pakowitz

March 24, 2004
By Pete Prisco
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
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The idea of a mock draft is to plug players in with the right teams, even if it means bucking the rankings you might have worked up. The feeling here is it should never be influenced by workouts.

But that's not the reality.


For example, Virginia Tech running back Kevin Jones is still the top-rated back on our list, even if his Pro Day workout last week resulted in 4.6 times in the 40-yard dash. He plays much faster than that.

NFL teams will downgrade him because of his slow times, which is why he isn't as high in this mock draft as he was in the first one we did. He still should be a top 15 pick, but he might not be now that his times were not blazing.

Question: Anyone ever see him caught from behind? Didn't think so.

The Chargers are still contemplating what to do with the first pick, but for now we'll have them taking Eli Manning, the player they should take. But they could still trade down, or even take a receiver.

The big surprise in this mock draft is how far down Southern California's Mike Williams slides. We have the Packers taking him with the 25th pick, based on the talk with scouts he might not run much better than a 4.7. Williams didn't separate all that much in the Pac-10, although he did dominate with his size and power.

That won't cut it in the NFL, so until his Pro Day workout April 8, we'll keep him near the bottom. By the time we do the final mock, coming the night before the draft, Williams could be much higher.

Until then, all you can do is stew over this one.

1. San Diego Chargers -- Eli Manning, QB, Mississippi. They haven't upgraded the position in free agency, so they have to take Manning if they stay in this spot. If not, they might move down to get Philip Rivers. The wise move would be to stay.



for the rest of this draft, click here:



http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/7203264