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National Football League
Draft King Mailbag
May 1, 2006
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Mike Chapman
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: May 1, 2006 2:09 PM
Subject: Draft
Hey Lou-
Do you do a draft report card or anything like that? I’d love to hear what you thought of the Cowboys draft.
Lou: Well, I generally don't like to do report cards, since really the earliest an accurate grade can be given for a draft is three years after the fact. But here are some things we learned in the 2006 Draft:
-The internal debate in the Tennessee camp appears to have been real. I'm cynical when it comes to pre-draft news, comparing it to table talk at a poker game. But in this case, I believe the talk that Titans GM Floyd Reese wanted Vince Young while Titans coach Jeff Fisher and offensive coordinator Norm Chow wanted Matt Leinart.
-Common sense applied to the early part of the draft. Passing on Reggie Bush took some balls, and it could prove to be a monumental mistake, but the Texans needed two things very badly: a pass rush and protection for David Carr. They ended day one with both. With Mario Williams and David Babin, the Texans have two first round picks at DE, along with good value OLB DeMeco Ryans (there's a big billboard for him in downtown Birmingham along I-65, incidentally.) They also secured the offensive line with two OTs, including Eric Winston, who slipped all the way to the third round. From there, New Orleans landed a player in Reggie Bush who will electrify a franchise in desperate need of something positive, and from there it went pretty logically: the Titans took Young (filling a QB need), the Jets took D'Brickashaw Ferguson (filling the OT hole left by Jason Fabini's departure), the Packers filled an OLB hole with A.J. Hawk, and San Francisco gave QB Alex Smith a great target in Vernon Davis.
-The strangest scene from round one came from Buffalo, where SS Donte Whitner and DT John McCargo both went to the Bills in what appeared to be stretch picks. The decision to draft Whitner over Matt Leinart was especially puzzling to me. Buffalo got good value later by landing CB Ashton Youboty (round three) and FS Ko Simpson (round four), but the decision to take Whitner so high -- and not to trade down with a guy like Leinart on the board -- was quite odd.
-Coming out early was dangerous. Darnell Bing and Ko Simpson found that out the hard way. Another year in school (or two more for Simpson) could've meant first round money for them. Then again, they'll be paid for their services next year, versus playing under the NCAA endentured servatude program.
-On the flip side, if you're a lock (or a near lock) to be a #1 pick, as Matt Leinart was for the 2005 Draft, don't be stupid. Leinart went back to USC for the 2005 season, took one class (ballroom dancing), lead his team back to the national title game... and for his efforts he went #10 in this year's draft? Oh, and the NCAA bloodhounds were all over Southern Cal, to the point where Leinart's roommate last year, Dwayne Jarrett, might face suspension for part of the 2006 season because Leinart's dad paid for some of the apartment that the two shared and Jarrett didn't pay half of the overall rent. So lets review: Leinart generates millions in revenue for USC, has to deal with NCAA headaches, loses a year of NFL cash (and the skills he'd learn from NFL-level competition)... and in exchange he'll do well if he's on Dancing With The Stars someday.
-The Cowboys did what I predicted, down to the player, in taking OLB Bobby Carpenter in round one. Dallas must feel alright with its secondary based on how it drafted, opting instead to add depth on the offensive and defensive line. Tight end Anthony Fasano is arguably the best blocking TE out of the draft, so for two TE sets or for situations where it's clearly a running situation, Fasano is a good option to have. Plus he's not Hands of Stone; he can catch the ball, he just doesn't have the amazing speed that this crop of tight ends had. Overall, I thought the Carpenter pick was smart, but time will tell if Skyler Green will be able to make a successful transition to the WR position from QB.
-The Bears weren't afraid to trade out of the first round, which is what I predicted on ESPN Radio (in South Bend) on Thursday. I thought that Fasano was who they wanted, but then they reached to take SS Danieal Manning (oddly passing up Purdue SS Bernard Pollard.) Again, give it three years before any real judgment should be passed, but my brother (who cheers for the Bears and the Titans, since he got into the NFL well before Nashville had an NFL team) was unhappy that they passed on the tight end spot... though he wanted them to take Leonard Pope. As always, you can't please them all.
-The second and third rounds were trade-crazy. Half of the 32 picks in each round (not counting compensatory selections) were traded at least once. The #37 overall pick was traded like mad: it was used by Atlanta, from San Francisco through Denver and Green Bay (that was the pick dealt from Denver to the Packers for Javon Walker.)
-I don't know how the NFL Network's coverage was, since Comcast cable hasn't bothered to add it yet, but ESPN had some high and low moments. Mel Kiper was great with his instant analysis of players, particularly on the second day of the draft. If every sportscaster prepared as thoroughly as Kiper does, broadcasting would be a better industry. Meanwhile, on ESPN Radio (that I had on Sirius when I drove to my brother's house during the first round on Saturday), Mike Golic proclaimed that no one had New England taking a running back in the first round. Apparently Mike never visited this site; I had them taking a RB, only I had DeAngelo Williams penciled into the spot over Laurence Maroney. Maroney wasn't used much as a receiver out of the backfield in college, which would seem to work against him versus Williams in a heads-up matchup for New England (and yes, I actually took all of that into consideration for the projection...) but, hey, Bill Belichick knows what works for his system.
-Marcus Vick makes for an easy punching bag. During one of those "let's give the main team a 15 minute break" segments on ESPN where they went to a secondary set for an offshoot story, he sure took a great deal of abuse from some people who went out of their way to sound high-and-mighty. Besides the gun charge, Marcus Vick hasn't done anything that many, many, many other college kids have done. He just happens to have been caught. Am I the only one who remembers when he was considered in the running for a top five Heisman finish prior to the Miami game last year? Marcus may lack the height of the prototype NFL QB, and he may need to go elsewhere to gain the experience/"maturity" that it's believed that he needs. But I wouldn't count him out just yet...
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