2006 NFL Draft Revisited Round One...

[CtCardinals78]

Grades don't mean anything until a few years after the draft. If the 2006 Draft were held today I wonder how it would look. Here's my try at it...

1. Houston--2006 Mario Williams--2010 Mario Williams--Houston needed defensive help to help stop Peyton Manning and company in Indy. They caught hell for passing on Bush in 2006 but four years later is looks like they made the right call. Wouldn't change a thing

2. New Orleans--2006 Reggie Bush--2010--Maurice Jones Drew--The 2006 Saints needed lots of help especially on defense. Bush was too good to pass up and they wanted a back to compliment Deuce. Four years later it looks like MJD is the best RB out of this draft class.

3. Tennessee Titans--2006 Vince Young--2010 Haloti Ngata--You could argue that the Titans desperately needed a QB heading into the 2006 season but four years later he hardley warrants the third overall selection. The Titans could have built their D line around Ngata who is one of the more dominate D linemen in the NFL today.

4.NY Jets--2006 D'Brickashaw Ferguson--2010--Brandon Marshall--How good would the Jets be with a top flight all pro WR? They get that all pro WR with their fourth pick in Brandon Marshall. I can't believe this guy was a fourth round pick.

5. Green Bay Packers--2006 AJ Hawk--2010 Kamerion Wimbley--The Pack were making no secrets about wanting to draft defensive help. Wimbley is possibly the most underrated LB in the NFL. This kid is awesome and the Pack would have a hard time passing on him in 2010.

6. San Francisco 49ers--2006 Vernon Davis--2010--Rocky McIntosh--Davis was touted as the next Antonio Gates and up until last year was well on his way to being a bust. In 2010 I don't see how MS passes on McIntosh who has been a great LB so far.

7. Oakland Raiders--2006 Michael Huff--2010 Jay Cutler--The Raiders needed QB help in 2006 and for some reason passed on ML and Jay Cutler. Cutler seems to the Raider mold (Big arm, outspoken) and would probably excel in Oakland.

8. Buffalo Bills--2006 Donte Whitner--2010--Greg Jennings--Although they needed defensive help badly in 2006, Greg Jennings turned out to be a top 10 talent and the Bills could have a dynamic duo at WR. Now if they only had someone to GET them the ball.

9. Detroit Lions--2006 Ernie Sims--2010 AJ Hawk--The Lions needed a QB in 2006, but instead chose to draft a LB, a position they also needed to fill. AJ Hawk is a great player who brings it. Hard to pass on him here.

10. Arizona Cardinals--2006 Matt Leinart--2010 DeAngelo Williams--In 2006 the Cards would have been estatic to have their choice of Vince Young or Matt Leinart. I think if they could go back in time perhaps they would change their minds. I was flip flopping between Williams, Freguson, McNeil and Nick Mangold, but ultimately I chose DeAngelo Williams to pair up with Edge to give the Cards the 1-2 punch their running game has been missing for years.

11. Denver Broncos--2006 Jay Cutler--2010--Matt Leinart--I forgot who Denver traded up with, but in this scenario they trade up again to snag Leinart. Leinart coupled with Denver's RB's and WR's could have been a great for Denver in 2006.

12. Baltimore Ravens--2006 Haloti Ngata--2010--Broderick Bunckley--The Ravens were searching for a D lineman to bolster their line and Bunkley has been great for the Eagles since coming into the league in 2006. No way he slips past the Ravens with Ngata gone.

13. Cleveland Browns--2006 Kamerion Wimbley--2010 D'Brickashaw Ferguson. The Borwns looks to rebuild their Oline and get a great gift when Ferguson falls to them. In 2010 it's cool to think that they Browns could have Ferguson and Joe Thomas on the same offensive line.

14. Philadelphia Eagles--2006 Broderick Bunkley--2010--DeMeco Ryans--Ryans is one of the best young MLB's in the league and the Eagles D while great is also getting older. Ryans would provide stability to the Eagles D for years.

15. St. Louis Rams--2006 Tye Hill--2010 Nick Mangold--The Rams sung and missed here big time with this pick. The Rams have been struggling for years now and maybe their better option in 2006 would have been to rebuild their O line. Nick Mangold would have been a great pick-up for them here.

16. Miami Dolphins--2006 Jason Allen--2010--Devin Hester--The Dolphins severly needed a DB in 2006. Although Hester does not provide this he is an exciting ST player and has turned out to be a servicable WR. This pick here would have prevented them from their Ted Ginn pick debacle a year later which had to be inspired by Devin Hester--ironically.

17. Minnesota Vikings--2006 Chad Greenway--2010--Marcus McNeil--This is a tough call because Greenway is a terrific player, and the Vikings Oline is good, but they are showing signs of aging. McNeil may be the best Olineman out of this draft class though and probably should have gone higher than this, but the Vikings would be more than happy to snag McNeil here.

18. Dallas Cowboys--2006 Bobby Carpenter--2010--Bernard Pollard--He has really come on to be a terrific player. Pollard is a playmaker and would bolster the Cowboys secondary immediately.

19. San Diego Chargers--2006 Antonio Cromartie--2010--Michael Huff--Huff has been a very solid DB with the Raiders and is another guy flying under the radar. Cromartie was sort of a project pick anyway. The Chareger didn't really have too many glaring holes in 2006, other than DB's. The pick makes sense.

20. Kansas City Chiefs--2006 Tamba Hali--2010--Tamba Hali--He is a great D End and just like McNeil could probably have gone higher, but he slides to the Chiefs again.

21. New England Patriots--2006 Laurence Maroney--2010--Thomas Howard--The Pats D needed help in 2006, but they chose to go with Maroney who has not panned out like the Pats would have liked. He also battles injuries a lot. Their LB corp is older and Howard would have provided terrific LB help to the Pats.

22. San Francisco 49ers--2006 Manny Lawson--2010 Santonio Holmes--They could go two ways with this pick, Vernon Davis, or Santonio Holmes. Both make sense and both fill needs. I go with Holmes here though since they really had no WR's in 2006. Scary to think about a 9ers team with Holmes and Rocky McIntosh.

23. Tampa Bay Bucs--2006 Davin Joseph--2010--Vernon Davis--There is no doubt Davis is first round talent. I'm just not sure if he is top half first round talent. The Bucs would have loved to have Davis slip this far in 2006, and snag him for some much needed offensive help.

24. Cincinnati Bengals--2006 Jonathan Joseph--2010--Roman Harper--Joseph maybe the best CB to come out of the 2006 draft,but Roman Harper is a terrific safety and would fit in with the Bengals defense well.

25. Pittsburgh Steelers--2006 Santonio Holmes--2010--Reggie Bush--Probably way too low for Bush, but looking at the other teams and their needs, plus Bushs' solid but less than stellar career I could see him falling this far if the draft were held today. Either way it's a good pick up for the Steelers.

26. Buffalo Bills--2006 John McCargo--2010--Vince Young--The Bills get their man to get the ball to their star WR's. Vince Young fell a little far, but I think this is about right for VY.

27. Carolina Panthers--2006 DeAngelo Williams--2010--Owen Daniels--Until he was injured earlier this year Owen Daniels was having a very nice start to his career. I actually think he could be better than Davis, but Davis is the more "complete" TE.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars--2006 Marcedes Lewis--2010--Jeremy Trueblood--Trueblood is a great young OT and would be a welcomed addition on the Jags Oline.

29. New York Jets--2006 Nick Mangold--2010--Chad Greenway. If there is any area the Jets are lacking and were lacking in 2006 it was their LB corps. Greenway is an excellent LB and would bolster the Jets D.

30. Indianapolis Colts--2006 Joseph Addai--2010--Jospeh Addai--Hard to argue with this pick. Maybe not round one talent, but I can think of no one else that would fit here and he is an integral part of their offense.

31.Seattle Seahawks--2006 Kelly Jennings--2010--Davin Joseph--The Seahawks have been hurting at the Oline for some time now including and in 2006 the corps was showing signs of slowing down. Joseph would provide quality stability at the guard position.

32. NY Giants--2006 Mathias Kiwanuka--2010--Danieal Manning--The Giants could have added some quality help at the DB position. Kiwanuka has been a solid player for the Giants, but their weak spot has always been on the secondary.

Ok I am ready to have you guys rip into me. This took forever to do, and I hope all enjoy it. What do you guys think? What would you have changed or kept the same?

Guys who slipped out of the first round:

Donte Whitner
Ernie Sims
Tye Hill
Jason Allen
Bobby Carpenter
Antonio Cromartie
Laurence Maroney
Manny Lawson
Jonathan Joseph
John McCargo
Marcedes Lewis
Kelly Jennings
Mathias Kiwanuka

Big Movers:
Brandon Marshall 119 to 4
Maurice Jones Drew 60 to 2
Rocky McIntosh 35 to 6
Greg Jennings 52 to 8
DeMeco Ryans 33 to 14
Devin Hester 57 to 16
Marcus McNeil 50 to 17
Bernard Pollard 54 to 18
Thomas Howard 38 to 21
Roman Harper 43-24
Owen Daniels 98 to 27
Jeremy Trueblood 59 to 28
Danieal Manning 42 to 32

 

[kerouac9]

You lost me when you said that A.J. Hawk is a "great player." He's this third-best linebacker on his team right now, and he gets pulled on passing downs. Even Packer fans think that A.J. Hawk is a blown draft pick.

 

[CtCardinals78]

I disagree K9. In his four years he has 119, 105, 86 and 89 tackles. He doesn't get a lot of takeaways but whenever I watched him
play he always seems to be flying around the ball and has great instincts. He isn't one of the elites in the league, so I would downgrade my "great" status of him to a very, very good player.

 

[DoTheDew]

I agree with most of it but think VD slid too far. His stats are a bit deflated because until the second half of this season his entire career was spent on a run first team. As soon as SF started passing he put up elite numbers for a TE. Put him on a team that likes to pass often and to TEs and has a good QB and he'd be considered top 3 at the position IMO. I put his poor early performance on scheme and horrible QB play by SF not on him.

Honestly in your mock I would have loved if AZ took him. Warner would have found a way to use him I think and Whiz would probably love having such a freak of a TE to coach up. Also Edge still had a ton of money left on his contract so even though DeAngelo would have been great I don't see a top 10 RB being drafted by us.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I disagree K9. In his four years he has 119, 105, 86 and 89 tackles. He doesn't get a lot of takeaways but whenever I watched him
play he always seems to be flying around the ball and has great instincts. He isn't one of the elites in the league, so I would downgrade my "great" status of him to a very, very good player.

AJ Hawk plays like a 4th round LB. If you draft a LB that high, you HAVE TO get big plays out of them, and even you admitted that Hawk doesn't make big plays. Heck Raynoch Thompson put up similar numbers to AJ Hawk, and he was terrible.

Top Ten picks are guys that are franchise players. Ask yourself this, is Hawk a franchise player? No, he definitely is not and is not worthy of even a top 20 pick.

I also think you're dead wrong on Vernon Davis. Sure he just came on, but Vernon Davis is a huge matchup problem for any team he faces. He's significantly better than quite a few players that you've ranked above him.

 

[kerouac9]

I disagree K9. In his four years he has 119, 105, 86 and 89 tackles. He doesn't get a lot of takeaways but whenever I watched him
play he always seems to be flying around the ball and has great instincts. He isn't one of the elites in the league, so I would downgrade my "great" status of him to a very, very good player.

I'm telling you: Talk to Packer fans and they'll tell you that he was a wasted draft pick and hasn't come close to playing up to expectations. He's like a white Levi Brown for them. He's playing like Gerald Hayes, only he's making 10 times more money.

 

[DoTheDew]

I'm telling you: Talk to Packer fans and they'll tell you that he was a wasted draft pick and hasn't come close to playing up to expectations. He's like a white Levi Brown for them. He's playing like Gerald Hayes, only he's making 10 times more money.

The guy isn't a 3-4 LBer at all. He was at least decent at collecting tackles in the 4-3 but since GB switched to 3-4 he has been a complete waste.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I'm telling you: Talk to Packer fans and they'll tell you that he was a wasted draft pick and hasn't come close to playing up to expectations. He's like a white Levi Brown for them. He's playing like Gerald Hayes, only he's making 10 times more money.

I think that's because people put too high of expectations on 1st round draft choices. He has come in the league and been a productive starter from day 1. Fans think every top 10 pick should be a superstar or they stink. I forget who it was but someone was already proclaiming Malcolm Jenkins a bust,as a CB, from last year, . Some fans must think playing in the NFL is easy.

 

[kerouac9]

I think that's because people put too high of expectations on 1st round draft choices. He has come in the league and been a productive starter from day 1. Fans think every top 10 pick should be a superstar or they stink. I forget who it was but someone was already proclaiming Malcolm Jenkins a bust,as a CB, from last year, . Some fans must think playing in the NFL is easy.

Maybe, but Hawk four years in still isn't a superstar. For the money that Top 10 picks make, they better become if not superstars, but perennial Pro Bowl players.

Look back at some of the scouting reports on Hawk coming out of college and compare that to what the Packers have gotten out of them. He's not a bust, but he's a huge disappointment considering his draft position. That's why you aren't well-advised to take LBs in the Top 10 in the draft, and why they usually fall further than expected. Same thing happened with Derrick Johnson.

Again, if you're drafting A.J. Hawk in the Top 10, he better be better than Gerald Hayes, and Hawk certainly isn't clearly better than Hayes.

 

[CardLogic]

Grades don't mean anything until a few years after the draft. If the 2006 Draft were held today I wonder how it would look. Here's my try at it...

3. Tennessee Titans--2006 Vince Young--2010 Haloti Ngata--You could argue that the Titans desperately needed a QB heading into the 2006 season but four years later he hardley warrants the third overall selection. The Titans could have built their D line around Ngata who is one of the more dominate D linemen in the NFL today.

Draft Revisited - kind of an interesting way to look at things.

While they no longer have him, at the time didn't the Titans already have Haynesworth? And so, Ngata would not have been a logical choice.