Of Mel Jr. and Emmitt

Football Digest, June, 2005

WELCOME TO OUR DRAFT PREVIEW. This always is one of FOOTBALL DIGEST'S most anticipated issues of the year--and with good reason.

The draft has taken on a life of its own. It gives NFL nuts like us something to talk about during those boring off-season months. And rest assured, we give you plenty of material to chew on in this issue.

Who better to start things off than Mel Kiper Jr., the subject of our "Interview" on page 18? Kiper is synonymous with the draft. He started in the business at a young age by publishing draft guides, and now he has become a bigger-than-life personality for ESPN. The draft just wouldn't be the draft without him.

Of course, the draft really wouldn't be the draft without the players. On that front, we have things covered, too. We break down all the top prospects, with a story devoted to the offensive players [page 30] and another one detailing the defensive players [page 36]. And we wrap it all up with an analysis of the needs of each team [page 42].

We also have an interesting story on the 40-yard dash, which scouts consider one of the best ways to grade prospects. Is the 40 overrated? Or does it serve its purpose? Andy Friedlander provides some answers in his piece beginning on page 48.

For the human-interest element in our draft coverage, we have a feature on Mike Williams beginning on page 24. The star wideout was forced to sit out at USC last season because he declared for the draft but later was rule ineligible because of the league's underclassmen rule. In the process, he lost his college eligibility, too. Williams is one of the big question marks heading into this year's draft. Last year he was considered a blue-chip prospect, but some scouts worry that his layoff adversely affected his game. It will be interesting to see where Williams fall in the draft.

Every team enters the draft with one purpose: to get better. Nowadays that means getting good enough to beat the New England Patriots, who have won two straight Super Bowls and three of the past four. Our feature on the Patriots [page 12] examines whether they can sustain their roll and continue to pile up the championships. By the look of things, New England won't be slowing down anytime soon, which is bad news for the rest of the league.

The final major feature in this issue focuses on the great Emmitt Smith [page 60], who retied during Super Bowl week. Smith is the most prolific running back in NFL history, but more important than the numbers is his character. The guy has been a credit to his sport in the most meaningful ways possible. He truly has been a role model for kids to emulate, and that will be his most enduring legacy.

Take care, Emmitt. We're sure going to miss you.