He prepared for the draft by working with former NFL star Jerry Rice, who was arguably the greatest wide receiver ever. Jackson said his connection with Rice was that they are represented by the same agency, DeBartolo Sports and Entertainment.

"When I signed with them and I went to Pensacola, Fla., to train, I got hooked up with [Rice]," Jackson said yesterday after catching a red-eye flight from Los Angeles. "I've just spent the past two months with him, working out . . . and just picking his mind in any way possible. I was very fortunate to be one of the receivers in this draft class to be working out with him."

Jackson and fellow second-round pick Trevor Laws shared a limousine ride from Philadelphia International Airport to the NovaCare Complex. Laws, a defensive tackle taken two picks ahead of Jackson, said he could not wait for the Eagles' post-draft minicamp, which opens Saturday.

"I'm ready to get back to finally play football again," the former Notre Dame star said. "I'm sick of running all these little sprints and drills. That's not football. I'm excited to get out there and put the helmet on and go to work."

Second-day picks

The two tackles who will try to win jobs as guards are Pittsburgh's Mike McGlynn and California's Mike Gibson.

McGlynn was the Eagles' first pick of the fourth round. During his career at Pitt, he played primarily at right tackle, opposite Jeff Otah, the Delaware native who was taken in the first round with the pick that Carolina acquired from the Eagles on Saturday.

"I think [offensive line coach] Juan Castillo likes me inside playing guard or possibly even center," McGlynn said. "I will play anywhere - tackle, guard or center. It doesn't matter. I describe myself as a blue-collar type of guy."

Gibson, taken with the Eagles' first pick of the sixth round, was a left tackle at Cal but couldn't play in his final collegiate game - the Armed Forces Bowl - because of a concussion. He said he tried to come back too soon from a concussion in the Golden Bears' next-to-last game of the regular season and ended up suffering a second concussion in the team's regular-season finale against Stanford.

"I've had all the testing done, and everything came back positive," Gibson said. "To be honest, it's not scary at all. It's something that every football player goes through."

With their final two picks of the sixth round, the Eagles selected linebacker Joe Mays from North Dakota State and linebacker Andy Studebaker from Division III Wheaton in Illinois. Mays is an inside linebacker, while Studebaker will play either outside linebacker or defensive end.

"We've had some luck with smaller school guys," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "You want to make sure that they dominate at that level. The No. 1 thing is they have to jump out on film."

Auburn's King Dunlap, a 6-foot-9, 310-pound tackle, will stand out when the rookies check in for the post-draft camp Friday. "He's a huge man," Reid said.

Dunlap was also a huge disappointment in his senior season at Auburn as he lost his starting job at left tackle in the middle of the season.

"We look forward to seeing if a little change of scenery doesn't help out here in Philadelphia," Reid said. "He'll have an opportunity to challenge for one of those backup tackle spots."

- Bob Brookover