Keyshawn worthy of number one pic

By AL PICKETT
Sports Editor

If you watched the start of the NFL draft on television Saturday, you saw the New York Jets' fans cheering with approval of their team's selection of Keyshawn Johnson as the No. 1 pick.

More than 75,000 fans - this one included - at the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, 1995, would agree.

That was the day that Johnson put on an absolutely unbelievable performance, leading Southern Cal to a 55-14 trouncing of Texas Tech.

Johnson had eight receptions for an incredible 222 yards and three touchdowns that day as the Trojans rolled over the tortilla-flattened Red Raiders.

He simply looked like the best receiver in the country that day, a tall receiver with the size, quickness and moves to make a great NFL receiver.

When he nearly duplicated that effort on New Year's Day this year in the Trojans' win over Northwestern in the Rose Bowl, someone quipped that the next bowl Keyshawn Johnson would play in would be the Pro Bowl.

That may be right. But he may not make it to the Super Bowl.

The graphic listing we ran in Saturday's Reporter-News of the No. 1 picks in the NFL draft since the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970 revealed a rather surprising note.

Terry Bradshaw, the first pick in 1970, and Jim Plunkett, the top pick in '71, both led teams to Super Bowl victories, although Plunkett guided the Oakland Raiders to the championship, not the New England Patriots who drafted him.

Since then, however, only three No. 1 picks in the last 24 years, own Super Bowl rings. And they all played for the Dallas Cowboys.

Troy Aikman in 1989, Russell Maryland in 1991 and Ed "Too Tall" Jones in 1974 are the only No. 1 picks to play for a winning team in the Super Bowl since1972.

I'm not sure what that means, but it is an interesting fact. Picking receivers

Much publicity was given to the fact that Keyshawn Johnson was only the second wide receiver to be taken as the No. 1 since the NFL-AFL merger. The other was Nebraska's Irving Fryar by New England in 1984.

There was a time when wide receivers were popular choices as the No. 1 picks - and they were from the Big Country.

Texas Tech end David Parks from Abilene High was the first pick in the NFL draft in 1964. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers.

The next year, Baylor end Lawrence Elkins from Brownwood was the No. 1 pick in the AFL draft by the Houston Oilers. Local picks

Speaking of local players being drafted, is Wylie's Ken Blackman, who was taken in the third round Saturday by the Cincinnati Bengals, the first Wylie player to ever be drafted by an NFL draft?

In recent memory, Bobby Lilljedahl is the only other Wylie player to play major college football, but I don't the University of Texas punter was drafted.

Also, is Blackman the first football player from Abilene to be drafted since Cooper's Ray Berry was chosen by the Minnesota Vikings in the late 1980s? Most popular pick

You may not realize it, but Texas A&M linebacker Reggie Brown was the most popular pick in the draft, or least that No. 17 slot in the first round was.

Oakland owned the No. 17 pick, which it traded to Houston to move up to No. 9and take Ohio State tight end Rickey Dudley.

The Oilers then dealt the 17th spot to Seattle to move up to No. 14 and select Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George. The Seahawks then sent the 17th pick to Detroit, moving down to No. 21 and also obtaining a third-round selection.

The Lions, the fourth team of the day to have the No. 17 pick, finally drafted the Aggies' linebacker.