In judging defensive ends, burst means more than bulk.

Because California defensive end Andre Carter is thin enough to hide behind a light pole, some people wonder if he's big enough to be an every-down defensive end in the NFL. But playing defensive end is not about rattling the earth. It's about rattling the quarterback. And Carter can do that.

None of the defensive ends who is expected to be first-round picks this year--Carter, Justin Smith of Missouri and Jamal Reynolds of Florida State--is a guy who wears out a mattress. At the combine, the three weighed in at 249, 267 and 267, respectively.

This is not alarming or even unusual, however. In the last five years, only four of the 17 defensive ends drafted in the first round weighed 280 or more at their respective combines. You settle for light pass rushers like you settle for light been Recent first-round picks include Jevon Kearse (262 at the combine), Duane Clemons (261), Regan Upshaw (249) and Simeon Rice (259).

Every team would like to have a 290-pound end who can pass rush. It looked like St. Louis' Kevin Carter was going to be that prototype end up until last year, but there really aren't any others in the NFL who have that combination of size, speed and pass-rush ability. The median weight of starting defensive ends in the league last year, according to their listed weight (which tends to be high) was 276 pounds.

Bucs defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who will be coaching the undersized Rice this year, says he doesn't pay much attention to an end's weight, or even his bench press. "The keys are conversion of power and balance," Marinelli says. "In our system we'd take a guy who is 270 with quickness and explosion over a guy who was 310 without it."

This isn't like a pumpkin contest where they give out ribbons for the heaviest.

"(Andre) Carter can uncoil at the hips and explode," Bucs director of college scouting Tim Ruskell says. "That's better than bulk or weight-room strength. Sudden movement gives a player an element of surprise, whereas you can see brute strength coming and react with quickness to make a guy miss."