The NFL'S top Black draft choices

Jet, May 10, 2004

In one of the busiest NFL drafts ever--it featured a record 28 trades --seven out of the top 10 picks were Black players.

It was good to be a wide receiver in the 2004 draft.

Wideout by far was the deepest position in the draft, with five of the receivers going in the first 15 spots. Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald was the first wide receiver chosen with the third pick in the draft by Arizona. Fitzgerald is lauded for his outstanding hands and tall physique.

The unanimous All-American sophomore finished his college career with an impressive season and won the Walter Camp Player of the Year award and the Biletnikoff Award.

Fitzgerald, a Minneapolis native who was ball boy for Arizona head coach Dennis Green when Green was the head coach in Minnesota, left Pittsburgh with various school records. His career 166 receptions ranks third in the school's history, his 34 touchdowns broke the old all-time record of 30, he holds the school record with at least one touchdown catch in 16-straight games and he is the first player in school history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons receiving.

The second Black player chosen was Sean Taylor at No. 5 by the Washington Redskins. Taylor, the first safety to be chosen, is a Miami product. In fact, the Hurricanes were the hit of the draft. Though Miami had an astounding 19 first-rounders in the last four years, this year the Hurricanes had a record six first-round picks.

Born on April Fool's Day in 1983, Taylor, the 2003 Big East Defensive Player of the Year, celebrated his new career with family and friends in Florida. Taylor's standout college career upheld the Hurricanes' fertile football tradition. In 34 games, he recorded 188 tackles and intercepted 14 passes for three touchdowns and 306 yards in returns--the second most gained yards on interception returns in school history. Taylor's 14 interceptions rank fourth on the school's career list.

Kellen Winslow Jr., also of the Miami family, was chosen sixth overall by the Cleveland Browns. The tight end has big footsteps to fill in the NFL. His Hall of Fame father of the same name was also a tight end and was the 13th overall pick in the 1979 draft. The elder Winslow will be the seventh member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to see his son play in the NFL. Also, the father-son tandem is among only six families to have father and son drafted in the first round.

Winslow Jr. is an All-American junior and won the John Mackey Award as college football's top tight end after finishing the season as the team's best pass-catcher.

The seventh draft choice was Texas wide receiver Roy Williams, who was chosen by the Detroit Lions. Williams, who would have been a top draft pick last year but returned for his senior season at Texas, shattered school career records with 241 receptions for 3,866 yards and 36 touchdowns, topping the old marks of 177 catches for 3,032 and 16 touchdowns.

With Williams and the Lions' other first round pick, Virginia Tech running back Kevin Jones, Detroit is arguably the team that took away the best overall talent pool, with a prospective three players who have the skills to start immediately.

DeAngelo Hall, a Virginia Tech cornerback, will make a huge impact on Atlanta's defense that ranked last in the NFL last season.

The eighth pick overall, Hall, whose impeccable speed makes him a coveted return specialist, is a dangerous offensive threat as well. He returned 56 punts for 839 yards and five touchdowns at Virginia Tech. His 839 yards rank third on the Big East Conference career-record chart and topped the Tech all-time mark.

The Jacksonville Jaguars chose Reggie Williams with the ninth overall pick. Williams, a 6-foot-3 wide receiver from the University of Washington (UW) who decided to forgo his senior season, is the only player in school history to gain over 1,000 receiving yards twice in a career and only player in UW annals to gain over 900 yards receiving in a season three times in a career.

Williams, who hauled in 238 passes for 3,536 yards and 22 touchdowns, crushed the previous school all-time records of 138 catches, set over 20 years ago, and 2,093 yards set in 1991.

Dunta Robinson rounded out the top Black players chosen in the top 10 of the draft. The Houston Texans chose Robinson 10th overall. The South Carolina senior cornerback, the team's captain, recorded 114 tackles with six stops for losses of 10 yards and five interceptions for 92 yards in returns.