Defense top priority as Outlaws get 59 players

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

The final round of the XFL's draft ended after nearly six hours on Monday.

When it was finally over, Las Vegas Outlaws' personnel breathed a collective sigh of relief and said they were content with the players they snuck by the other seven teams.

"It came off as smooth as I've ever seen a draft come off," Outlaws vice president/general manager Bob Ackles said. "The way the coaches and (director of player personnel) Don (Gregory) had the players lined up on the board, they basically came off that way."

Though the Outlaws drafted former New York Jets and Denver Broncos quarterback Chuck Clements with their first pick (the fifth pick overall) and protected former UNLV wide receiver Todd Floyd with one of their 11 territorial picks, it was clear that defense was a top priority.

The Outlaws used their second, third and fourth picks on Antonio Edwards, a defensive end out of Valdosta State; Kory Blackwell, a cornerback out of UMass; and Antonio Dingle, a defensive tackle out of Virginia, respectively.

Head coach Jim Criner gave an enthusiastic endorsement to the Outlaws' defensive selections and spoke highly of cornerback Paul Bradford (their sixth pick), safeties Toby Wright and Jameel Williams (both territorial picks) and nickel backs Chris Bayne (their 10th pick) and Brandon Sanders (their 13th pick).

"I can't say enough about our defense," Criner said. "The reason this draft was so important to us is it not only is what makes us competitive now, but this is the foundation for all future Outlaw squads and it starts with defense.

"You have to be able to keep people out of your end zone and give your offense a chance to mature. In a league like ours where we have a month of training camp, then boom, jump right into games that count, it's real important to get a good start early. The key to that is making sure defensively you play very well early in the season and give your offense a chance to mature and develop.

"I think that's what we did. I think we assured ourselves to be very competitive on defense."

Criner thinks the defense will help the team run a balanced offensive attack.

The Outlaws made former BYU offensive linemen Eric Bateman and Scott Brumfield two of their territorial picks while adding running backs Leroy Collins (their ninth pick out of Louisville) and Chrys Chukwuma (their 25th pick out of Arkansas).

After the first two days of the draft the Outlaws had selected three wide receivers, Donald Sellers (their 12th pick out of New Mexico), Mike Furrey (their 17th pick out of Northern Iowa) and Tyrone Taylor (their 22nd pick out of Sacramento State). On the final day they picked up six more including Lane Randall (their 31st pick out of Purdue).

"We have a very good complement of speed receivers, big physical receivers and possession receivers," Criner said. "I was very pleased with the draft.

"I think we filled in the team very nicely. Not only with the top players that were available to us at the time of our pick, but also with the numbers we needed at each position."