Culpepper’s in Best Position

Daunte Culpepper’s NFL debut was hardly auspicious: He was sacked five times and completed just two of six passes for 15 yards in Minnesota’s 36-21 loss to the Giants.

But of the five quarterbacks drafted in the first round last April, Culpepper is in the best position--the bench.

He’s also the only one not viewed by his team’s fans as some sort of savior. He will sit behind Randall Cunningham and Jeff George until he’s ready to become Minnesota’s quarterback of the future.

The others?

* Tim Couch, No. 1 overall, is already the fan favorite to start for the new Cleveland Browns over Ty Detmer, the journeyman picked up from the 49ers. His offensive line, anchored at the tackles by Lomas Brown and Orlando Brown is pretty decent, but the receivers and running backs are questionable.

Couch may have a chance to progress as quickly as Peyton Manning did last year because he has good handlers. Chris Palmer, the Browns’ head coach, was a quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, and had a major role in helping Drew Bledsoe and Mark Brunell achieve their potential.

* Donovan McNabb, No. 2 overall. Like Couch, he’s the fan favorite to start over a journeyman, Doug Pederson. And like Palmer, Andy Reid, the Eagles’ head coach, is a quarterback guru.

But where Couch is a classic pro dropback passer, McNabb played in an option offense at Syracuse. Moreover, he’s playing behind a poor offensive line and the Eagles are probably far worse than expansion Cleveland and in a city where fan opinion turns quickly.

One plus: He’s quick enough to scramble for his life. That also might be a minus--he didn’t slide in college.

* Cade McNown, No. 12 overall. He’s in a worse position than McNabb. He was thrust into the starter’s position when the Bears cut Erik Kramer just before camp, he held out for two weeks and Chicago may be worse than Philadelphia. McNown’s got a winner’s mentality but there are questions about his arm and his height, and he might be battered and beaten before he has a chance to prove he’s the next Jim McMahon.

* Akili Smith, No. 3 overall. Unsigned, perhaps because Cincinnati thinks it doesn’t need him now with Jeff Blake to play quarterback.

Wrong. The Bengals are a bad team with a poor offensive line and a high injury potential.

“It’s impossible,” Blake says of Smith’s holdout. “He could come in and play, but I don’t think he could be productive. He could get by on athletic ability, but that will only take you so far. That’s why they have training camp. If you could come in off the street, you could do it.”

Yes, Culpepper has to be happy to have landed where he did.

MORE ROOKIES: Ricky Williams bruised his shin in the Saints’ opener against the Dolphins, hardly a serious injury. But it points out the fragility of Mike Ditka’s decision to put all his draft choices on the line for Williams. Running back is a contact position and Earl Campbell, to whom Williams is compared, had just six seasons in top form.

Some other rookie notes:

* Is Cecil Collins this year’s Randy Moss? Collins was a fifth-round pick because of his off-field troubles, and a college career at LSU and McNeese State curtailed by injuries and arrests. He probably won’t start for the Dolphins but his 93 yards in 17 carries in the Dolphins’ opener against New Orleans opened a lot of eyes.

* Al Wilson, the Broncos’ first-round pick, could start at middle linebacker by midseason and will certainly see a lot of action. Wilson, who played for Tennessee’s national champions, dropped to No. 30 overall because he’s a shade under 6 feet. That’s as tall as Mike Singletary and three inches taller than Sam Mills and Zach Thomas.

* Champ Bailey, whom the Redskins got with the seventh overall pick, is already starting. He returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter of his first game and it’s only a matter of time before he starts playing some wide receiver.

* Chris Terry, Carolina’s first choice, 34th overall in the second round from Georgia, is starting at right tackle for the Panthers. Matt Stinchomb, who played left tackle at Georgia opposite Terry, was the 18th overall pick by the Raiders and is still struggling.

AND ONE MORE ROOKIE: Jimmy Johnson was surprised his Miami Dolphins were the only team to put in a claim for Dimitrius Underwood after the Vikings released the first-round draft choice, who decided his heart wasn’t in football.

“Some of these decisions turn out pretty good, you know?” said Johnson, who has a history of taking troubled players.

“I’m sure glad I gave Lamar Thomas a second chance. He has been a model citizen. But when they screw up, I get them out of here. Besides, the same people who criticize me for doing this are the ones criticizing me for not drafting Randy Moss. It’s OK to take a troubled past as long as he’s a superstar, right? People are so hypocritical.”

A couple of years ago, Johnson was saying the same thing about Lawrence Phillips. Johnson cut Phillips after he was arrested last spring. But it wasn’t the arrest that did it--it was because Phillips was overweight and balked at running a drill.

He’s already had a talk with Underwood, who doesn’t rule out playing, this year or next.

If Underwood plays up to his talent, Jimmy’s got a steal. If he doesn’t ...

Well, nothing really lost.