As most of you know, tomorrow is a major day in the history of the National Football League. The NFL will kickoff the 2006 Draft at noon tomorrow, a draft that promises to be loaded with enough offensive and defensive talent to shape the future of football for the next ten years. Owners, coaches, former players and professional commentators have all weighed in with their picks for the top ten spots... now it's my turn. So, if you're not a sports fan then you might want to tune out (unless you're a fan of me looking like a complete dumbass, in that case you might want to make note of these picks and laugh at how terribly inaccurate they'll be come tomorrow evening).
Note: These predictions are being made in accordance with the current draft standings, as trades and such may occur at any moment, selections will be null and void if teams move up or down. Also, it's all talk, no pictures and straight forward, but it's pretty funny... I think.
1. The Houston Texans - Reggie Bush (RB - USC). Essentially a no-brainer. Although Mario Williams would certainly add some much needed oomph to a failing Texan defense, Bush is just too tempting to pass up. After watching his performance in the USC/UCLA game last year I announced that he was the rock-solid number one pick and I don't plan on backing down. Anything less than Ronnie Cooper's favorite son being taken on draft day would send angry Texans rioting in the streets of Houston... so it'd be a real win-win for me.
2. The New Orleans Saints - D'brickashaw Ferguson (OT - Virginia). Now, I realize that sensible people would put Mario Williams here, but I just don't see it. New Orleans has already used two past first round picks to draft Charles Grant and Will Smith, both talented and both playing Williams' position. Matt Leinart was also a possible dream-come-true for the 'Aints in '06... until the world collectively scratched their heads as the signed Drew Brees to a 7.5 bajillion dollar deal. At the end of the day, Williams is a better choice, and being that this is the New Orleans Saints organization, he won't be chosen for that reason.
3. The Tennessee Titans - Vince Young (QB - Texas). Steve McNair is on his last legs, which means Tennessee needs a QB in the worst way. Personally I believe that Matt Leinart has more potential to be a franchise NFL Quarterback than Vince Young, but Young's close ties to McNair will win out in the end. A McNair/Young transition should be comfortable for the folks in Nashville, and that's what they want.
4. The New York Jets - AJ Hawk (OLB - Ohio State). That's certainly not a confident choice. The smart move here would be to pick up Matt Leinart, but Chad Pennington swears that he can play. They've speculated interest in Hawk, Cutler and Ferguson so far... well, I have Ferguson out of the picture at this point, no reasonable person would pass up Leinart for Cutler and that just leaves Hawk. I think the Jets put their faith in Pennington, take a Hawk and pray... then spend 20 years being chastised for passing up on Matt Leinart.
5. The Green Bay Packers - Matt Leinart (QB - USC). Ok, wishful thinking at best. However, Favre is on the way out... one more season and he's gone and no one can convince me that Aaron Rodgers is the heir apparent to the Favre legacy. The Packers have made some off-season moves (signing Kenderick Allen, re-signing Ahman Green and begging for Charles Woodson) that signal a desire to move the team forward, they're looking to the future, and Leinart will be SOMEONE'S future.
6. The San Francisco 49'ers - Mario Williams (DE - NC State). If Williams is still around by the sixth pick (and it IS possible), then San Francisco will have no choice but to take him. The 'Niners need offense, but they need defense too... they could also use some special teams, coaching and a new groundskeeper. To put it bluntly, San Francisco is so bad that they're just going to take the best guy available and build a team around him... it's worked before.
7. The Oakland Raiders - Vernon Davis (TE - Maryland). The Raiders' offense has been on a sharp decline since the people of Oakland realized that Rich Gannon was actually a 60 year old man with girl arms and his sister Aaron Brooks isn't much better. However, they do have some money invested in Brooks and may use this opportunity to look for some short range help to take some of the pressure off of Randy Moss downfield. Jay Cutler may not be a bad choice here, but I'd say stick with what you've got and try to start over with fresh coaching next season.
8. The Buffalo Bills - Winston Justice (OT - USC). The Bills were literally starting tight ends at right tackle after the free agent departure of Jonas Jennings last season. I'm familiar with Justice from the handful of USC games I was determined enough to stay up late for through the season, and after reading up on him through various draft analysis reports he seems like a solid choice. Of course, Buffalo would salivate at the chance to snake Ferguson with this pick, but that's simply not going to happen. Justice is the 2nd best OT in this draft, and due to circumstance will be a top 10 pick.
9. The Detroit Lions - Michael Huff (S - Texas). Detroit drafts offensive players. Every year, despite the circumstances, Detroit drafts offense. So, with Sinorice Moss, Chad Jackson, Lendale White, Santonio Holmes and DeAngelo Williams still out there why would the draft defense? Well, because they're sick of losing... badly... every year. Expect to see a strong defensive choice in Huff (ESPN Classic ran the 2005 Texas/Ohio State game last night, the guy's good), but don't be surprised if they don't, after all... it's still Detroit and Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without watching someone kick their ass.
10. The Arizona Cardinals - Jay Cutler (QB - Vanderbilt). Arizona, the football organization where great players go to die, is shepherding off yet another legend to that great endzone in the sky... Kurt Warner. If this team has any hope of EVER building a future they have to start making wise choices with young players, not counting on your grandpa to come in and put up numbers that he did back when FDR was president. Cutler was outstanding at Vanderbilt and has the potential to be a fair-to-medium quality NFL quarterback, in a fair-to-medium organization that makes him a hero.
Now, that's just the top ten. Remember, this thing goes on forever and it's deep enough to stay interesting well into the evening. Lendale White is being overlooked, Chad Jackson is the best receiver in the draft (if you watched him at the scouting combine you already know that) and Chad Greenway could be a major player in any organization. Guys are going to be picked up in the 2nd and 3rd rounds that you may not be familiar with now, but will become household names. It's draft time... the most wonderful time of the year.
Note: These predictions are being made in accordance with the current draft standings, as trades and such may occur at any moment, selections will be null and void if teams move up or down. Also, it's all talk, no pictures and straight forward, but it's pretty funny... I think.
1. The Houston Texans - Reggie Bush (RB - USC). Essentially a no-brainer. Although Mario Williams would certainly add some much needed oomph to a failing Texan defense, Bush is just too tempting to pass up. After watching his performance in the USC/UCLA game last year I announced that he was the rock-solid number one pick and I don't plan on backing down. Anything less than Ronnie Cooper's favorite son being taken on draft day would send angry Texans rioting in the streets of Houston... so it'd be a real win-win for me.
2. The New Orleans Saints - D'brickashaw Ferguson (OT - Virginia). Now, I realize that sensible people would put Mario Williams here, but I just don't see it. New Orleans has already used two past first round picks to draft Charles Grant and Will Smith, both talented and both playing Williams' position. Matt Leinart was also a possible dream-come-true for the 'Aints in '06... until the world collectively scratched their heads as the signed Drew Brees to a 7.5 bajillion dollar deal. At the end of the day, Williams is a better choice, and being that this is the New Orleans Saints organization, he won't be chosen for that reason.
3. The Tennessee Titans - Vince Young (QB - Texas). Steve McNair is on his last legs, which means Tennessee needs a QB in the worst way. Personally I believe that Matt Leinart has more potential to be a franchise NFL Quarterback than Vince Young, but Young's close ties to McNair will win out in the end. A McNair/Young transition should be comfortable for the folks in Nashville, and that's what they want.
4. The New York Jets - AJ Hawk (OLB - Ohio State). That's certainly not a confident choice. The smart move here would be to pick up Matt Leinart, but Chad Pennington swears that he can play. They've speculated interest in Hawk, Cutler and Ferguson so far... well, I have Ferguson out of the picture at this point, no reasonable person would pass up Leinart for Cutler and that just leaves Hawk. I think the Jets put their faith in Pennington, take a Hawk and pray... then spend 20 years being chastised for passing up on Matt Leinart.
5. The Green Bay Packers - Matt Leinart (QB - USC). Ok, wishful thinking at best. However, Favre is on the way out... one more season and he's gone and no one can convince me that Aaron Rodgers is the heir apparent to the Favre legacy. The Packers have made some off-season moves (signing Kenderick Allen, re-signing Ahman Green and begging for Charles Woodson) that signal a desire to move the team forward, they're looking to the future, and Leinart will be SOMEONE'S future.
6. The San Francisco 49'ers - Mario Williams (DE - NC State). If Williams is still around by the sixth pick (and it IS possible), then San Francisco will have no choice but to take him. The 'Niners need offense, but they need defense too... they could also use some special teams, coaching and a new groundskeeper. To put it bluntly, San Francisco is so bad that they're just going to take the best guy available and build a team around him... it's worked before.
7. The Oakland Raiders - Vernon Davis (TE - Maryland). The Raiders' offense has been on a sharp decline since the people of Oakland realized that Rich Gannon was actually a 60 year old man with girl arms and his sister Aaron Brooks isn't much better. However, they do have some money invested in Brooks and may use this opportunity to look for some short range help to take some of the pressure off of Randy Moss downfield. Jay Cutler may not be a bad choice here, but I'd say stick with what you've got and try to start over with fresh coaching next season.
8. The Buffalo Bills - Winston Justice (OT - USC). The Bills were literally starting tight ends at right tackle after the free agent departure of Jonas Jennings last season. I'm familiar with Justice from the handful of USC games I was determined enough to stay up late for through the season, and after reading up on him through various draft analysis reports he seems like a solid choice. Of course, Buffalo would salivate at the chance to snake Ferguson with this pick, but that's simply not going to happen. Justice is the 2nd best OT in this draft, and due to circumstance will be a top 10 pick.
9. The Detroit Lions - Michael Huff (S - Texas). Detroit drafts offensive players. Every year, despite the circumstances, Detroit drafts offense. So, with Sinorice Moss, Chad Jackson, Lendale White, Santonio Holmes and DeAngelo Williams still out there why would the draft defense? Well, because they're sick of losing... badly... every year. Expect to see a strong defensive choice in Huff (ESPN Classic ran the 2005 Texas/Ohio State game last night, the guy's good), but don't be surprised if they don't, after all... it's still Detroit and Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without watching someone kick their ass.
10. The Arizona Cardinals - Jay Cutler (QB - Vanderbilt). Arizona, the football organization where great players go to die, is shepherding off yet another legend to that great endzone in the sky... Kurt Warner. If this team has any hope of EVER building a future they have to start making wise choices with young players, not counting on your grandpa to come in and put up numbers that he did back when FDR was president. Cutler was outstanding at Vanderbilt and has the potential to be a fair-to-medium quality NFL quarterback, in a fair-to-medium organization that makes him a hero.
Now, that's just the top ten. Remember, this thing goes on forever and it's deep enough to stay interesting well into the evening. Lendale White is being overlooked, Chad Jackson is the best receiver in the draft (if you watched him at the scouting combine you already know that) and Chad Greenway could be a major player in any organization. Guys are going to be picked up in the 2nd and 3rd rounds that you may not be familiar with now, but will become household names. It's draft time... the most wonderful time of the year.
posted by Cory | 11:12 AM
1 Comments:
Winston who?
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