A couple of weekends ago, colleague Mike Wilkening and I were sent out to Los Angeles to cover an event neither of us knew much about — wait for the Homeric title — the Reebok NFL Players Rookie Premiere weekend.

In a nutshell, the Players Association sends 30-something of its finest rookies, about half of them first-round picks, to L.A. to take part in two events. On Friday, the players were invited to an EA Sports-sponsored Madden '07 tournament between selected players. On Saturday, the players were sent to the L.A. Coliseum to be photographed in their respective teams' uniforms by the major trading-card companies — Upper Deck, Donruss and Topps.

The whole weekend was slightly surreal, if for no other reason than that these high-profile players — the subjects of endless speculation leading up to this year's draft — were walking around relatively unbothered. By media, at least. As far as we could tell, Mike and I were the only print media out there; some radio and TV guys made the trip, but for the most part, we had unfettered access to the players, which in this day and age is beyond rare.

The players were loose. I spoke with new Rams RB Brian Leonard about real estate in the St. Louis area, where I used to live. Titans RB Chris Henry and I yakked about Jeff Fisher, Tucson, Ariz. (where he went to college) and barbecue, which he's looking forward to trying in nearby Memphis. And Bengals RB Kenny Irons — the unofficial star of the weekend — told Ravens QB Troy Smith to pass on a message to now teammate Ray Lewis: "I am ready for you."

It was a fun event, and it was very interesting to see the players out of their element a bit, but still in the spotlight. Three players intrigued me the most. Sure, JaMarcus Russell and Adrian Peterson were there, and all eyes were on them. But I was curious to watch a trio that found itself slightly in the shadows.

First, there was Bills RB Marshawn Lynch. Being the 12th pick in the draft, he was not a nobody, but he did get a bit overshadowed by Peterson and the other top 10 picks a touch. Lynch, who could have a monster rookie year in Buffalo, appeared confident and sure. He moved among the crowd easily and held himself well, playing the Madden games with gusto but with controlled maturity. He said he was anxious to prove he can handle the spotlight as a rookie.

"I have a job to do now, and it's business time," Lynch said. "Football is fun, but there's work now. After this (fun weekend), it's back to OTAs. We're in the middle of training now."

By most accounts, Lynch has fared well, easily slipping into the Bills' offensive scheme and casting no doubt that he can be an instant-impact player. Many view Lynch purely as a workhorse I-back, but he showed some good versatility at the team's minicamp, splitting wide at times and catching the ball well.

Giants WR Steve Smith faces several obstacles: being the second-most famous WR this year from USC (behind Dwayne Jarrett), having to crack a deep receiver lot in New York (Plaxico Burress, et al), being the ninth receiver taken in the draft (and the eight ahead of him were at the Rookie Premiere) and sharing the same name as some guy from the Panthers who happens to play the same position.

Despite this, Smith was confident and focused and didn't let a little praise from new head coach Tom Coughlin obscure his thoughts. Coughlin remarked at the way Smith caught the ball in the Giants' rookie minicamp following the draft, but he said it's one small step in a long journey.

"It was nice (to hear praise from Coughlin), but it's nothing really," Smith said. "I have to go a long way before I can get to the level of Plaxico (Burress) and Amani Toomer. Sinorice Moss has — a year (head start) on me, too. My job is to come in and do what the coaching staff asks me to do — no more, no less. I am the low man on the totem pole."

That refreshing humility always has been a staple of Brady Quinn's repertoire. He has been trained to be very media-savvy, and his personality is perhaps only his second-best trait to his talent as a football player, which is immense. During the pre-draft process, Quinn did rub a few hardcore football people a little wrong. They thought he came off a little too polished, fake even. But you can't deny that the kid does his homework and represents his team well. The rest, I say, is nitpicking.

"We have to get the ball to our playmakers this year," said Quinn, when asked about his new Browns offensive teammates. "At tight end, Kellen (Winslow), Steve Heiden, Darnell Dinkins. … Coach (Rob) Chudzinski likes to get the ball to his tight ends.

"At wideout, we have Braylon (Edwards), of course, plus Tim Carter, Joe Jurevicius, Travis Wilson, all these guys. They can make plays. It's the quarterback's job to get them involved, so we can move the chains."

This year's rookie class might not come anywhere close to last year's epic class in terms of talent or immediate impact. That would be asking a ton of any normal group. But the guys I talked to in L.A. — namely Lynch, Smith and Quinn, who are impressive young players — have the temperament to succeed in this league.

You can only tell so much from photo shoots and Madden tournaments, but these three rookies passed their first tests, er, quizzes.