Top Draft Pick Moss Sensation Of Minicamp
April 29, 2001
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) – As quickly as the questions were raised at the NewYork Jets’ minicamp, Santana Moss tried to provide answers.
“Is he still fast?” coach Herman Edwards asked Sunday, a huge smilecreasing his face.
He sure is, having outrun several long passes thrown by Vinny Testaverde,who has one of the strongest arms in the NFL.
“Every go route the quarterbacks threw to him was underthrown,” Edwardssaid. “They didn’t understand the kid’s speed.”
Can the Jets’ first-round draft pick jump? Sure, as he made several leapingcatches during the weekend. Moss might be only 5-foot-9 or so, but his abilityto get up into the air allows him to play much taller.
“Everyone wants to know if he is another Keyshawn Johnson,” defensive backNick Ferguson said after trying to guard Moss. “He’s not as tall, but he canspread the field and make the defense respect him.”
Can he contribute in the clutch?
“This is an unusual, dynamic player, a class guy who played his best in biggames,” offensive coordinator Paul Hackett said.
Is Moss rugged? Jets player personnel director Dick Haley, who did much ofthe scouting of the Miami Hurricanes’ wide receiver, has no worries about that.
“His speed and his toughness stand out,” Haley said.
While Moss stood out this weekend for his pass-catching skills, he also gotplenty of work returning punts. The Jets were among the NFL’s worst in thatarea last season and expect instant impact from Moss as a punt returner.
Moss knows that even if he plays behind veteran Wayne Chrebet, free agentsignee Matthew Hatchette and last year’s rookie wideouts, Laveranues Coles andWindrell Hayes, he could make significant contributions on special teams.
“It’s an area that needed upgrading and he’s going to do that for us,”Edwards said.
He also should excite people every time he touches the ball, even if Mosswon’t mention it.
“I don’t go around telling people how great I am,” Moss said, emphasizingan approach diametrically opposite to what Johnson used in New York. “I don’ttell you what I am going to do. I just do it.”
He did much of it during the three days of workouts, albeit with no pads andno hitting. It was enough to energize the proceedings, however.
“He comes as advertised,” general manager Terry Bradway said of Moss, whomBradway made the 16th overall choice in the draft last week. “He brings speedand explosiveness on the field and you can feel it just standing here. Theplayers feel it.
“And he has that attitude of wanting to be involved and to work. I’m notcomparing him to Tony Gonzalez, but that’s another player who has a great dealof talent and is coachable.”
Kansas City tight end Gonzalez, of course, is six inches taller and 65pounds heavier than Moss. He also is the unquestioned top performer at hisposition in the league.
The Jets gladly would accept that description for Moss somewhere in thefuture.
Notes: Bradway said the team will offer Hofstra linebacker Joe Todd a contract.Todd tried out this weekend at the Jets’ training complex, which is located onthe Hofstra campus … Among the players Edwards praised Sunday at theconclusion of minicamp were Coles, John Abraham and Anthony Becht, all of whomcame in last year’s draft.
