Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Scouts rank Jones ahead of Pace
Editor’s note: This story was published April 14, 1997. It was edited here for space.
Green Bay — As astonishing as it might sound, five of eight executives in personnel said they would pick obscure Walter Jones over all-world Orlando Pace as the best tackle in the National Football League draft.
Have they all gone mad?
“Give me a break and kiss my (expletive) at high noon!” exclaimed Tom Boisture, director of player personnel for the New York Giants.
“You’re telling me a guy that played junior college and was a backup, couldn’t even start his first year at Florida State, you tell me you’d draft him high in the first round?
“Good luck, baby. Don’t even mention them in the same sentence. In three years, yeah, he’ll be good. But he’ll never be as good as (Pace).”
Without so much as a pause, Boisture then summoned the ghost of Tony Mandarich, the can’t miss all-world tackle who did.
“I’ve been wrong before; we all know who we’re talking about,” Boisture said. “But Pace is something else.”
Pace, a 6-foot-7 behemoth from Ohio State, received the highest grade any offensive lineman has received from Boisture in his 28 years of scouting.
New Orleans general manager Bill Kuharich watched every tape of Pace’s third and final season for the Buckeyes because the Saints originally owned the second pick of the draft.
“He just toyed with people,” Kuharich said. “The amazing thing was, in all the games I saw he was on the ground maybe once or twice. I compared him to a bigger Jackie Slater. He’ll play well forever.”
Mandarich can deny it until the day he dies, but virtually every scout in the country still believes the root of his failure was when the steroid edge was taken away from him in the NFL.
Pace weighs 328 pounds and destroys opponents just as Mandarich did for Michigan State in the late 1980s, but
there is not even a hint of steroid usage.
“No way. No way,” replied Mike Holovak, Houston’s vice president of player personnel, when asked if Pace possibly could flop.
If Pace does have a weakness it would be what one scout described as tendinitis in his left knee. The Saints gave him diagnostic testing this spring and he passed, but one scout said the knee was the principal reason why he’d take Jones.
“I’d make him the second pick in the draft if he passed my physical,” said Tom Braatz, Miami’s director of college scouting. “The knee has bothered him. He’s missed some time with it.”
Pace, 21, is almost two full years younger than Jones even though Jones played just one season for the Seminoles. A native of Aliceville, Ala., Jones spent two years at Holmes Community College in Mississippi and then redshirted
in ‘95 at Florida State.
Jones, 6-5 and 303 pounds, had a fine season but made just second-team allAtlantic Coast Conference behind two pedestrian players. The Florida State publicity office doesn’t have a single feature story on Jones because none were written.
In March, at his workout in Tallahassee, Fla., Jones ran two 40-yard dashes that the assembled scouts clocked anywhere between 4.62 and 4.75 seconds. It was almost the exact time that Mandarich ran in February 1989 and instantly made Jones millions of dollars.
By comparison, Pace ran 4.97 and another all-time tackle, Anthony Munoz, ran 4.9 at 285 pounds in 1980.
“He’s got incredible athletic ability,” Mike Allman, Seattle’s scouting director, said about Jones. “But it does scare you
to take a guy who doesn’t have documentation.”
Said one scout: “Walter Jones is the most intriguing player in this draft, as rare a player at his position in about 10 years. He is a combination of massive size and marvelous speed.”
Added another: “He’s my favorite player in the draft. When all is said and done, this guy will be a better player than Pace.”
As much as Atlanta scout Dick Corrick admires Pace, it is his guess that Jones will be the better pro in the long haul.
“I like his body position when he blocks better than Pace’s,” Corrick said. “This guy sinks his hips and gets himself in position to block way better than Pace. Pace just kind of leans on you a lot.” Give Boisture the last word. “One year of major-college football and he’s going to line up in the NFL?” he said. “It’s going to be a shock . . . when he gets power rushed or lines up against bigger guys.
“He’s a young, immature guy right now with great physical tools. Pace has a lot higher grade than we put on the guy from UCLA (Jon Ogden) and the guy before him (Tony Boselli).”
OFFENSIVE LINE
Journal Sentinel pro football writer Bob McGinn assesses the top offensive linemen available in the National Football League draft. Included is each player’s school, height, weight, 40-yard dash time and round in which he is projected to be selected
TACKLES
1. WALTER JONES, Florida State 6-5 303 4.70 1
Will be the first Seminoles offensive lineman ever taken in the first two rounds. “He still looks thin at that size,” Buffalo general manager John Butler said. “Has to fill out. Really a fine athlete and has all the things to be a run blocker.” Junior who played just one year at Florida State after two years in junior college. “And they rotate guys there,” said Terry Bradway, Kansas City’s director of college scouting. “He’s extremely talented and physically gifted, but that blows your mind when you think about a guy like that in the top 10.” Scored 17 on the
Wonderlic Intelligence test (19 is average).
2022 lookback: Drafted: 1st round, 6th overall by the Seahawks. NFL games: 180. Pro Bowls: 9. All-pro selections: 4. Pro Football Hall of Fame induction: 2014.
2. ORLANDO PACE, Ohio State 6-7 328 4.97 1
First player to win Lombardi Award twice and fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. “Looks like everything you want, mentally and everything,” Butler said. Phenomenal drive blocker with ideal temperament. Less polished as a pass blocker. “He’s going to have his problems laterally and against speed rush, but not enough to worry about,” one scout said. Third-year junior who seemed a bit bored against weaker foes. “Just pencil him in as your left tackle for 10 years,” San Francisco scout John Brunner said. “Occasionally he got a little lazy because he just dominated guys.”
2022 lookback: Drafted: 1st round, 1st overall by the St. Louis Rams. NFL games: 169. Pro Bowls: 7. All-pro selections: 3. Pro Football Hall of Fame induction: 2016.
3. JERRY WUNSCH, Wisconsin 6-6 324 5.34 1
Started at right tackle for two years before moving to left tackle in ‘96. Projected to right tackle or guard by most teams. “I think he’d be better inside,” one scout said. Enormous size enables him to engulf opponents in the running game, although some teams still wish he were more physical. “He’s their best player,” another scout said. “He’ll be a great player, not a good one. He is mentally very tough.”
2022 lookback: Drafted: 2nd round, 37th overall by the Buccaneers. NFL games: 113. Pro Bowls: 0. All-pro selections: 0.
4. TARIK GLENN, California 6-5 332 5.42 1-2
“He’s got the same problem I’ve got. Fat,” one scout said. Only 20 years old and erratic in all phases of play. Moves well for his bulk but probably not a left tackle. “This guy might be a better athlete than Korey Stringer but he’s certainly not as strong,” said Jerry Reichow, Minnesota’s scouting director who drafted Stringer for the Vikings in ‘95. “He’s a legitimate guy but, boy, he’s got a weight problem.” Said another scout: “If you can stand the fat then you like him. He’s got offensive tackle feet. He’s just sloppy.”
2022 lookback: Drafted: 1st round, 19th overall by the Colts. NFL games: 154.
Pro Bowls: 3. All-pro selections: 0.
GUARDS
1. CHRIS NAEOLE, Colorado 6-3 313 5.22 1-2
“Boy, he is a road grader,” one scout said. “If you’re a Dallas, and you want to come off the ball and run the football, this is your guy.” Three-year starter who some scouts think got too heavy in ‘96. “He didn’t play very good this year,” one said. “He just got too big and didn’t look nearly like the athlete he was the year before.” A limited-area banger who might struggle in one-on-one protection. Not overly instinctive, either. “You’d like to see him rev it up a little bit,” another scout said. “He’s still going to play but he isn’t playing near as well as he should.”
2022 lookback: Drafted: 1st round, 10th overall by the Saints. NFL games: 154. Pro Bowls: 0. All-pro selections: 0. 2. ROSS VERBA, Iowa 6-4 299 5.16 2 Recruited as a tight end but played left tackle. Runs well but lacks an anchor against enormous bull rushers. So versatile some teams want to use him at center. “He’s the opposite of Naeole,” one scout said. “He may be the best foot athlete outside of Pace of any of the guys but he just doesn’t have a lot of strength. He’s a little bit light in the low body.”
2022 lookback: Drafted: 1st round, 30th overall by the Packers. NFL games: 113. Pro Bowls: 0. All-pro selections: 0.
3. DAMON DENSON, Michigan 6-3 302 5.38 2
Started at defensive tackle in ‘94 before moving to offense in ‘95. Thicklegged. “He’s still learning the nuances of the game but I like that physical power that he brings,” Butler said. “He tries to put you away.” Powerful and explosive but might struggle blocking in the open field and with assignments. “He’s like (Adam) Timmerman,” Ron Hughes, Detroit’s director of player personnel, said in reference to the Green Bay guard. “He’s an area player. Strong, sturdy. He’s got some ability, he really does, but he’s not a real gifted kid.”
2022 lookback: Drafted: 4th round, 97th overall by the Patriots. NFL games:
14. Pro Bowls: 0. All-pro selections: 0.
4. JUAN ROQUE, Arizona State 6-8 329 5.52 2-3
“What a horse,” said Mike Holovak, Houston’s vice president of personnel. Starting left tackle in 1995-’96 and consensus All-American selection. “I saw him early and didn’t like him, then I saw him late and I said, ‘Wow, what happened to this guy?’” Reichow said. “He got real aggressive and his stock went up a lot.” Not agile enough for left tackle. “Helps your team’s toughness,” Braatz said. “He’s not a good enough athlete to play tackle but he can stand in and maul as a guard.”
2022 lookback: Drafted: 2nd round, 35th overall by the Lions. NFL games: 17. Pro Bowls: 0. All-pro selections: 0.
CENTERS
1. ROD PAYNE, Michigan 6-3 292 5.38 1-2
“Hard-nosed. Smart. Decent athletic ability. Great intangibles. He’s what you’re looking for,” said Tom Boisture, the New York Giants’ director of player personnel. Three-year starter and team MVP as a senior, then elected captain at the East-West Shrine Game. Hurt himself by running a poor 40 at the combine. “Maybe he’s one of those guys that’s not a great workout guy . . . like Mike Webster,” Donahoe said. As mouthy and outspoken as any player in the draft. Some scouts tolerate it easily, others can’t. “He’s a really nice guy but he’s a know-itall,” one scout said. “He’s going to be hard to coach.”
2022 lookback: Drafted: 3rd round, 76th overall by the Bengals. NFL games: 6. Pro Bowls: 0. All-pro selections: 0.