2006 NFL Draft and a look back source NFL.com
The Draft is coming and I have been reading all kinds of stories and opinions on who is the best and what is going to happen. Its amazing that people make careers, like the less then great Mel Kiper, out of guessing! Yes guessing, nobody holds them accountable and nothing is proven if you are right. Yeah! You guessed the draft order... who cares. What is really important is who doesn't suck 3 years later. So I'm going to look at the past drafts and see who were some big bust and others that worked out. Also, being from Arizona I will focus on who the Cardinals could have gotten instead of their usually worthless picks.
1993
Controversy: QB #1 Drew Bledsoe and QB #2 Rick Mirer. Bledsoe goes 1st, highlights include a lose in Super Bowl XXXI, has so so career and gets a ring via Tom Brady. Mirer is a total wash out. Arizona Cardinals draft GARRISON HEARST RB from GEORGIA 3rd and he has one good season in SF, but is injured nearly entire career, BUST. They could have had #10 JEROME BETTIS RB from NOTRE DAME who ended his career with a SB XL win and #5 on the all time rushing list.
1994
#1 Cincinnati DAN WILKINSON DT OHIO STATE has a sub par career is currently considering retirement. #2 Indianapolis MARSHALL FAULK RB SAN DIEGO STATE wins XXXIV and sets the (now broken) touchdowns in a season record. #3 Washington HEATH SHULER QB TENNESSEE total washout. #4 New England WILLIE MCGINEST DE USC has a good career, wins SB XXXIX, XXXVIII and XXXVI. #6 Tampa Bay TRENT DILFER QB FRESNO STATE considered a flop until winning SB XXXV behind the very dominate Ray Lewis Defense. #10 Arizona JAMIR MILLER LB UCLA gets a bunch of sacks and demands to be traded. They could have had traded down and gotten #33 Isaac Bruce WR Memphis or #162 Kimo Von Oelhoffen DE Boise State.
1995
#1 Cincinnati Ki-Jana Carter RB Penn State total bust, hurt two years in a row. #2 Jacksonville Tony Boselli T Southern California has great career. #3 Houston Steve McNair QB Alcorn State, highlight is lose in SB XXXIV. #4 Washington Michael Westbrook WR Colorado, was a great player got hurt and I looked him up, he is now into cage fighting. #5 Carolina Kerry Collins QB Penn State, had an up and down career, lost the AFC championship twice with Carolina and then lost SB XXXV, now considered washed up. #12 Tampa Bay Warren Sapp DT Miami has had a good career, was drafted low due to drug investigation. #21 Chicago Rashaan Salaam RB Colorado another Heismen bust. Other notables: #23 New England Ty Law CB Michigan #28 Tampa Bay Derrick Brooks OLB Florida State #60 Pittsburgh Kordell Stewart QB Colorado #196 Denver Terrell Davis RB Georgia. Arizona Drafts #47 Frank Sanders WR from Auburn who has big play catches but can't make the every down plays. They could have gotten #90 Green Bay Antonio Freeman WR Virginia Tech.
1996
#1 N.Y. Jets Keyshawn Johnson WR Southern California played his best days as a Jet but his ego has always hurt his natural ability, he is getting his last chance as a Panther which was the smartest thing he has ever done. #2 Jacksonville Kevin Hardy OLB Illinois, solid player. #3 Arizona Simeon Rice DE Illinois was the best player the Cardinals have ever drafted then lost due to their ability to not pay free agents. #6 St. Louis Lawrence Phillips RB Nebraska had troubles with the law and injuries cut his career short. Had better days playing in NFL Europe. #8 Carolina Tim Biakabutuka RB Michigan was a huge bust. #9 Oakland Rickey Dudley TE Ohio State, how do you draft a TE in the top ten? BUST! #14 Houston Eddie George RB Ohio State was an outstanding player and had a huge heart. #19 Indianapolis Marvin Harrison WR Syracuse is a future hall of famer. Other notables: #24 Buffalo Eric Moulds WR Mississippi State #26 Baltimore Ray Lewis MLB Miami #86 New England Tedy Bruschi ILB Arizona #89 San Francisco Terrell Owens WR Tenn.-Chattanooga had better career then most drafted before him but will rank just below Barry Bonds as world's biggest jerk.
1997
#1 St. Louis Orlando Pace T Ohio State was nominated for the Heisman award and won a SB with the Rams #2 Oakland Darrell Russell DT Southern California was a bust. #3 Seattle Shawn Springs CB Ohio State had a few good years. #4 Baltimore Peter Boulware OLB Florida State was good #5 Detroit Bryant Westbrook CB Texas was good. #7 N.Y. Giants Ike Hilliard WR Florida is just ok but did make it to the SB. #8 N.Y. Jets James Farrior ILB Virginia is good. Arizona take Tommy Knight CB Iowa at #9; who is this guy? They missed out on players such as #12 Tampa Bay Warrick Dunn RB Florida State #13 Kansas City Tony Gonzalez TE California #23 Buffalo Antowain Smith RB Houston #24 Pittsburgh Chad Scott CB Maryland #27 Carolina Rae Carruth WR Colorado now in prison! #36 N.Y. Giants Tiki Barber RB Virginia #66 Tampa Bay Ronde Barber CB Virginia.
1998
Controversy: Manning or Leaf #1 Indianapolis Peyton Manning QB Tennessee becomes media darling and potential hall of famer, recently blames his team for losing and now will never make a SB. #2 San Diego Ryan Leaf QB Washington State world-class cry baby can't handle the pressure and flops HARD! Arizona take Andre Wadsworth DE Florida State at #3 and he holds out due to money has one good year before retiring due to injury. #4 Oakland Charles Woodson CB Michigan stole Heisman from Manning cause he was bisexual... yep he went both ways in college, currently not worth the money and often injured. #5 Chicago Curtis Enis RB Penn State, I vaguely remember this guy, bust city! Arizona could of had #8 Dallas Greg Ellis DE North Carolina or #9 Jacksonville Fred Taylor RB Florida who is injured often but Taylor, holds over 30 team records in Jax. Other notables: #10 Baltimore Duane Starks CB Miami #13 Cincinnati Takeo Spikes OLB Auburn # 18 New England Robert Edwards RB Georgia, Bust! #19 Green Bay Vonnie Holliday DT North Carolina #21 Minnesota Randy Moss WR Marshall fell due to attitude problems. Sure he is still a jerk but had a great rookie season at 15-1 with Randall Cunningham! 1999
Controversy: Possibly the craziest draft ever. #1 Tim Couch and #3 Akili Smith (Bengals) are slated to be the franchise QB for the new Cleveland Browns, Couch wins but both fail miserably in their respective teams. Donovan McNabb is booed by Philly fans who want Ricky Williams, it turns out the fan were wrong. McNabb leads them to several AFC championships and finally a lose in the SB. Coach Mike Ditka gives away all his picks to move up to take #5 Ricky Williams but first Indy passes on him to take #4 Edgerrin James who runs for over 3,000 yard in his first 3 seasons. Ricky Williams has trouble his rookie season and Ditka gets fired. Williams is eventually traded and all the picks N.O. gave up make other teams better. Deuce McAlister replaces Ricky and has several good years. Also of note #28 New England Andy Katzenmoyer MLB Ohio State is a standout college player but gets a neck injury in the NFL and quits fearing any serious damage. Also there are rumors that he is too stupid to learn the defense. #29 Minnesota Dimitrius Underwood DT Michigan State is a complete nut job. He tries to kill himself twice and never lives up to his potential. #6 St. Louis Torry Holt WR North Carolina State plays very well and wins a SB in the greatest show on turf. #7 Washington Champ Bailey CB Georgia becomes a great shut down corner. At #8 Arizona takes David Boston WR Ohio State who looks to be great and has an awesome rookie year only to leave due to the cheap Cardinals, he eventually is injured and is staging a comeback. They could of had #11 Daunte Culpepper. #9 Detroit Chris Claiborne MLB Southern California is pretty much a bust. #10 Baltimore Chris McAlister CB Arizona does well. #11 Minnesota Daunte Culpepper QB Central Florida is the best QB of this draft and should do very well if he can come back from injury in Miami. #12 Chicago Cade McNown QB UCLA total washout! #16 Tennessee Jevon Kearse DE Florida awesome rookie season but injury slows him as the years move on.
2000
#1 Cleveland Courtney Brown DE Penn State is a bust. #2 Washington LaVar Arrington OLB Penn State is a jerk and never really plays that well. #3 Washington Chris Samuels T Alabama #4 Cincinnati Peter Warrick WR Florida State is a bust after being awesome in college. #5 Baltimore Jamal Lewis RB Tennessee wins a SB and single game rushing record holder. Arizona take Thomas Jones RB Virginia at #7, its Garrison Hearst all over again, bust! They miss out on: #8 Pittsburgh Plaxico Burress WR Michigan State, who I said was an A-hole and nobody believed me until he begged to go to the Giants missing out on SB XL, idiot!. They could of had Chad Pennignton (who is currently injured, but now they have Ben Roethlisberger). #9 Chicago Brian Urlacher MLB New Mexico best defensive player in the draft! #11 N.Y. Giants Ron Dayne RB Wisconsin, Heisman bust, bust, bust! #13 N.Y. Jets John Abraham DE South Carolina, great player. #17 Oakland Sebastian Janikowski K Florida State, Raiders draft a kicker in the first round? #18 N.Y. Jets Chad Pennington QB Marshall, great early on but has been injured lately #19 Seattle Shaun Alexander RB Alabama steal of the century, stupid Cardinal missed this one! Others: #149 Green Bay Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila DE San Diego State #168 New Orleans Marc Bulger QB West Virginia #189 Denver Mike Anderson RB Utah #199 New England Tom Brady QB Michigan, wow who needs the first round?
2001
#1 Atlanta Michael Vick QB Virginia Tech was a last minute trade from San Diego. Arizona takes Leonard Davis T Texas at #2 and he does little to help the running game. #3 Cleveland Gerard Warren DT Florida is a bust. #5 San Diego LaDainian Tomlinson RB Texas Christian is the next Barry Sanders... Cardinals suck again! #6 New England Richard Seymour DE Georgia #8 Chicago David Terrell WR Michigan is a bust and so is #9 Seattle Koren Robinson WR North Carolina State. #16 N.Y. Jets Santana Moss WR Miami does well. #23 New Orleans Deuce McAllister RB Mississippi replaced Ricky Williams also missed by the Cardinals. #32 San Diego Drew Brees QB Purdue, great deal and #100 Cincinnati Rudi Johnson RB Auburn was a steal.
2002
#1 Houston David Carr QB Fresno State is still in question but didn't save the franchise. #2 Carolina Julius Peppers DE North Carolina has played very well. #3 Detroit Joey Harrington QB Oregon was a big disappointment. #5 San Diego Quentin Jammer CB Texas was a bust. #8 Dallas Roy Williams SS Oklahoma has been great. #11 Indianapolis Dwight Freeney DE Syracuse has been amazing. Arizona took Wendell Bryant DT Wisconsin at 12 and he hasn't been a standout player. #13 New Orleans Donte' Stallworth WR Tennessee was a bust. #14 N.Y. Giants Jeremy Shockey TE Miami has followed the new wave of awesome TEs. #20 Green Bay Javon Walker WR Florida State has been good but injuries has set him back. #24 Baltimore Ed Reed SS Miami has been a huge defensive threat. #28 Seattle Jerramy Stevens TE Washington was the SB XL scapegoat. #32 Washington Patrick Ramsey QB Tulane has great potential. #33 Houston Jabar Gaffney WR Florida is improving. #34 Carolina DeShaun Foster RB UCLA has had his moments. At #51 Denver Clinton Portis RB Miami was the one that got away... way to go Cardinals. #62 Pittsburgh Antwaan Randle El WR Indiana #95 St. Louis Eric Crouch WR Nebraska was another Heisman bust!
2003
#1 Cincinnati Carson Palmer QB Southern California is rising star and first HEISMAN winner to not suck in 7 years. #2 Detroit Charles Rogers WR Michigan State is a bust. #3 Houston Andre Johnson WR Miami is ok. #7 Jacksonville Byron Leftwich QB Marshall is doing well. #16 Pittsburgh Troy Polamalu SS Southern California is an all star. At 17 Arizona took Bryant Johnson WR Penn State, I've never seen him even play, BUST!. #19 Baltimore Kyle Boller QB California isn't doing to well. #22 Chicago Rex Grossman QB Florida would be cut on any other team. #23 Buffalo Willis McGahee RB Miami is an amazing comeback story and a display of faith that might prove LenDale White can still be drafted in the first round. #27 Kansas City Larry Johnson RB Penn State was the steal of the draft and will be a contender for the rushing title. #54 Arizona Anquan Boldin WR Florida State rookie of the year, Cardinals are looking up. #97 Tampa Bay Chris Simms QB Texas, not quite Phil but still an up and comer.
2004
#1 San Diego Eli Manning QB Mississippi had a rough start but will be the QB of the future. #2 Oakland Robert Gallery T Iowa hasn't made a difference. #3 Arizona Larry Fitzgerald WR Pittsburgh has been amazing, alright Cardinals. #4 N.Y. Giants Philip Rivers QB North Carolina State will get his turn this year. #5 Washington Sean Taylor FS Miami, if he gets out of jail he can be a good player. #6 Cleveland Kellen Winslow TE Miami is the only person dumber then Jason Williams (Duke), motorcycles are for daredevils not million dollar football players. #7 Detroit Roy Williams WR Texas could be a bust! #11 Pittsburgh Ben Roethlisberger QB Miami, O. Some people thought he could have gone to Arizona but I think his success in Pittsburg is unique, already has a SB XL ring! #22 Buffalo J.P. Losman QB Tulane, bust! Other Notables: #24 St. Louis Steven Jackson RB Oregon State #30 Detroit Kevin Jones RB Virginia Tech #31 San Francisco Rashaun Woods WR Oklahoma State, Bust! #33 Arizona Karlos Dansby OLB Auburn #43 Dallas Julius Jones RB Notre Dame #90 Atlanta Matt Schaub QB Virginia is now trade bait.
2005
#1 San Francisco Alex Smith QB Utah hasn't panned out yet. #2 Miami Ronnie Brown RB Auburn looks like a young Jerome Bettis. #3 Cleveland Braylon Edwards WR Michigan looks good despite injury. #4 Chicago Cedric Benson RB Texas has promise. #5 Tampa Bay Carnell Williams RB Auburn had a great start. #6 Tennessee Adam Jones CB West Virginia needs some work. #7 Minnesota Troy Williamson WR South Carolina is disappointing. At #8 Arizona took Antrel Rolle CB Miami but he didn't do much. #9 Washington Carlos Rogers CB Auburn, bust. #10 Detroit Mike Williams WR Southern California was hurt by that year off but has potential. #11 Dallas DeMarcus Ware OLB Troy, outstanding! #12 San Diego Shawne Merriman OLB Maryland, all star! #24 Green Bay Aaron Rodgers QB California, sank like a rock from #1 and has been benched for an over the hill Brett Farve. #30 Pittsburgh Heath Miller TE Virginia, was a great addition. #44 Arizona J.J. Arrington RB California, flopped so hard they paid a huge amount of money for Edgerrin James to take over. #101 Denver Maurice Clarett RB Ohio State, screwed up his career and Mike Williams. Now he is in jail somewhere.
2006 predictions
#1 Houston- really need a new team and D'Brickashaw Ferguson would help David Carr but they will take Reggie Bush and he will be great but just like Barry Sanders was great the team wasn't good enough to win. #2 New Orleans- should also trade down or need Mario Williams but will take D'Brickashaw Ferguson, he will be the next Orlando Pace and no one will notice. #3 Tennessee- Matt Leinart is nearly a lock. He should be pretty good if they don't ruin him first. #4 N.Y. Jets- need DEANGELO WILLIAMS but will take Mario Williams, or A.J. HAWK, they will be pretty good. #5 Green Bay- needs to trade down but they will take A.J. Hawk or Mario Williams. #6 San Francisco- needs a WR but will take Vernon Davis just as well, he will be productive in the new TE friendly NFL. #7 Oakland- needs Michael Huff to replace that jerk Charles Woodson, they might take Vince Young but really need to give Andrew Walters a shot. #8 Buffalo- needs any defense so they will take Halogi Ngata, if he firms up he can get better. #9 Detroit- needs defense too so they'll take Michael Huff but he'll bust like everyone in Detroit. #10 Arizona- really needs Jay Cutler or Vince Young but might go for a TE. Vince Young will struggle and have a career similar to Aaron Brooks. Cutler could be the next Chad Pennington, lets hope he doesn't get hurt like him.