By John Shinn
Transcript Sports Writer
There were representatives from 17 NFL teams at Oklahoma’s Everest Indoor Center Tuesday.
All had different agendas, but all stopped to watch the same thing about halfway through the Sooners’ Pro Day.
Oakland Raiders running backs coach Tom Rathman was setting up cones near midfield. The show was about to start.
The show Tuesday was Adrian Peterson. The former Sooner running back, who elected to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft, solidified himself as a top 10 pick with an impressive workout at the combine last month in Indianapolis.
He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds and had a vertical jump of 37 inches. A refresher wasn’t needed. He only ran the 60-yard shuttle Tuesday, turning in a time of 11.78 seconds.
Rathman was looking for something else.
He wanted to see if Peterson could catch the football. Drills can measure speed and strength but …
“There’s a lot of guys that look like Tarzan, but play like Jane. Don’t kid yourself,” Rathman said.
After spending nearly 30 minutes watching Peterson catch passes from Paul Thompson, who was also auditioning to make the step to the next level, Rathman had seen more than enough Tarzan.
It was critical for Peterson to show Rathman what he wanted to see. The Raiders hold the No. 1 overall pick for the 2007 draft. Many believe that pick will be used to take a quarterback. LSU’s JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn are widely considered the top signal-callers in this season’s draft class.
But you never know.
Running backs have gone No. 1 before. Peterson showed he could certainly carry the ball during his three seasons at OU. He rushed for 4,045 yards and ranks third on the Sooners’ all-time rushing list. But he only caught 24 passes during the same span.
His ability to help out on the passing game and durability have been the only knocks against him.
“These days they want a guy out there all four downs,” Peterson said. “They want to get you out in space with the ball in your hands. I just wanted to catch the ball and let them know I can do it.”
That’s what Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage wanted to see. The Browns hold the third pick, behind the Detroit Lions, and have been looking at bolstering a running game that finished 31st in the league last season.
“Adrian is a terrific talent,” he said. “I thought today he caught the ball well and showed some versatility in catching the ball out of the backfield.
“I thought at the combine he double caught some balls. He probably eased some peoples minds with how he caught a little better here.”
He caught just about every route imaginable. He caught balls coming out of the backfield. He caught balls lined up at wide receiver. Rathman even asked Thompson to throw some balls behind to see how he would adjust.
“He snagged every ball,” Thompson said. “He definitely proved he can catch the ball. That wasn’t a surprise to me.”
The surprises seem to be just about over for Peterson. The NFL draft is scheduled for April 28-29 in New York. Peterson won’t have to wait very long for his name to be called.
He showed why in his three seasons at OU and again Tuesday for whoever was curious.
“It’s like a dream coming true,” Peterson said.
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