Jamal Anderson didn't want to believe it.
``It's a complete shock,'' Duckett said. ``I had no clue it was going to happen. I'm just grateful right now.''
Atlanta chose Tennessee defensive end Will Overstreet in the third round, the No. 80 selection overall.
Anderson, coming off a serious knee injury for the second time in three years, is likely to be released. His 2002 contract would count $3.5 million against the NFL salary cap. If the Falcons cut him before June 1, he would count $3 million against their cap this season.
By waiting until June 1 to release him, Anderson would count $1.5 million against the 2002 cap and $1.5 million against the 2003 cap.
The latter scenario seems far more likely. Atlanta would have an extra $1.5 million to pursue veteran receivers like Derrick Alexander, Keenan McCardell and Antonio Freeman, who are expected to be free agents.
``I am not going to sit here and say because we drafted a running back that my time in Atlanta is over,'' Anderson said. ``We signed Warrick Dunn and we draft a guy in the first round - the second running back overall - and so I would not say it looks really good for me, either.''
Atlanta, coming off a 7-9 season and a 16-32 record over the last three years, was preparing to make the No. 17 selection when it swapped first-round spots with the Oakland Raiders. The Falcons, who entered the day without picks in the second and fourth rounds, acquired a fifth-round pick from Oakland.
Duckett ran 263 times for 1,420 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior last season. With a 254-pound frame and 5.45 speed in the 40-yard dash, Duckett has been compared to Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis. He's nicknamed Diesel.
``You just don't see that type of speed he has and the type of size he has very often,'' Falcons coach Dan Reeves said. ``We think it's a situation that can work out very well for us.''
Duckett thought Cleveland would take him No. 16 overall, but the Browns chose Boston College running back William Green. Getting selected by the Falcons surprised Duckett, who hadn't spoken with them since attending the NFL Combine in Indianapolis two months ago.
Duckett ran for 3,379 yards and 29 touchdowns in three years with the Spartans.
``I think he is definitely a unique player,'' Reeves said. ``We thought he would go quicker than that.''
Anderson, who set an NFL single-season record with 410 carries and led Atlanta to the Super Bowl in 1998, hasn't been the same player since. He ran for 1,846 yards that year, the ninth-best season in league history and an effort that earned him a $32 million, five-year contract.
But Anderson tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in the second game of 1999. Starting 16 games in 2000, Anderson rushed for 1,024 yards in 282 carries and was off to a good start last year before tearing his right ACL in Week 3. Both injuries occurred without any contact.
``That's a concern,'' Reeves said. ``Our other running back, Maurice Smith, is coming off knee surgery also.''
Overstreet had 35 tackles with five sacks and nine stops for losses and was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in his senior year. The 6-3, 259-pound end will line up as an outside linebacker in the Falcons' 3-4 alignment under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
``They're going to use me as a rush linebacker,'' said Overstreet, who missed two games last season with an MCL sprain.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/195718