By: The Skiman
Date: 6/13/07
Every year the anticipation of the new crop of rookies being indoctrinated into the NFL rosters is very high. Optimism for the upcoming season runs high. The draft provides hope of the downtrodden teams while bolstering the depth of the successful ones.
And every year that optimism is based on the performance of kids coming out of college programs that are as young as eighteen years old. We all expected D'Brickishaw Ferguson to come in and help the Jets Day One and A. J. Hawk to help Green Bay's aging defense regain some of its speed and hitting power. To say that expectations of Reggie Bush were high is a huge understatement. However, when looking back at his season, he did produce for New Orleans and looks like he will be a highly productive player for years to come (Houston's gonna be reliving that decision for a years to come too).
But these highly touted guys like Reggie aren't the guys that surprised us. The surprises that come after the first round of pedigreed athletes is what makes the draft so interesting. Tom Brady is probably the most widely used example of a Boon to any franchise. Selected in the 6th round by the New England Patriots in 2000 he learned the NE system for a year then lead the team to 3 Superbowl wins after taking the job from Drew Bledsoe in 2001.
Last year's draft had similar examples of picks coming into the league and making a huge impact on their teams. The most notable was wide receiver Marques Colson of the New Orleans Saints. A 7th round pick (255th overall) he was by far the most productive rookie receiver selected as well as one of the most productive players overall. In Jacksonville Maurice Jones Drew looked like a seasoned veteran producing game after game. A second rounder Jones was the 5th RB selected behind the likes of Reggie Bush, Laurence Maroney, Joseph Addai and Carolina. On the defensive side of the ball you see the same story. Look at Houston's second round selection LB DeMecco Ryans. This guy was the 6th LB selected and could be the second coming of Ray Lewis.
On the flip side, I think the busts are harder to judge. When player get to the NFL there is an adjustment period and sometimes it takes a couple of seasons for a player to emerge. Most offensive linemen, defensive linemen, wide receivers and QBs take years to develop. However, injury, character issues and skill sometimes derail the most talented atheletes. The injury bug got to Vernon Davis, Chad Greenway, Bobby Carpenter, John McCargo and Chad Jackson last year. All these guys came into the league as highly touted players expected to make immediate contributions to their respective teams but got hurt along the way and some may never reach their potential. Others like Jason Allen (or any number of guys playing in the 'Natti) might have to grow up and start acting like professionals off the field before making any impact on the field.
All that said, we are now over one year removed from the 2006 draft. If teams could go back, how would they choose knowing what they know now? Here's the way I see the respective teams choosing.
Team | Original Player |
| New Pick | |
1 | Houston | Mario Williams |
| Reggie Bush |
2 | New Orleans | Reggie Bush |
| Mario Williams |
3 | Tennessee | Vince Young |
| Vince Young |
4 | New York Jets | D'Brickashaw Ferguson |
| D'Brickashaw Ferguson |
5 | Green Bay | AJ Hawk |
| AJ Hawk |
6 | San Francisco | Vernon Davis |
| Demecco Ryans |
7 | Oakland | Michael Huff |
| Matt Lienart |
8 | Buffalo | Donte Whitner |
| Michael Huff |
9 | Detroit | Ernie Sims |
| Ernie Simms |
10 | Arizona | Matt Leinart |
| Jay Cutler |
11 | Denver (from St. Louis) | Jay Cutler |
| Donte Whitner |
12 | Baltimore (from Cleveland) | Haloti Ngata |
| Haloti Ngata |
13 | Cleveland (from Baltimore) | Kamerion Wimbley |
| Kamerion Wimbley |
14 | Philadelphia | Brodrick Bunkley |
| Vernon Davis |
15 | St. Louis (from Atlanta thru Denver) | Tye Hill |
| Tye Hill |
16 | Miami | Jason Allen |
| Laurence Maroney |
17 | Minnesota | Chad Greenway |
| Donte Whitner |
18 | Dallas | Bobby Carpenter |
| Manny Lawson |
19 | San Diego | Antonio Cromartie |
| Jimmy Williams |
20 | Kansas City | Tamba Hali |
| Marcus McNiel |
21 | New England | Laurence Maroney |
| Joseph Addai |
22 | San Francisco (from Washington thru Denver) | Manny Lawson |
| Tamba Hali |
23 | Tampa Bay | Davin Joseph |
| Davin Joseph |
24 | Cincinnati | Jonathan Joseph |
| Johathan Joseph |
25 | Pittsburgh (from NY Giants) | Santonio Holmes |
| Marcus Coleson |
26 | Buffalo (from Chicago) | John McCargo |
| Greg Jennings |
27 | Carolina | DeAngelo Williams |
| Maurice Drew |
28 | Jacksonville | Marcedes Lewis |
| Marcedes Lewis |
29 | New York Jets (from Denver) | Nick Mangold |
| Nick Mangold |
30 | Indianapolis | Joseph Addai |
| Chad Greenway |
31 | Seattle | Kelly Jennings |
| Bobby Carpenter |
32 | NY Giants (from Pittsburgh) | Mathias Kiwanuka |
| Mathia Kiwanuka |
The rookies this year will probably surprise us too. Here's to the hope a WR from a Hofstra or a undervalued QB lands on your teams' bench.
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