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Q: Hey, I am a huge Ohio State fan and saw you had Bobby Carpenter and Santonio Holmes as having character concerns (draft value depth chart, April 18) associated with them. In their four years at OSU, I have never heard of either being in any off-the-field issues and both of these kids were team leaders. What is up with this?
 R. Banks
A: The concerns might not be as grave as others. There is not a detailed arrest history, and both players were pivotal to the Buckeyes’ success. That said, if anyone digs into Holmes’ background deeply enough  and I just got off the phone with an NFL team that might pick Holmes that didn’t even have all the character info I do  he will find there are some inconsistencies and concerns in the background of both players. Some of them, you could find on your own. In an AP story published May 6, 2004, outlining the timeline of troubles since Jim Tressel arrived, the following was included:
“Nov. 16, 2003  At 3 a.m. after a win over Purdue and six days before the Michigan game, wide receiver Santonio Holmes and quarterback Troy Smith are charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct after a fight in a parking lot on campus. A window in a car is kicked out and one woman reported her jaw was broken. Holmes is held out of the starting lineup at Michigan but returns to play most of the game. Holmes also started in the Buckeyes' Fiesta Bowl game. He pleads innocent to the disorderly conduct after the team returns to Columbus. The disorderly conduct charge is dismissed against Holmes on March 30, 2004. Smith is found guilty of the charge.â€ÂÂ
Where there is smoke, there is often fire, and the character questions run considerably deeper. I have no way of verifying what I have been told, and believe to be true, by some very trusted sources. It would not be appropriate to detail all I know about Holmes, but let me just say that any team that does its due diligence on Holmes will have concerns.
Carpenter’s concerns stem from his personality, inability to get along with teammates and his inability to lead. For a player being projected by many teams to an ILB position that requires leadership capability, that is a concern. He is smart, will work hard and play hard on game day, but there are many elements to a player’s character, and teams have called him a “loose cannon†and “know-it-all†and made note of how difficult he was to deal with on his pro day, when he refused to take off his sweats to be weighed and forced teams to move the drills a number of times. Scouts who like Carpenter say no player at that pro day who was also at the Combine wanted to be weighed and that it is normal for players to request to move a drill due to slippery conditions.
I don’t think the concerns are serious enough that they will affect Carpenter’s stock drastically or even keep him out of the first round, nor do I expect Holmes to slip much, given the lack of quality in this year’s receiver class. But where a player is drafted and what type of pro he turns out to be are separate issues. If the character element was better on the part of both players, I think they would turn out to be much better pros. As it is, neither is viewed as a “safe pick†by many teams. In contrast, A.J. Hawk has all the intangibles and will likely be drafted in the top five, higher than where very similar players like Keith Brooking (12th, 1998) and Dan Morgan (11th, 2001) were drafted, because teams know exactly what they are getting and because he is arguably the safest “can’t miss†pick in the draft.
Q: Offensive linemen are usually hit-or-miss, no matter what round they are picked. Does that give Tampa Bay incentive to draft a different position in the first round, maybe a WR like Sinorice Moss?
 Paul
A: You might be surprised to know that the two positions that have the highest bust rate in the first round over the last decade, each hovering near 50 percent, are quarterback and receiver. There is a very sharp learning curve for both positions, and it usually takes until Year Three before most throwers or catchers reach their potential.
When you break down the league even further, you will find that only a very select number of left tackles in the league have not been drafted in the first round because teams tend to lock them up early and rarely let them escape to free agency. If you can find a premium pass protector, you do not let him go. If you want a premium pass protector, you either draft one in the first round or you grossly overpay in the free-agent market, as the Browns did with former Falcons OLT Kevin Shaeffer. With not many teams wanting to pay Mercedes money for a Chevy, the draft is the ideal place to find one.
For that reason, I think Miami’s (Fla.) Eric Winston and Auburn’s Marcus McNeill might have a better chance of sneaking into the back end of the first round than their play would warrant. With Winston playing in the Bucs’ own backyard and the team having a history of selecting local talent, I think he is a good fit for the Buccaneers.
Q: Matt Leinart was widely regarded as the top pick a year ago? Why do you suddenly think he will fall so far?
A: It is not sudden. The evaluation process begins on next year’s prospects immediately after the draft, and in the case of Leinart, I have been aware of him and watched him play much longer because of his high profile and success. If you go back to PFW’s Nov. 14, 2005, issue, you can find a headline that reads, “Is Matt Leinart overrated?†and a detailed description in our position-by-position pro prospects series stating that there are a lot of questions coming from NFL evaluators about Leinart’s ability.
The media hype surrounding Leinart has been off the charts, as it usually is for most Heisman winners. The reality, when you really study him and try to figure out what he is and what he could be, is that he is a very cerebral, rhythm pocket passer with great accuracy when he has time to throw. The problem is that he will not have the time to throw in the NFL that he had in college unless he enters a situation like Ben Roethlisberger luckily landed in and goes to a good team. Falling in this draft is the best thing that could happen to Leinart. He needs to put his ego aside, not worry about his pocketbook and hope he lands with a good team.
Bottom line, in the view of many teams, is that he is an injury waiting to happen. If he does not have a strong offensive line and a good running game, he could be a very average NFL quarterback. He needs the right situation to be successful. Vince Young and Jay Cutler have much more upside.
 R. Banks
A: The concerns might not be as grave as others. There is not a detailed arrest history, and both players were pivotal to the Buckeyes’ success. That said, if anyone digs into Holmes’ background deeply enough  and I just got off the phone with an NFL team that might pick Holmes that didn’t even have all the character info I do  he will find there are some inconsistencies and concerns in the background of both players. Some of them, you could find on your own. In an AP story published May 6, 2004, outlining the timeline of troubles since Jim Tressel arrived, the following was included:
“Nov. 16, 2003  At 3 a.m. after a win over Purdue and six days before the Michigan game, wide receiver Santonio Holmes and quarterback Troy Smith are charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct after a fight in a parking lot on campus. A window in a car is kicked out and one woman reported her jaw was broken. Holmes is held out of the starting lineup at Michigan but returns to play most of the game. Holmes also started in the Buckeyes' Fiesta Bowl game. He pleads innocent to the disorderly conduct after the team returns to Columbus. The disorderly conduct charge is dismissed against Holmes on March 30, 2004. Smith is found guilty of the charge.â€ÂÂ
Where there is smoke, there is often fire, and the character questions run considerably deeper. I have no way of verifying what I have been told, and believe to be true, by some very trusted sources. It would not be appropriate to detail all I know about Holmes, but let me just say that any team that does its due diligence on Holmes will have concerns.
Carpenter’s concerns stem from his personality, inability to get along with teammates and his inability to lead. For a player being projected by many teams to an ILB position that requires leadership capability, that is a concern. He is smart, will work hard and play hard on game day, but there are many elements to a player’s character, and teams have called him a “loose cannon†and “know-it-all†and made note of how difficult he was to deal with on his pro day, when he refused to take off his sweats to be weighed and forced teams to move the drills a number of times. Scouts who like Carpenter say no player at that pro day who was also at the Combine wanted to be weighed and that it is normal for players to request to move a drill due to slippery conditions.
I don’t think the concerns are serious enough that they will affect Carpenter’s stock drastically or even keep him out of the first round, nor do I expect Holmes to slip much, given the lack of quality in this year’s receiver class. But where a player is drafted and what type of pro he turns out to be are separate issues. If the character element was better on the part of both players, I think they would turn out to be much better pros. As it is, neither is viewed as a “safe pick†by many teams. In contrast, A.J. Hawk has all the intangibles and will likely be drafted in the top five, higher than where very similar players like Keith Brooking (12th, 1998) and Dan Morgan (11th, 2001) were drafted, because teams know exactly what they are getting and because he is arguably the safest “can’t miss†pick in the draft.
Q: Offensive linemen are usually hit-or-miss, no matter what round they are picked. Does that give Tampa Bay incentive to draft a different position in the first round, maybe a WR like Sinorice Moss?
 Paul
A: You might be surprised to know that the two positions that have the highest bust rate in the first round over the last decade, each hovering near 50 percent, are quarterback and receiver. There is a very sharp learning curve for both positions, and it usually takes until Year Three before most throwers or catchers reach their potential.
When you break down the league even further, you will find that only a very select number of left tackles in the league have not been drafted in the first round because teams tend to lock them up early and rarely let them escape to free agency. If you can find a premium pass protector, you do not let him go. If you want a premium pass protector, you either draft one in the first round or you grossly overpay in the free-agent market, as the Browns did with former Falcons OLT Kevin Shaeffer. With not many teams wanting to pay Mercedes money for a Chevy, the draft is the ideal place to find one.
For that reason, I think Miami’s (Fla.) Eric Winston and Auburn’s Marcus McNeill might have a better chance of sneaking into the back end of the first round than their play would warrant. With Winston playing in the Bucs’ own backyard and the team having a history of selecting local talent, I think he is a good fit for the Buccaneers.
Q: Matt Leinart was widely regarded as the top pick a year ago? Why do you suddenly think he will fall so far?
A: It is not sudden. The evaluation process begins on next year’s prospects immediately after the draft, and in the case of Leinart, I have been aware of him and watched him play much longer because of his high profile and success. If you go back to PFW’s Nov. 14, 2005, issue, you can find a headline that reads, “Is Matt Leinart overrated?†and a detailed description in our position-by-position pro prospects series stating that there are a lot of questions coming from NFL evaluators about Leinart’s ability.
The media hype surrounding Leinart has been off the charts, as it usually is for most Heisman winners. The reality, when you really study him and try to figure out what he is and what he could be, is that he is a very cerebral, rhythm pocket passer with great accuracy when he has time to throw. The problem is that he will not have the time to throw in the NFL that he had in college unless he enters a situation like Ben Roethlisberger luckily landed in and goes to a good team. Falling in this draft is the best thing that could happen to Leinart. He needs to put his ego aside, not worry about his pocketbook and hope he lands with a good team.
Bottom line, in the view of many teams, is that he is an injury waiting to happen. If he does not have a strong offensive line and a good running game, he could be a very average NFL quarterback. He needs the right situation to be successful. Vince Young and Jay Cutler have much more upside.
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