2005 Draft Review

Da Bomb · 03-31-2008, 09:31 AM

NFL general managers usually think it takes at least 3 years before a draft class can be fairly judged, though it can sometimes be difficult to tell just how valuable a draft was until years after the fact.

Think of the 2004 draft, for instance. That was the draft with a bunch of big time QBs up in the top 11 picks. After the first year or two, you would have called Pittsburgh the big winner there. Big Ben Roethlisberger had already won them a Super Bowl, and from the much cheaper #11 pick at that. The Giants would have been the big losers, having traded up and overspent on #1 pick Eli Manning. Obviously that story has changed a year later. Now Eli too has won a title, and the losers that draft seem to be San Diego, who had the #1 pick and passed on Manning to move down to #4 and select hothead Philip Rivers, not exactly a fan favorite. A lot can change in a few seasons.

That being said, no one wants to evaluate the draft class from 1999 right now. So let’s take a look at the Class of ’05 and rank em from worst to first. Off we go!

32. Minnesota
Notables – WR Troy Williamson, DE Erasmus James, OT Marcus Johnson, RB Ciatrick Fason
This was a make or break draft for the Vikings. They finally decided to get rid of Randy Moss for LB Nap Harris and the #7 draft pick, which turned into Troy Williamson. Williamson and Harris are currently on other rosters, and we were given a friendly reminder this season of how valuable Moss is. The Vikes were one of four teams to have a pair of 1st round picks, and the other pick was also a big time bust in injury-prone Erasmus James. The Vikings had maybe the best assets of any team going into the draft, and the best player of significance they came away with was undrafted punter Chris Kluwe. Ouch.

31. Carolina
Notables – LB Thomas Davis, RB Eric Shelton, G Evan Mathis, DT Atiyyah Ellison, QB Stefan Lefors
Ever wonder why the Panthers are NFC media darlings at the start of every season but then pile up a bunch of injuries and fall apart every year? Maybe it’s in part due to drafts like these that are entirely fruitless for the team. Davis is a starting linebacker but a mediocre one. And remember the times the last few seasons when the team has struggled with QB and RB injuries? You haven’t seen Lefors or Shelton out there, have you? Thanks for nothing, Louisville.

30. Buffalo
Notables – WR Roscoe Parrish, TE Kevin Everett
I’ve got to be careful here. We all followed the Kevin Everett storyline this year, and everyone is ecstatic to watch his miraculous recovery and see him on his feet walking again, against all odds. But the truth is that Everett, whether it’s PC to admit or not, wasn’t a great player for the Bills, not much more than a special teams contributor really. Ditto for Roscoe Parrish, the team’s other day one pick. And the team didn’t have a 1st because it traded up the previous year to get busted QB JP Losman. Yikes.

29. Houston
Notables – Travis Johnson, RB Vernand Morency, KR Jerome Mathis
Mathis on day two may have saved this draft from being a complete failure, as he has been a very solid kick returner for the team, but the rest of the draft did very little. Travis Johnson has been nothing more than a rotation guy on the defensive line. Vernand Morency has turned into a quality 3rd down back… for the Green Bay Packers. Houston traded Morency for RB Samkon Gado this year. Gado promptly got beat out by Ron Dayne and a dude named Adimchinobe Echemandu and was cut.

28. Detroit
Notables – WR Mike Williams, DT Shaun Cody, CB Stanley Wilson, QB Dan Orlovsky
Raise your hand if you’re shocked to see the Lions near the bottom of a draft ranking list. This has become the norm for a franchise that has become one of the jokes of the NFL. The team spent one of four consecutive 1st round picks here on Mike Williams. Williams was such a mammoth bust at WR that he was moved for awhile to TE due to lack of speed, and last year we saw a player in the ’07 draft plummet just because he was too much like Mike (Dwayne Jarrett). The funny thing is most draft pundits had the Lions winning big in this draft originally, having nabbed three other players listed above who slid further than expected. Looks like the rest of the NFL knew what it was doing.

27. Washington
Notables – CB Carlos Rogers, QB Jason Campbell
This was the second of four teams to end up with a pair of 1st round picks in the ’05 draft. The problem is that Washington had to trade up to get the second one and find QB Jason Campbell. Campbell hasn’t been a huge bust, but he also hasn’t done much to make Redskins fans forget Gus Frerotte, and that’s not much to replace. He has 22 TDs in 20 career starts and has struggled to stay healthy and win the starting job. The team literally mortgaged its draft to move up and grab him. When you have two 1sts and they end up as average as Rogers and Campbell, it’s not a good draft. Depth is far too valuable in the NFL.

26. Baltimore
Notables – WR Mark Clayton, DE Dan Cody, OT Adam Terry, G Jason Brown, QB Derek Anderson
You probably saw Derek Anderson and got excited about one of this season’s great stories, but Anderson did it for another franchise. And not just another franchise, but the hated rival Cleveland Browns on top of it, while the Ravens continue to struggle with no QB of the future or, most of the time at least, the present. The rest of the draft has been below average at best. Clayton has shown flashes but is mostly a hit or miss long ball guy. Ozzie Newsome normally does a spectacular job, to his credit, but this was not one of his best drafts.

25. Kansas City
Notables – LB Derrick Johnson, P Dustin Colquitt, WR Crap Thorpe
Most, including myself, thought that Derrick Johnson was a can’t miss prospect at linebackers, so you can’t blame the Chiefs for trying. He’s a starter and a solid one, but not what you’d have hoped for in a 1st round LB, and for every big play he makes, he misses two or three others. And the only other pick worth mentioning was a punter. And Colquitt is a good punter, but come on now.

24. Denver
Notables – CB Darrent Williams, CB Karl Paymah, CB Dominique Foxworth, RB Maurice Clarett
Again I have to be careful here. Darrent Williams looked like a star in the making opposite Champ Bailey before he was tragically shot and killed last offseason. You can’t penalize the Broncos for something like that. But the rest of the draft was entirely fruitless. Clarett was a huge gamble on day one of the draft when many people thought he had a decent chance of going undrafted, and he never made Denver’s roster. Foxworth and Paymah have been mediocre enough at CB that the Broncos were forced to make a trade to fill the hole left by Williams, and the team never seemed to recover from his loss this season, physically or emotionally.

23. Oakland
Notables – CB Fabian Washington, CB Stanley Routt, QB Andrew Walter, LB Kirk Morrison
Did you notice three AFC West teams in a row? Maybe you noticed something else too… like the fact that the missing AFC West team is the same one who has won the division the last two years and made a nice playoff run. Oakland simply had a very mediocre draft. They gave up the #7 pick for Randy Moss, a deal that didn’t work for either team. They used their remaining 1st on busted corner Fabian Washington, and they also hyped the fanbase on QB Andrew Walter who never worked out and left the Raiders so messy at QB that they have just 24 passing touchdowns the last two seasons combined. In case you were wondering, Tom Brady had that many by halftime of game #7 this season.

22. Chicago
Notables – RB Cedric Benson, WR Mark Bradley, QB Kyle Orton, PK Robbie Gould
Just because you recognize all of those names doesn’t mean it was a good draft. The team is as bad as anyone in football right now at QB and RB and WR. Benson has not only been a bust so far, but he also caused dissension in the locker room and eventually got Thomas Jones traded, which left the team with no real rushing attack this season. Orton and Bradley have been spotty contributors at best, and the best player here is clearly the place kicker Robbie Gould. Again note that three teams from one division finish in the bottom third of the league, and the other NFC North team was the one making a run at the Super Bowl this year. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

21. Arizona
Notables – CB Antrel Rolle, RB JJ Arrington, CB Eric Green, G Elton Brown
Most draftniks had the Cardinals as one of the best drafts in football in 2005, and it just hasn’t worked out well. Rolle has been solid but not great and is getting moved to safety this year to better accommodate his talents. Arrington was a complete bust. Green is a starter at corner, but one of the worst in the league. Any guesses as to Arizona’s biggest 2008 draft needs? Almost everyone out there will place CB and RB among the top three needs. When the team just spent all of day one filling those spots three years ago, that’s a very bad sign.

So there you have it, the worst 12 drafts in the Class of ’05. Check back Wednesday for the middle set of 12 and then finally Friday the best 8 to see where your favorite teams fit in!

Remote Controller · 03-31-2008, 09:42 AM

I love this! This should start off some great discussion! Good work!

Sgt John · 03-31-2008, 09:47 AM

Great read Bomb.

That list of guys above brought one word to mind.

Shitty.


03-31-2008, 09:47 AM	#3
Sgt John Genibus Nitito Canus Premium Member Moderator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Taylor, TX Posts: 6,182 vCash: 245034 Donate Blog Entries: 2	Great read Bomb. That list of guys above brought one word to mind. Shitty. __________________ 2008 Black Knights Football Ligaments: Wrecking your fantasy team since 2008

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03-31-2008, 09:31 AM	#1
Da Bomb Richest Vman Alive Moderator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 10,676 vCash: 148938247 Donate Blog Entries: 18	2005 Draft Review - Part I NFL general managers usually think it takes at least 3 years before a draft class can be fairly judged, though it can sometimes be difficult to tell just how valuable a draft was until years after the fact. Think of the 2004 draft, for instance. That was the draft with a bunch of big time QBs up in the top 11 picks. After the first year or two, you would have called Pittsburgh the big winner there. Big Ben Roethlisberger had already won them a Super Bowl, and from the much cheaper #11 pick at that. The Giants would have been the big losers, having traded up and overspent on #1 pick Eli Manning. Obviously that story has changed a year later. Now Eli too has won a title, and the losers that draft seem to be San Diego, who had the #1 pick and passed on Manning to move down to #4 and select hothead Philip Rivers, not exactly a fan favorite. A lot can change in a few seasons. That being said, no one wants to evaluate the draft class from 1999 right now. So let’s take a look at the Class of ’05 and rank em from worst to first. Off we go! 32. Minnesota Notables – WR Troy Williamson, DE Erasmus James, OT Marcus Johnson, RB Ciatrick Fason This was a make or break draft for the Vikings. They finally decided to get rid of Randy Moss for LB Nap Harris and the #7 draft pick, which turned into Troy Williamson. Williamson and Harris are currently on other rosters, and we were given a friendly reminder this season of how valuable Moss is. The Vikes were one of four teams to have a pair of 1st round picks, and the other pick was also a big time bust in injury-prone Erasmus James. The Vikings had maybe the best assets of any team going into the draft, and the best player of significance they came away with was undrafted punter Chris Kluwe. Ouch. 31. Carolina Notables – LB Thomas Davis, RB Eric Shelton, G Evan Mathis, DT Atiyyah Ellison, QB Stefan Lefors Ever wonder why the Panthers are NFC media darlings at the start of every season but then pile up a bunch of injuries and fall apart every year? Maybe it’s in part due to drafts like these that are entirely fruitless for the team. Davis is a starting linebacker but a mediocre one. And remember the times the last few seasons when the team has struggled with QB and RB injuries? You haven’t seen Lefors or Shelton out there, have you? Thanks for nothing, Louisville. 30. Buffalo Notables – WR Roscoe Parrish, TE Kevin Everett I’ve got to be careful here. We all followed the Kevin Everett storyline this year, and everyone is ecstatic to watch his miraculous recovery and see him on his feet walking again, against all odds. But the truth is that Everett, whether it’s PC to admit or not, wasn’t a great player for the Bills, not much more than a special teams contributor really. Ditto for Roscoe Parrish, the team’s other day one pick. And the team didn’t have a 1st because it traded up the previous year to get busted QB JP Losman. Yikes. 29. Houston Notables – Travis Johnson, RB Vernand Morency, KR Jerome Mathis Mathis on day two may have saved this draft from being a complete failure, as he has been a very solid kick returner for the team, but the rest of the draft did very little. Travis Johnson has been nothing more than a rotation guy on the defensive line. Vernand Morency has turned into a quality 3rd down back… for the Green Bay Packers. Houston traded Morency for RB Samkon Gado this year. Gado promptly got beat out by Ron Dayne and a dude named Adimchinobe Echemandu and was cut. 28. Detroit Notables – WR Mike Williams, DT Shaun Cody, CB Stanley Wilson, QB Dan Orlovsky Raise your hand if you’re shocked to see the Lions near the bottom of a draft ranking list. This has become the norm for a franchise that has become one of the jokes of the NFL. The team spent one of four consecutive 1st round picks here on Mike Williams. Williams was such a mammoth bust at WR that he was moved for awhile to TE due to lack of speed, and last year we saw a player in the ’07 draft plummet just because he was too much like Mike (Dwayne Jarrett). The funny thing is most draft pundits had the Lions winning big in this draft originally, having nabbed three other players listed above who slid further than expected. Looks like the rest of the NFL knew what it was doing. 27. Washington Notables – CB Carlos Rogers, QB Jason Campbell This was the second of four teams to end up with a pair of 1st round picks in the ’05 draft. The problem is that Washington had to trade up to get the second one and find QB Jason Campbell. Campbell hasn’t been a huge bust, but he also hasn’t done much to make Redskins fans forget Gus Frerotte, and that’s not much to replace. He has 22 TDs in 20 career starts and has struggled to stay healthy and win the starting job. The team literally mortgaged its draft to move up and grab him. When you have two 1sts and they end up as average as Rogers and Campbell, it’s not a good draft. Depth is far too valuable in the NFL. 26. Baltimore Notables – WR Mark Clayton, DE Dan Cody, OT Adam Terry, G Jason Brown, QB Derek Anderson You probably saw Derek Anderson and got excited about one of this season’s great stories, but Anderson did it for another franchise. And not just another franchise, but the hated rival Cleveland Browns on top of it, while the Ravens continue to struggle with no QB of the future or, most of the time at least, the present. The rest of the draft has been below average at best. Clayton has shown flashes but is mostly a hit or miss long ball guy. Ozzie Newsome normally does a spectacular job, to his credit, but this was not one of his best drafts. 25. Kansas City Notables – LB Derrick Johnson, P Dustin Colquitt, WR Crap Thorpe Most, including myself, thought that Derrick Johnson was a can’t miss prospect at linebackers, so you can’t blame the Chiefs for trying. He’s a starter and a solid one, but not what you’d have hoped for in a 1st round LB, and for every big play he makes, he misses two or three others. And the only other pick worth mentioning was a punter. And Colquitt is a good punter, but come on now. 24. Denver Notables – CB Darrent Williams, CB Karl Paymah, CB Dominique Foxworth, RB Maurice Clarett Again I have to be careful here. Darrent Williams looked like a star in the making opposite Champ Bailey before he was tragically shot and killed last offseason. You can’t penalize the Broncos for something like that. But the rest of the draft was entirely fruitless. Clarett was a huge gamble on day one of the draft when many people thought he had a decent chance of going undrafted, and he never made Denver’s roster. Foxworth and Paymah have been mediocre enough at CB that the Broncos were forced to make a trade to fill the hole left by Williams, and the team never seemed to recover from his loss this season, physically or emotionally. 23. Oakland Notables – CB Fabian Washington, CB Stanley Routt, QB Andrew Walter, LB Kirk Morrison Did you notice three AFC West teams in a row? Maybe you noticed something else too… like the fact that the missing AFC West team is the same one who has won the division the last two years and made a nice playoff run. Oakland simply had a very mediocre draft. They gave up the #7 pick for Randy Moss, a deal that didn’t work for either team. They used their remaining 1st on busted corner Fabian Washington, and they also hyped the fanbase on QB Andrew Walter who never worked out and left the Raiders so messy at QB that they have just 24 passing touchdowns the last two seasons combined. In case you were wondering, Tom Brady had that many by halftime of game #7 this season. 22. Chicago Notables – RB Cedric Benson, WR Mark Bradley, QB Kyle Orton, PK Robbie Gould Just because you recognize all of those names doesn’t mean it was a good draft. The team is as bad as anyone in football right now at QB and RB and WR. Benson has not only been a bust so far, but he also caused dissension in the locker room and eventually got Thomas Jones traded, which left the team with no real rushing attack this season. Orton and Bradley have been spotty contributors at best, and the best player here is clearly the place kicker Robbie Gould. Again note that three teams from one division finish in the bottom third of the league, and the other NFC North team was the one making a run at the Super Bowl this year. Coincidence? I don’t think so. 21. Arizona Notables – CB Antrel Rolle, RB JJ Arrington, CB Eric Green, G Elton Brown Most draftniks had the Cardinals as one of the best drafts in football in 2005, and it just hasn’t worked out well. Rolle has been solid but not great and is getting moved to safety this year to better accommodate his talents. Arrington was a complete bust. Green is a starter at corner, but one of the worst in the league. Any guesses as to Arizona’s biggest 2008 draft needs? Almost everyone out there will place CB and RB among the top three needs. When the team just spent all of day one filling those spots three years ago, that’s a very bad sign. So there you have it, the worst 12 drafts in the Class of ’05. Check back Wednesday for the middle set of 12 and then finally Friday the best 8 to see where your favorite teams fit in! __________________ Hired Guns: Wheaton Thunder SO CFFL: Royale with Cheese CFA: Wheaton Thunder Last edited by Da Bomb; 03-31-2008 at 09:49 AM.


03-31-2008, 09:42 AM	#2
Remote Controller Yeah.......That's me! Join Date: May 2006 Location: Top of the Texas Panhandle Posts: 3,797 vCash: 356864 Donate	I love this! This should start off some great discussion! Good work!