The verdict is in: Arrington should be the No. 1 pick

Sporting News, The, April 17, 2000 by Dan Pompei

Hear ye! Hear ye! This honorable court is now in session. The (somewhat) honorable Dan Pompei is presiding over the case of LaVar Arrington vs. Courtney Brown.

The case for Brown, presented by the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe.

Your honor, this case concerns whether the Cleveland Browns should use the No. 1 pick in the draft on LaVar Arrington, the linebacker from Penn State, or Courtney Brown, the defensive end from Penn State. The evidence we present will convince you that Mr. Brown, and not Mr. Arrington, should be the first pick.

For our first witness, we'd like to call upon Packers general manager Ron Wolf, architect of a Super Bowl winner. Mr. Wolf, if you had to choose between Brown and Arrington, whom would you take?

Wolf: "Brown is one of the best players to come into the league in a long, long time. He fits in with Andre Wadsworth and Reggie White in my opinion."

Thank you, Mr. Wolf.

Please direct your attention to the television screen for Exhibit A. Bailiff, please run the tape from the Penn State-Illinois game. Observe Brown dominate with four sacks. Is there anything he can't do? On this play, you see him get past two offensive linemen to get a pressure. Here, he splits offensive tackle Ray Redziniak and running back Jameel Cook for a sack. On this play, he bull-rushes Redziniak and then disengages, turns around and sacks Kurt Kitmer. Watch how well he reads and how relentless he is. On this run by Rocky Harvey, Brown is blocked, but he still manages to extend his arm and trip Harvey at the line.

Would Mr. Ron Turner please take the stand? Mr. Turner, as head coach of Illinois, you have experienced coaching against Brown and Arrington. Which one would you rather have on your team?

Turner: "You couldn't go wrong with either. I think I'd probably take Courtney Brown. He's so dominant at the position, and those guys are so hard to find. He's a steady player who plays every play, every game. Arrington is not quite as consistent. He's a little undisciplined and unconventional, but a lot of that is because they ask him to freelance. There could be a learning curve with him."

Thank you, Mr. Turner.

We now would like to call upon an expert on the value of each position. Mr. Ozzie Newsome, vice president in charge of personnel for the Ravens and an NFL Hall of Fame tight end, will now take the stand. Mr. Newsome, how do you compare the respective values of Brown and Arrington?

Newsome: "If both were free agents, who would get more money? The defensive end. How many times can you get an elite defensive lineman? Not very often. But you often can get a good linebacker with Pro Bowl potential in the middle of the draft."

Thank you, Mr. Newsome.

Please direct your attention to Exhibit B, the overhead projection of the results of the players' workouts for NFL teams at Penn State. Brown was more than 1 inch taller than Arrington (6-4 to 6-3). He outweighed him by 16 pounds (267 to 251). HIS best 40 time was 4.51 to Arrington's 4.54. His vertical jump was 37 inches to Arrington's 36. His short shuttle time was 4.09 to Arrington's 4.28. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 26 times to Arrington's 20. His arms measured 34 3/4 inches to Arrington's 33.

In conclusion, we would like you to keep in mind that it was Brown, not Arrington, who was voted Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season. Brown had 16 sacks to Arrington's 10. And we implore upon you not to gloss over the character issue. Whereas Arrington has not drawn rave reviews from the Penn State coaching staff, Brown has. He is the more mature of the two, a man who attends church with his position coach. His coachability is not in question, as it is with Arrington.

We rest our case.

The case for Arrington, presented by the law firm of Billem, Billmore & Thensome.

Your honor, the evidence presented will leave no doubt that Mr. Arrington is the right pick for the Browns.

We would like to call to the stand our first witness, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, as successful a coach and talent evaluator in the NFL as anyone in recent years. Mr. Shanahan, Arrington has been compared with one Lawrence Taylor, probably the greatest outside linebacker ever. How do you feel about that comparison?

Shanahan: "L.T. didn't play too bad, and that's the type of ability Arrington has. He's big, fast and dominating. He's one of the best athletes I've ever seen play the linebacker position."

Thank you, Mr. Shanahan.

We would like to direct your attention to Exhibit C, game tape of Arrington's performance against Ohio State. Bailiff, play the tape please.

Arrington is a linebacker, but observe how he can get to the quarterback as well as anyone. His greatest asset is his speed around the edge, but he can rush the passer any way you can think of. Here, he runs over Buckeyes tailback Andre Griffin for a sack. In this clip, watch Arrington take a step to the outside and then shift back inside against Buckeyes right tackle Tyson Walter for a pressure. What body control. Note, too, how refined Arrington's pass rush moves are. Watch how slippery and jittery he is.