Pros and cons

Five risky NFL draft picks that paid off and five that didn’t:

5 RISKS THAT PAID OFF

* Dan Marino -- Hall of Fame quarterback taken No. 27 overall in 1983 -- after John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien -- after unsubstantiated drug rumors about his days at the University of Pittsburgh.

* Randy Moss -- Twenty players were chosen ahead of Moss in the 1998 draft, largely because the Marshall receiver had multiple run-ins with the law while in college. He hasn’t been a model citizen, but his transgressions have been minor.

* Sebastian Janikowski -- Taken No. 17 overall by the Raiders in 2000, becoming the first kicker to go in the opening round in 21 years, after several incidents -- most of them involving alcohol or drugs or both -- while at Florida State.

* Luis Castillo -- Selected No. 28 overall by San Diego after testing positive for steroids while at Northwestern. The defensive tackle said he used them to speed his recovery from elbow surgery and vowed to give back his signing bonus if he slipped again.

* Warren Sapp -- The Miami defensive tackle was taken 12th by Tampa Bay in 1995 and probably would have been a top-five pick but for reports he had failed drug tests while playing for the Hurricanes. He later acknowledged that he twice tested positive for marijuana.

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AND 5 THAT DIDN’T

* Maurice Clarett -- Running back who led Ohio State to a national championship as a freshman was Denver’s third-round pick in 2005 but was cut in the preseason. He’s serving a seven-year jail sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery and concealed weapons charges.

* Lawrence Phillips -- Former star running back at Nebraska had plenty of chances -- with St. Louis, San Francisco and in the Canadian Football League. His history of legal problems and violence against women date to his college days and he’s now in prison awaiting sentencing on seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a 2005 incident in which he allegedly drove his car onto a field near the Coliseum and struck two boys, ages 14 and 15, and a 19-year-old man.

* Dimitrius Underwood -- Minnesota used the 29th pick in the 1999 draft on the Michigan State defensive tackle even though his college coaches warned that he wasn’t mentally stable enough to play in the NFL. A day after signing a five-year, $5.3-million contract, Underwood walked away from training camp and would not return. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attempted to commit suicide at least twice.

* Onterrio Smith -- Selected in the fourth round in 2003 by Minnesota after reports of a DUI at Oregon, he was detained by security at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport two years later, carrying dried urine and a device called the “Original Whizzinator” -- a kit that is used to beat drug tests. A month later, he was suspended for the 2005 season for a third violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

* R. Jay Soward -- The former USC receiver was selected 29th by Jacksonville in 2000 despite a pre-draft reputation for poor work ethic. He played one season, during which he was fined $50,000 for violating team rules, suspended for a game and reportedly placed in the league’s substance-abuse program.