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This is, after all, alleged to be the best group of wideouts to enter the league in several seasons. Nearly 15 hours later, as the two assistants huddled again with the reporter for a couple beers, both were ready to accentuate the "alleged" element of this year's pass catchers.

"After watching some guys I was really excited about," said one, "I need more than a couple of beers, believe me. It was pretty disappointing to tell the truth."

As usual the top prospects, Peter Warrick of Florida State and Michigan State's Plaxico Burress, did not participate in the on-field drills. Of the wide receivers who did, there were more question marks than exclamation points.

Sylvester Morris of Jackson State, a huge wideout who intrigued scouts, ran pedestrian 40-yard times of 4.54 and 4.63 and was inconsistent catching the ball. Georgia Tech junior Dez White also struggled with his receiving skills. Two Florida underclassmen, Travis Taylor and Darrell Jackson, didn't jump out like some scouts felt they would. Southern Mississippi star Sherrod Gideon has a reed-thin frame that worried the coaches.

Despite his speed, Laveranues Coles' off-field troubles might deter NFL teams.(Allsport)

The two wideouts who blistered in their 40-yard sprints, R.J. Soward of Southern California and Florida State's Laveranues Coles, come with plenty of baggage that might force scouts to look askew at their impressive sub-4.4 clockings. Soward already has had three agents and not even his new relationship with Leigh Steinberg might be enough to dispel the notion he might be a problem child whose questionable character makes him a risk.

Coles is a tremendous specimen, but was booted out of school by coach Bobby Bowden for repeated off-field offenses, including the Dillard's shopping spree that cost teammate Warrick a shot at the Heisman Trophy.

That's not to say, though, all the news from the combine was bad. It's unfair at times to assume a prospect hurt himself with a poor combine showing, so we'll try to avoid that temptation. Here are a few observations, though, gleaned from dozens of interviews with scouts and personnel directors:

• With the rise of tackles Marvel Smith (Arizona State), Michael Thompson (Tennessee State) and Todd Wade (Mississippi), the offensive line position is much stronger than originally believed. These two joined Chris Samuels (Alabama), Chris McIntosh (Wisconsin) and Stocker McDougle (Oklahoma) as potential first-rounders. The small-school Thompson impressed folks at the Senior Bowl game and did nothing to change anyone's minds in Indy. Wade also was more athletic than expected. Brad Meester (Northern Iowa) wowed the scouts and might have pulled even with John St. Clair (Virginia) as the top center. During the '90s, there was an average of only one guard taken in the first round per draft, and the interior position normally isn't one granted priority. But this year's guard class could be excellent. Cosey Coleman (Tennessee) and Travis Claridge (Southern California) could be joined by Leander Jordan, an incredible athlete from tiny Indiana (Pa.) University. Claridge may be the most debated player in the draft and there is no middle ground with the guy. Scouts either love him or hate him but it only takes one team in his corner to make him a first-rounder.
• Curtis Keaton, a squarish tailback from James Madison, clearly helped himself. Although Trung Canidate (Arizona) ran a tremendous 40, scouts feel he lacks toughness inside. Heisman winner Ron Dayne looked soft and that concerned some personnel men, who realize he is a guy who can only play in a one-back system anyway. There may not be a single fullback taken in the entire draft, the crop is so bad at the position.
• Virginia Tech defensive end John Engelberger (4.74 in the 40) and Boston College defensive tackle Chris Hovan (faster than most of the running backs in the "shuttle" drill) really helped themselves and both should be first-round selections. End Darren Howard (Kansas State) was inconsistent in his drills and didn't look especially strong. As usual, the tackle prospects are a lot smaller than scouts would like and 300-pounders are nowhere to be found. Defensive tackle Leif Larsen of Texas-El Paso set a new combine record with 45 repetitions in the 225-pound bench press, but didn't even make first- or second-team all-conference in the WAC. Scouts don't view him as a top prospect.
• As previously reported, Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington didn't throw a single pass and he distanced himself from the rest of the pack anyway. Pennington ran a 4.84 in the 40 and Chris Redman of Louisville was timed in an awful 5.36. The doctors and trainers seem satisfied Redman is over the back problems that plagued him during part of the season, but he needs to have some sterling on-campus workouts to keep from slipping further. The scouts loved the acumen of Hofstra quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi, but he has just average arm strength.
• Led by LaVar Arrington (Penn State) and Brian Urlacher (New Mexico), the linebacker corps appears deep. Arrington is a stud and Urlacher, who played six positions for the Lobos a specimen. At 6-feet-3 7/8 and 258 pounds, Urlacher still torched the 40 in 4.64 seconds, a brilliant performance. The only question about Urlacher is whether he plays inside or outside. Rob Morris (Brigham Young) and Matt Beck (California) also looked good.
• The lone safety with a chance to sneak into the first round is underclassman Deon Grant of Tennessee. There may be no cornerbacks taken in the top 20 choices. Most of the corners look like defenders who won't be ready to play immediately, or who will have to be force-fed onto the field. Scouts love the size of Rashard Anderson (Jackson State), feel he's a year away, but still assume he'll be a first-round pick. The class of the corners is Ahmad Plummer of Ohio State, and Ike Charlton of Virginia Tech is the best underclassman. The two highest-regarded corners going into the season, Mario Edwards (Florida State) and Dwayne Goodrich (Tennessee), still have to prove their subpar years were not the norm.