Draft day is past, the celebrating is over, and the new draftees and their entourages have put their suits away. Everything that happened in the last college football season, the combines, pro days, interviews, and everything the experts have said means precisely squat.

As the newly drafted defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy of the St. Louis Rams said, it's time for them all to put their hand in the dirt, or at least get their cleats in it, to find out where they fit in the NFL. Kennedy finds himself in an interesting situation, playing for a team that didn't have a major need at defensive tackle. The Rams actually picked two defensive tackles in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft in Miami grad Damione Lewis and Ohio State alum Ryan Pickett. They also have former starter Brian Young and Jeremy Staat, a second round pick in 1998, to give them depth.

However, the Rams went with who they felt was the best player available in Kennedy. They expected him to be long since gone, and hadn't even been in contact with Kennedy before the draft with the exception of the combine interviews. They decided to fill their needs later and take what they considered to be a top-five pick with the No. 12 selection.

"To find interior linemen with his size, at about 323, his athleticism, his ability to push the pocket, it allows you to blitz less or blitz when you want to, to control the line of scrimmage with those defensive linemen as the premium is always put on those defensive tackles," said Rams coach Mike Martz at a press conference Sunday. "They're so hard to come by, that's why we've paid so much attention to it in the draft the last few years. It's an unexpected choice by us, we just absolutely are shocked, and relatively surprised obviously that he was there."

Defensive end Michael Haynes is also likely going to start out as a backup with former Florida star Alex Brown and seven-year veteran Phillip Daniels manning the starting spots at defensive end for the Chicago Bears. The Bears coaches have also told Haynes, who now weighs in at 280 pounds, to put on another ten pounds so that he will also be able to play both end and tackle.

"Ten pounds is no big deal, that's what, two pizzas?" Haynes said. "I think in their kind of defense I can play either role."

Wide receiver Bryant Johnson probably has the best chance of making an immediate impact among the Penn State draftees. The Arizona Cardinals' once-talented wide receiving corps was plundered by free agency this season with starting wide receivers David Boston and Frank Sanders departing along with backup MarTay Jenkins. The Cardinals drafted Johnson and former Florida State wideout Anquan Boldin to fill the holes.

If Johnson performs like he did at Penn State, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to win the starting job. Right now ESPN.com lists no-names Bryan Gilmore and Kevin Kasper at the top of the depth chart, and Johnson will likely beat them out.

As the first-rounder, Johnson seems to be coming in to fill the role of Boston, a former Pro-Bowler. However, Johnson is making sure not to look at his role that way.

"There's no pressure on me because I know I'm not David Boston," he said. "I'm Bryant Johnson and I just have to go out and play my game."

Unlike Bryant, running back Larry Johnson will likely be playing the waiting game again, and oddly enough, he is doing so in the same backfield as Penn State teammate Omar Easy. Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes is coming off an otherworldly season in which he rushed for 1,615 yards and 21 touchdowns in just 15 games. Holmes did sit out the last two games with a hip injury, and surgery is keeping him out of action until June.

If Holmes returns in shape, Johnson will be forced into backup duty, and will probably find a niche on special teams as he did at Penn State.

If Holmes goes down, however, the 2,000-yard rusher will get a chance to shine in the big league.