NEW YORK -- It looks as if Michael Vick will be a Falcon rather than a Charger.
San Diego, unhappy with its negotiations with Virginia Tech quarterback Vick, made the first move in the 2001 NFL draft yesterday by trading the first overall pick to Atlanta. The Falcons will use it to select Vick.
"We think he's an exceptional young man," Falcons Coach Dan Reeves said of Vick, who played just 20 games in college. "He's a great football player, but he's an exceptional young man who I think will set this franchise up for a long time to come."
The Falcons gave the Chargers the fifth overall pick in the first round; their third-round pick, the 67th overall; their second-round pick in 2002; and wide receiver Tim Dwight.
The Chargers hope to use that fifth pick on Texas Christian running back LaDanian Tomlinson, whom John Butler, the Chargers' general manager, is known to covet, and also have two other players in mind -- Leonard Davis, a 370-pound offensive tackle from Texas, and defensive tackle Gerard Warren of Florida.
Butler considers Tomlinson similar to Thurman Thomas, whom he drafted in 1988 when he was in Buffalo.
The deal proved that the Chargers weren't bluffing when Dean Spanos, San Diego's president, warned Vick and his agents they had better have a deal done by the start of the draft.
"We got this trade opportunity while we were working on the deal, and it was too good to pass up," Chargers Coach Mike Riley said, adding that he still likes Vick but was worried about a holdout.
"I'd be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed," Vick told reporters at the ESPNZone in New York. "I really like Coach Riley. I really like Coach Norv Turner. I would have loved being down there. But things do happen. I don't think they had any doubts about me, but there are some business decisions that have to be made."
The trade might be the first in what could be an intriguing draft, which begins at noon today at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Most teams want to trade down because there appears to be little difference in the caliber of players available from the middle of the first round to the middle of the second.
Only a few want to go up, such as Green Bay, which would like to move into the top four to get Warren, a defensive tackle from Florida who reminds scouts of Tampa Bay's Warren Sapp.
But Vick remains the first choice.
He is from the new mold: mobile, just a little taller than 6 feet and very green. But he's also the kind of prospect who could carry a team for years. Atlanta can groom him behind Chris Chandler, whom the Falcons hope can avoid the injuries that have plagued him every year but their Super Bowl season in 1998.
"I think it's an ideal situation with a guy like Chris Chandler who's been in the league a long time and has the great skills that he has," Reeves said. "He's a great guy for Michael to learn from. We'll have to try to get him involved in some packages to create some problems for other teams. When you've got that kind of speed and ability, you've got to utilize it somewhat."
The Chargers are hoping or know Cleveland, which picks third, will pass on Tomlinson and take a wide receiver, probably David Terrell of Michigan. Arizona, which picks second and Cincinnati, which picks fourth, are expected to take linemen -- the three possibilities are Warren, Davis or offensive tackle Kenyatta Walker of Florida.
The other intriguing player is Dan Morgan, a linebacker from Miami.
Butch Davis, who coached Morgan in college, now coaches the Browns. Davis compares Morgan with reigning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year Ray Lewis, another former Hurricane, and would like to trade down to get Morgan and an extra draft pick.
"He's got the complete package," Davis said of Morgan.
That could mean a deal between the Browns and Packers, who pick 10th, depending on whether Cleveland is sure San Francisco won't take Morgan at nine. Cleveland might have ways of getting that information. Carmen Policy and Dwight Clark, who run the Browns' front office, spent their entire careers with the 49ers until taking over in Cleveland.
Along with Vick, Tomlinson, Terrell, Warren, Davis, Walker and Morgan, the potential top picks include Missouri defensive end Justin Smith, wide receiver Koren Robinson of North Carolina State and running back Deuce McAllister of Mississippi.
The only other quarterback projected as a first rounder is Drew Brees of Purdue. He could go to Miami, which has the 26th pick. Brees would be the eventual successor to Dan Marino, who was picked 27th in 1983.
Brees also might fall to the second round and give San Diego a quarterback alternative to Vick.
NFL 2001 Draft: Falcons move to No. 1 
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