After doing a 7-round mock draft, it's safe to say that I pretty much stink at that. I only had 25 of the 32 1st round picks, as did Mike Mayock (NFL.com) and Mel Kiper (ESPN). However, I had only 4 direct hits (player to the team) and 1 instance where I predicted that Jay Cutler would be the 11th pick to St. Louis, but Denver traded up to that spot to nab him.
In rounds 2-6, I didn't have one direct hit. However, I did hit on 2 selections in the 7th round (C Will Montgomery to the Panthers and P Ryan Plackemeier to the Seahawks). In addition to that, I did have 4 guys going to the team eventually drafted him. By comparison, Todd McShay of Scouts, Inc. had a grand total of 9 players going to the right team.
My final conclusion is that as mediocre as I did, I'm still in the ballpark.
Seattle Seahawks 2006 Draft Class
#31- Kelly Jennings, CB, Miami
Seattle's biggest need was in the secondary, both CB and S. Jennings is not your typical "The U" player. He's already earned two academic degrees and plans on going for his master's while playing. He's not an overly physical CB, but he's got solid cover skills and is ready to start now. He'll compete with Kelly Herndon, Jimmy Williams and Jordan Babineaux for the starting LCB position opposite Marcus Trufant, but will see plenty of action in his rookie season regardless of how that turns out.
#63- Darryl Tapp, DE, Virginia Tech
Tapp is a high-motor, solid character player that Tim Ruskell covets. Put simply, he slipped out of the 1st round because of his measurables. He's short, not very big, but spent his entire Hokie career making play after play. He'll likely begin his career as a situation pass rusher on the right side, spelling Grant Wistrom.
#128- Rob Sims, OG, Ohio State
Despite the perception that Seattle has adequate depth on the offensive line, they are thin inside. With incumbent starters Chris Gray and Robbie Tobeck, and Floyd Womack (the expected starter at LG) all in the final years of their contracts, Seattle added some depth to guard against possible retirements after 2006 (Tobeck and Gray are both 36).
#163 - David Kirtman, FB, USC
For the last few years, Seattle has brought in fullback after fullback to try and outperform Pro Bowler Mack Strong, and all have failed. First there was Reggie Brown, and then Heath Evans. Neither lasted more than a few seasons patrolling special teams and the #2 spot on the FB depth chart. Well, Kirtman is the new heir apparent to the ageless Strong. An excellent receiver out of the backfield, he certainly fits the mold of what the FB in the WCO offense is supposed to do. Kirtman has also been the lead blocker for guys like LenDale White and Reggie Bush. It also helps that Kirtman's parents live right next door to Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren on Mercer Island.
#239 - Ryan Plackemeier, P, Wake Forest
To show how undersized 2nd round pick Darryl Tapp is, take Plackemeier. The 7th round draft pick is 6-3, 252 lbs, which is bigger than Tapp (6-1, 250). Plackemeier's nickname is "Gus the Mule", and he has a very, very strong leg. He also handled kickoff duties in college, and since depth on kickoffs has been a bugaboo of Josh Brown's, Plackemeier could unseat the recently re-signed vetern Tom Rouen for the punter gig as a rookie.
#249 - Ben Obomanu, WR, Auburn
Obomanu is a tall (6-2), athletic (4.4 40-yard) WR that Seattle can develop. The offense in Auburn has been in flux the last two years, so Obomanu hasn't caught many passes though he's regarded as being a sure-handed WR that can stretch the field and gain yards after the catch. My best guess is that Obomanu comes down with a mysterious ailment during training camp so Seattle can hide him on IR.
Most of the draft grades have Seattle at a B or C, which is fine. Seattle was skewered after last year's draft where they didn't get a pass-rushing DE and reached to take Lofa Tatupu and LeRoy Hill. All they ended up doing was leading the NFL in sacks, Tatupu went to the Pro Bowl (and was robbed of the DROY that went to Shawne Merriman), and Hill registered 7.5 sacks after not playing much the first month of the season.
To effectively grade Seattle's draft, one should not overlook that they used their 3rd round pick to acquire WR Nate Burleson, who is expected to start opposite Darrell Jackson this season. In a draft that lacked much talent at the WR position, getting an experienced guy like Burleson in the 3rd round was a plus.
Seattle also dealt their 6th round pick to the Bears for veteran S Mike Green, who is an accomplished special teams player and has valuable starting experience in the NFL, as well as the versatility to play either SS or FS, as needed.
Overall, I'm content to grade the Seahawks draft as a B. The more accurate grade, for all teams, is an incomplete, as you never know until these guys actually play some games.
Drafts I Liked
In no particular order:
New England Patriots
I loved the selections of Laurence Maroney and Chad Jackson, and I expect the two draft choices to make considerable contributions in year 1. Chad Jackson is a guy many thought could go in the upper portion of the 1st round, and the Patriots smartly passed on a trade for the costly Javon Walker (coming off an injury, as well) to snag the former Florida WR. Corey Dillon has a lot of mileage on his legs, and with the way the Patriots struggled to run the ball when Dillon was injured in 2005, Maroney is a good guy to have waiting in the wings.
Houston Texans
Sure, they passed on Reggie Bush. But look at what they added! Mario Williams and Demeco Ryans are going to start immediately on defense, and they got Eric Winston and Charles Spencer to help protect David Carr. When you can get 4 instant starters on both sides of the ball, in key areas your team has struggled in, you've done well for yourself.
New York Jets
The new guys in the Jets front office clearly understand that when you're building a team, or improving a team, the quickest way to do that is up front. And it just so happens that the Jets got the two best offensive lineman in the whole draft. Using both 1st rounders on LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson (4th) and C Nick Mangold (29th), the Jets have instantly improved their offensive line and just might keep their QBs healthy. OLB Rocky McIntosh will start immediately, but I do not understand the selection of Anthony Schlegel. With Jon Alston of Stanford (who was picked next, by the way) still on the board, the Jets could've had McIntosh and Alston on the outside of Johnathan Vilma, and that would've made as solid a core at the LB position as there is in the league. Brad Smith is an intriguing WR/KR prospect, and Kellen Clemens is a highly rated QB prospect.
Drafts I Didn't Like
San Francisco 49ers
While it's hard to knock the selection of TE Vernon Davis, I don't think that San Francisco did much to improve themselves. He's a phenomenal player, a guy who could join Antonio Gates, Jeremy Shockey as the great TEs (along with Tony Gonzalez) who revolutionized the position. But he's a tight end, and you don't want your best receiver to ever be your tight end. If he's so good, why did the 49ers use 3 of their next 8 selections on WRs? They also added 3 DEs and 2 safeties, yet they completely ignored their offensive line, interior defensive line and the linebacker position.
Manny Lawson was a fantastic selection, and likely is a steal at #22, but I can't help but think that San Francisco made a few redundant selections that should've been used elsewhere.
Cincinnati Bengals
Johnathan Joseph was a good pick, as Andrew Whitworth in round 2 was a safe, if not sexy, selection. After that, they became a landing spot for utter turds. Frostee Rucker and AJ Nicholson have talent, but their character flags had them off many teams draft boards. And Reggie McNeal is the same guy who said a week ago that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are of a "dying breed", and that QBs shouldn't be statues. I guess I expect more out of Marvin Lewis.
Buffalo Bills
Here's why you don't hire an 85-year old guy to run your franchise.
S Donte Whitner of Ohio State is a fine football player. But you could've traded down 10 spots and he still would've been there. DT John McCargo is another solid football player, but you could've waited 2 ROUNDS, and he still would've been there. CB Ashton Youboty and S Ko Simpson feel much further than anyone expected. At some point, when 31 other NFL teams are drafting players who are not as talented as these guys, wouldn't that raise a red flag?
Marv Levy disagrees, and since he was around when the forward pass was a novelty, we shouldn't be too surprised that he botched another Bills draft.
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