensus had the Chargers taking a wide receiver, most notably Ohio State's Santonio Holmes. But, unless 11th-hour melodramatics occurred to change his mind before San Diego picked 19th overall, General Manager A.J. Smith wasn't going to be interested in a receiver. He already had taken one, and if the mockers had paid attention, they would have known the GM had other eggs to hatch.
First, we must remember Smith used his 2005 [second]-round choice on receiver Vincent Jackson, who at 6 feet 5, 241 pounds, is far, far from being athletically deprived. Despite injuries his freshman year, Jackson showed flashes. He could become The Guy. Next to untested quarterback Philip Rivers, Jackson is the most intriguing player on the roster – along with the fellow we're about to discuss.
On April 13, Smith in effect used a first-round pick to acquire wideout Rashaun Woods from the 49ers in exchange for cornerback Sammy Davis. Woods had been San Francisco's No. 1 in 2004. Davis was San Diego's No. 1 in 2003. Both hadn't worked out.
While Davis merely stunk, Woods really didn't get a chance to stink. He was hurt (hamstring) his rookie season, played in 14 games and averaged 22.9 yards a catch, but didn't play much. In 2005, he missed the final 13 weeks after having surgery on a damaged thumb.
So, as the Chargers go through their voluntary offseason coaching sessions at their facility, they have lost a known (Davis) and now have an unknown (Woods), but a player they very much have been enamored with since Woods was tearing it up at Oklahoma State, where the All-American once caught seven touchdown passes in a game.
The 6-2, 202-pound Woods was a great college player. But Stillwater and the Big 12 aren't San Diego and the NFL. Woods still has to prove it for money, and he's aware of it. This is what's called a fresh start. Similar in style to veteran Keenan McCardell, Woods will have the opportunity to learn from a master willing to instruct. It could be a good marriage. Wedlock in San Francisco ran into Candlestick Point.
“It was a humbling experience for me,” says Woods, who caught 293 passes for 4,114 yards and 42 touchdowns at Oklahoma State. “I'd never had a chance to go through any adversity in my career. But I got hurt, and you just can't play my position with those kinds of injuries.
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I had such high hopes. Losing like we were in San Francisco, it's so tough on the morale of the players. It's tough to come to work. This is exactly the opposite. Everyone's having fun.”
It's beyond difficult to judge much from these coaching sessions, what with players in shorts running skeleton drills. Until they play in a real game, who knows?
“We'll know a lot more later on,” coach Marty Schottenheimer says of Woods. “But one thing jumps out at you right away. He has great hands. He catches the ball extremely well.”
Smith is convinced Woods will be a productive player, which figures. He wouldn't have made the trade if he didn't think so, although Davis had proven more liability than reward. Davis was Smith's biggest mistake as a draftsman. But he liked Woods so much he basically canned the idea of drafting a receiver.
“Because of the trade, receiver is something that went on the back burner,” Smith says. “You never rule anything out, but that trade we made went under the radar, so most people had us taking a receiver. A whole lot of people didn't study it.
“I'm really excited about Woods. Fans didn't understand what we were doing when we traded for an old guy like McCardell. All he did was jump-start this franchise. Here's a guy in Woods who did absolutely nothing with the 49ers. What's that all about? Well, we've traded for a tremendous talent who we loved coming out of college.”
They had a staff change in San Francisco, and when staff changes happen, Smith studies. “Because they're going to make changes,” he says. “This guy was there two years, and he wasn't helping them.”
They all use the convenient change-of-scenery scenario, and sometimes it happens for the best, but Woods sees beyond that. He has belief in his ability and that injuries deprived him of an opportunity he just as easily could have had again in San Francisco.
“I can play another 10 years and haven't played two yet,” Woods says. “I'm as healthy as any rookie coming in here. But, because of my setbacks and rough start, people think I can't play. They're going to find there have been some misconceptions.
“It's like my college career was a fluke. I was drafted for a reason. Injuries slowed that reason. Now I have another chance, and a chance to work with Keenan, who isn't like some of the older vets. He's not selfish. He's not looking at me as a threat.”
Maybe some day soon, his opponents will see him as one.
You're insane. Woods has 0% chance of getting cut, and the Bolts will not take Jackson or Holmes if they are there.
wned:
