2006 NFL Draft Picks and Their Midseason Grades
by: Josh
It seems like yesterday that the anticipation of the NFL Draft was upon us. Houston held the first overall pick and all fingers pointed towards them using that pick to select the future face of the NFL, Reggie Bush. When sudden reports started springing out of Houston camp that they had signed "Super" Mario Williams, a Defensive End out of North Carolina State, the draft took a turn that no one had forseen. Instead of Houston revamping their defense with the new "golden boy," New Orleans got a player that could carry a city in shambles, on his back. The rest of the first round continued to be interesting, full of questionable picks and picks that would put struggling teams in the right direction. I will be examining fives picks at a time each week, for the next couple weeks.
1. Houston Texans- "Super" Mario Williams, NC St. DE.
Super Mario instantly became a player to watch this year in the NFL with the added pressure to perform because he was the first pick of the draft. He is added to a team that has struggled defensively ever since they entered the league in 2002. Experts said that he would add speed and strength to a defensive line that never really got to the quarter back. Early in the season he struggled and was called out by his coach Gary Kubiak. Williams responded the next game by getting a sack, 3 tackles and recovering a fumble. Though he has not been dominant on the defensive line as of yet, he could be an outstanding end for years to come in this league.
Grade:B+
2. New Orleans Saints- Reggie Bush, USC RB/WR
Reggie Bush has done a lot for the city of New Orleans in his few months of being there. His team mates and he have given a city more hope than any amount of money could. They have won games this season in which analysts hadn't even given them a shot, and they have won games in a variety of ways. Bush hasn't be a scoring machine that he was in college so far, but he has been effective in the offensive scheme that coach Sean Payton has installed for the Saints. Bush has been most effective in the return game where he has already scored a touchdown off of a punt return. He has yet to score an offensive touchdown and minor injuries have slowed him down a bit, but Bush will one day be a Saint great. When he finishes his career, he'll be seen as the player who brought the jazz and soul back to a city in need.
Grade: A-
3. Tennessee Titans- Vince Young, Texas QB
Watching the National Championship game last year, I knew that this kid was going to be special. He would still need work to become a good NFL quarterback, but he had all the talent in the world. When the Titans selected him over Former Heisman winner Matt Leinart, many questioned why they wouldn't have picked Leinart to give Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow a chance to work with someone he was familiar with. However after seeing him play over the past few weeks, I believe that the Titans made a good decision. He'll have growing pains, which is expected for a rookie quarterback, but he will be a strength of this team for years to come. I was disappointed in the front office when they decided to get rid of veterans Steve McNair and Billy Volek. It would have given Young a chance to see how an NFL offense was run, instead he was given the errant Kerry Collins to be his mentor. After a couple lousy games, the controls were given to the rookie and so far he's been teaching the vet a lesson. His legs will give him the ability to make plays, but until he gets really comfortable in the speed of the game mistakes will occur.
Grade: A
4. New York Jets- D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Virigina OT
Originally Ferguson was thought to be a possible pick for the Texans at the #1 spot, but emergence of Mario Williams slid him down a couple of spots. He was seen as one of the most NFL tackles coming out of the draft in years, but with Offensive lineman being busts in recent years, I'm sure many were wary of this pick. Robert Gallery and Mike Williams are just two examples of high first round picks the last few years that just haven't panned out for their respective teams. Through the hype and the criticism, Ferguson has been very consistant for a team that was predicted of having no chance of even winning four games this year. He has been an important part of an improved line that has given Chad Pennington more time and protection. In my mind this was the most glaring issue on this football team at the April draft and their pick of Ferguson filled that void.
Grade: A-
5. Green Bay Packers- A.J. Hawk, Ohio State OLB
There is only one word to describe the Green Bay defense: Awful. Hawk was an extremely productive linebacker in college and Green Bay had no productive linebacker at the professional level. Since their defense had many holes in it, it was wise of them to focus on a position where they could have an "impact" player. Hawk has been okay so far, but really hasn't been the impact player that the Packers thought they were getting. This season is still young and I realize this, but I honestly thought that he would be a leading candidate for Defensive Rookies of the Year, instead of college team mate Donte Whitner(Bills) and Bears fifth round pick DE Mark Anderson from Alabama. I can't say that he has been bad, because he has made sure tackles and made plays he is supposed to, but he hasn't done anything spectacular that you see EXCELLENT NFL linebackers do. Hawk will become a solid linebacker with time, but other rookies selected lower in the first round have out performed him thus far.
Grade: C+
It seems like yesterday that the anticipation of the NFL Draft was upon us. Houston held the first overall pick and all fingers pointed towards them using that pick to select the future face of the NFL, Reggie Bush. When sudden reports started springing out of Houston camp that they had signed "Super" Mario Williams, a Defensive End out of North Carolina State, the draft took a turn that no one had forseen. Instead of Houston revamping their defense with the new "golden boy," New Orleans got a player that could carry a city in shambles, on his back. The rest of the first round continued to be interesting, full of questionable picks and picks that would put struggling teams in the right direction. I will be examining fives picks at a time each week, for the next couple weeks.
1. Houston Texans- "Super" Mario Williams, NC St. DE.
Super Mario instantly became a player to watch this year in the NFL with the added pressure to perform because he was the first pick of the draft. He is added to a team that has struggled defensively ever since they entered the league in 2002. Experts said that he would add speed and strength to a defensive line that never really got to the quarter back. Early in the season he struggled and was called out by his coach Gary Kubiak. Williams responded the next game by getting a sack, 3 tackles and recovering a fumble. Though he has not been dominant on the defensive line as of yet, he could be an outstanding end for years to come in this league.
Grade:B+
2. New Orleans Saints- Reggie Bush, USC RB/WR
Reggie Bush has done a lot for the city of New Orleans in his few months of being there. His team mates and he have given a city more hope than any amount of money could. They have won games this season in which analysts hadn't even given them a shot, and they have won games in a variety of ways. Bush hasn't be a scoring machine that he was in college so far, but he has been effective in the offensive scheme that coach Sean Payton has installed for the Saints. Bush has been most effective in the return game where he has already scored a touchdown off of a punt return. He has yet to score an offensive touchdown and minor injuries have slowed him down a bit, but Bush will one day be a Saint great. When he finishes his career, he'll be seen as the player who brought the jazz and soul back to a city in need.
Grade: A-
3. Tennessee Titans- Vince Young, Texas QB
Watching the National Championship game last year, I knew that this kid was going to be special. He would still need work to become a good NFL quarterback, but he had all the talent in the world. When the Titans selected him over Former Heisman winner Matt Leinart, many questioned why they wouldn't have picked Leinart to give Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow a chance to work with someone he was familiar with. However after seeing him play over the past few weeks, I believe that the Titans made a good decision. He'll have growing pains, which is expected for a rookie quarterback, but he will be a strength of this team for years to come. I was disappointed in the front office when they decided to get rid of veterans Steve McNair and Billy Volek. It would have given Young a chance to see how an NFL offense was run, instead he was given the errant Kerry Collins to be his mentor. After a couple lousy games, the controls were given to the rookie and so far he's been teaching the vet a lesson. His legs will give him the ability to make plays, but until he gets really comfortable in the speed of the game mistakes will occur.
Grade: A
4. New York Jets- D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Virigina OT
Originally Ferguson was thought to be a possible pick for the Texans at the #1 spot, but emergence of Mario Williams slid him down a couple of spots. He was seen as one of the most NFL tackles coming out of the draft in years, but with Offensive lineman being busts in recent years, I'm sure many were wary of this pick. Robert Gallery and Mike Williams are just two examples of high first round picks the last few years that just haven't panned out for their respective teams. Through the hype and the criticism, Ferguson has been very consistant for a team that was predicted of having no chance of even winning four games this year. He has been an important part of an improved line that has given Chad Pennington more time and protection. In my mind this was the most glaring issue on this football team at the April draft and their pick of Ferguson filled that void.
Grade: A-
5. Green Bay Packers- A.J. Hawk, Ohio State OLB
There is only one word to describe the Green Bay defense: Awful. Hawk was an extremely productive linebacker in college and Green Bay had no productive linebacker at the professional level. Since their defense had many holes in it, it was wise of them to focus on a position where they could have an "impact" player. Hawk has been okay so far, but really hasn't been the impact player that the Packers thought they were getting. This season is still young and I realize this, but I honestly thought that he would be a leading candidate for Defensive Rookies of the Year, instead of college team mate Donte Whitner(Bills) and Bears fifth round pick DE Mark Anderson from Alabama. I can't say that he has been bad, because he has made sure tackles and made plays he is supposed to, but he hasn't done anything spectacular that you see EXCELLENT NFL linebackers do. Hawk will become a solid linebacker with time, but other rookies selected lower in the first round have out performed him thus far.
Grade: C+
posted by sportzdudes at 11:52 AM
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