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PA Season Ticket Holder
04-13-2003, 07:34 PM
Given the position's perennial lack of representation in the first round of the draft, where there haven't been more than three interior secondary prospects selected in the initial stanza since the legendary 1983 bounty, perhaps the axiom should be altered to something like "safety last."


In the 33 drafts that have taken place since the 1970 merger, there have been just 40 safeties chosen in the first round of the lottery, and only 17 in the last 18 years. In seven of the past 18 drafts, not a single safety went off the board in the first round, and only twice were more than two selected.

The trend isn't apt to change this year, either, when safety Troy Polamalu of Southern California seems the only first-round certainty at the position.

But even as the safety spot continues to rank as a low priority for most clubs, there is the suggestion of an evolution that could change its stature, at least in a sense. With league offenses having become notably imbalanced, and skewed so significantly toward the passing game, most franchises are now in dire need of the combination safety/cornerback defender.

And the 2003 draft features several prospects who fit the job description of the new-age hybrid defensive back

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfldraft/columnist?id=1536173