Michigan State University Athletics
Charles Rogers Draws The Eyes Of The NFL
3/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 18, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Twenty-eight of 32 NFL teams now have seen in person what they saw on tape.
Charles Rogers is very fast and extremely talented.
The former Michigan State star receiver, who is expected to be one of the top few picks in the draft next month, ran the 40-yard dash, pass routes, caught passes and had his vertical and broad jumped measured Tuesday.
Coaches from teams with the top three picks -- Cincinnati, Detroit and Houston -- were among those in attendance with stop watches and clipboards.
"It was just more of a confirmation of what we already knew he could do," said Sheldon White, Lions director of pro personnel. "He ran exceptionally fast for a taller receiver. He doesn't catch every ball, but who cares?"
A team can overlook a bobble here or a drop there because Rogers, who is 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, was timed in the 40-yard dash between 4.26 and 4.33 seconds, had a vertical leap of 37 inches and cleared over 10 feet in a broad jump.
Tony Softli, Carolina's director of college scouting, watched Rogers work out even though he believes there's no chance Rogers will be available when the Panthers pick ninth overall.
"He's a superb athlete, who has all the tools you're looking for," Softli said, "height, weight, speed and athleticism."
The Bengals have the first pick in the draft and are believed to be interested in taking a quarterback or trading the pick. If a team wants Rogers, it will likely have to make a trade with Cincinnati because he's not expected to be on the board after Detroit picks second overall because the Lions desperately need to put talent around quarterback Joey Harrington, last year's third pick overall.
Kevin Poston, Rogers' agent, said he wouldn't be surprised if a team traded with the Bengals' to take Rogers.
"There have been conversations about that because I think Charles Rogers is the best athlete in the draft," Poston said.
The last receiver to be picked first overall was Keyshawn Johnson, by the New York Jets, in 1996.
"I'm not picky or greedy about when I get picked because I know I'm in a great situation," said Rogers, who thinks he will be picked second or third overall.
Rogers, who caught a school-record 68 passes for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns for Michigan State last season, decided to skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft. He set NCAA and Big Ten records by catching TD passes in 13 straight regular season games and 14 consecutive games overall.
In just two seasons, Rogers made his mark in Michigan State's record books, which is not easy to do since Andre Rison, Plaxico Burress and Muhsin Muhammad were Spartans receivers.
Rogers set records with 27 TDs and 12 100-yard receiving games and finished second with 2,821 receiving yards. Rogers and Burress, who Pittsburgh drafted eighth overall in 2000, are the only receivers in school history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
"Charles Rogers is a better receiver right now than I ever was in college," Burress said in August. "I can't believe how good he is."
By LARRY LAGE, The Associated Press
