2006 Draft, 3 round mock

April 21, 2006 by Steel Phantom

2006 Mock Draft:

Last year�s mock had this injunction:

� Mock drafts, being a futile exercise in arranging bad information, were to be avoided. However, the pull, like that of a Black Hole, is irresistible. On balance then, the following is best read as fiction��

Filed Saturday, an hour before the whistle blew, that work, even tossed off, still pegged 29 of 32 prospects selected in R1. Not bad (I guess) so this: three rounds, now nearly 8 days in front. Expect nothing.

The trades imagined here are in boldface, in column 2; the Steelers picks are shown in column 4. Ok then.

Round 1:

	Team	Pos.	Player	Remarks
1	Texans	DE	Mario Williams	In 2002, the Texans selected David Carr, leaving Julius Peppers on the board. Not again; permitted to chose, say, between Gale Sayers and Reggie White, the answer is easy. White.
2	Saints	Weapon	Reggie Bush	In 2001, the Saints took Deuce McAlister, even though they then had Ricky Williams on-board. As is true for most RB, not for long. For a couple seasons, they�ll find a way to get both Reggie and Deuce on the field simultaneously.
3	Titans	QB	Matt Leinart	Knows Norm Chow�s system.
4	Jets	LT	D�Brickashaw Ferguson	Long Island native will handle pressure from both NFL DE and from the NYC media better than any prospect in this class.
5	Broncos (f/ Green Bay)	TE	Vernon Davis	Denver moves to get the best receiver in the draft. Green Bay receives 1.15, 2.37 and 4.119.
6	Niners	LB	AJ Hawk	Top playmaker; Niners might prefer a 3-4 OLB but, in this projection, can�t deal down to value.
7	Raiders	QB	Vince Young	Aaron Brooks is a stopgap. Young would generate some buzz among the aging and apathetic in Raider Nation.
8	Bills	DT	Broderick Bunkley	Bills get a top DT to pair with Larry Triplett and protect London Fletcher
9	Lions	OT	Winston Justice	Jeff Backus is an OG, if that.
10	Cardinals	FS	Michael Huff	Robert Griffith is 34 years old.
11	Vikings (f/St. Louis)	QB	Jay Cutler	Minnesota has done a good job in FA, upgrading at RB, OG and SS. Now QB, in the same slot they got Culpepper (in �99). St. Louis receives 1.17 and 2.51; the teams flip picks 3.77 and 3.95.
12	Browns	DE (OLB)	Manny Lawson	Ranked #2 among DE but will be an OLB in the Browns� 3-4. As such, Lawson is the only big frame, quick twitch OLB in this draft. Well, maybe Mark Anderson too.
13	Ravens	CB	Jimmy Williams	Bad boy DB for a bad team of bad boyz.
14	Eagles	OLB	Ernie Sims	A playmaker; 2005 Eagles� LBs made no plays at all.
15	Packers (f/Denver)	DT	Haloti Ngata	A big DT in the Gilbert Brown/Grady Jackson mode.
16	Miami	CB	Antonio Cromartie	Cromartie has all the tools to be a Pro Bowl CB. Initially, his KR ability will factor in the field position battle.
17	Rams (f/Minnesota)	CB	Tye Hill	Small but fast and combative. Figures as a top dome CB.
18	Colts (f/Dallas)	RB	DeAngelo Williams	Clear need pick for Indy. Boys move back towards FS or ILB value at 1.30, and get 2.62 too.
19	Chargers	WR	Chad Jackson	Has the speed to stretch it.
20	Chiefs	DE/OLB	Kamerion Wimbley	Coach Cunningham will try to make this prospect into the next Derrick Thomas. Good luck with that.
21	Patriots	RB	Laurence Maroney	Pats were 30^th rushing last year. Maroney can run to the edge, just as Corey Dillon did so effectively in 2004.
22	Niners	WR	Santonio Holmes	Holmes will start opposite Antonio Bryant and make plays in the return game too. Niners could do worse than the twin Buckeyes projected here, and probably will.
23	Bucs	OT	Marcus McNeill	Re-united with Cadillac
24	Texans (f/Cincinnati)	OT	Eric Winston	Having selected Mario Williams 1.01, the Texans absolutely must get a LT. With Winston, a homegrown product, Houston can return Chester Pitts to OG. Cost is 2.33 and 4.97.
25	Giants	OLB	Chad Greenway	The Giants� 2005 LB corps was abysmal.
26	Bears	DT	John McCargo	Tank Johnson has some legal entanglements. .
27	Panthers	TE	Mercedes Lewis	2005 playoffs made it absolutely clear Delhomme must have a 2^nd receiving option.
28	Jaguars	CB	Johnathan Joseph	Could develop as the best cover CB in this class.
29	Jets	I/OLB	Bobby Carpenter	Projects best at SILB where he can protect Vilma. Eric Barton is not the answer.
30	Cowboys (f/Indy)	FS	Donte Whitner	FS was a glaring weakness last season. Now, Whitner and Roy Williams will give Dallas one of the better S tandems in football.
31	Seahawks	OG	Davin Joseph	Best available replacement for Steve Hutchinson
32	Steelers	RB	LenDale White	Third straight year that the PS harvest a fall. The first two worked out fine.

R1 notes:

(16) O-side including: 3 QB, 4 RB, 2 WR, 2 TE, 4 OT and 1 IOL.
(16) D-side including: 3 DE, 3 DT, 4 LB and 6 DB.

Round 2:

	Team	Pos.	Player	Remarks
33	Bengals (f/Houston)	CB	Jason Allen	Has size/speed/COD to cover and is excellent in run force, a plus for a team that can�t play the run at all. Will move in for Tory James ASAP.
34	Patriots (f/New Orleans	CB	Richard Marshall	A Pats� kind of guy straight out of Fresno State. New Orleans does not now have a R3 pick. In this deal, they would get 2.52 and 3.86.
35	Jets	RB	Joseph Addai	Tough call but Curtis Martin is nearing the end.
36	Packers	OC	Nick Mangold	Two years ago, the Pack had the best IOL trio this side of KC. Now, all three are elsewhere. Mangold is the new cornerstone.
37	Packers (f/Denver)	DE	Tamba Hali	Productive player with bad measurables.
38	Raiders	SS	Darnell Bing	Raiders draft the next Derrick Gibson, and that�s not good. .
39	Titans	MLB	D�Qwell Jackson	Titans get the #1 MLB in this class.
40	Lions	WR	Sinorice Moss	Born to play in Mike Martz�s system.
41	Cardinals	OLB	DeMeco Ryans	High character player who is a 3-down LB; projects either at WOLB or MLB in AZ.
42	Bills	SS	Daniel Bullocks	Athletic, competitive and intelligent; would learn fast alongside Troy Vincent
43	Browns	NT	Gabe Watson	Massive space eater with some motivation issues.
44	Ravens	OG	Deuce Lutui	Mulitalo bloated last year and may not be back. Keydrick Vincent wasn�t great either.
45	Eagles	DT	Claude Wroten	The Eagles Fr. 7 played poorly last year. Philly acquired FA DE Darren Howard but still need some rotation DT.
46	Rams	DE	Mathias Kiwanuka	BPA at a position of need: the Rams DE set consists of Leonard Little, Tony Hargrove and nothing at all.
47	Falcons	CB	Ashton Youboty	The Falcons need a CB opposite DeAngelo Hall. Youboty has the skill set to develop into an acceptable #2.
48	Vikings	CB	Kelly Jennings	Best NCB in the class.
49	Cowboys	OG	Max Jean-Gilles	Maximum Max has more than enough heft to fill the void left by Larry Allen.
50	Chargers	LT	Daryn Colledge	Roman Oben can�t go on forever.
51	Rams (f/Minnesota)	IOL	Chris Chester	Exceptional athleticism, played TE, OG and OC at Oklahoma. The Rams� IOL are old and older.
52	Saints (f/NE)	TE	Leonard Pope	Gives Drew Brees a target at TE. Pope isn�t Antonio Gates but he projects as a decent receiving TE.
53	Steelers (f/Washington)	FS	Ko Simpson	13^th DB selected; Simpson is the last big school R2-worthy S remaining on the board. Presently, the Skins don�t have a pick until R5; this deal would give them 2.64 and 3.96. PS would gain the Skins� 2007 R4.
54	Chiefs	WR	Greg Jennings	Quick WR with exceptional hands; good fit in the Chiefs� system.
55	Bengals	Athlete	Devin Hester	The Bengals have talked to him about playing both ways.
56	Giants	RB/RT	Maurice Drew	Can spell Tiki Barber, and contribute in the return game.
57	Bears	TE	Anthony Fasano	Davis is the impact receiver, but Fasano may be the best all-around TE in this class.
58	Panthers	DB/RT	Danieal Manning	Figures to start year 2; would make an immediate impact in the return game
59	Bucs	OLB	Rocky McIntosh	High character prospect with a high degree of athleticism. Does have some injury history
60	Jaguars	DE	Daryl Tapp	Openside pass rusher opposite Reggie Hayward. Would convert plays out of the leverage created by the Jags� DT tandem.
61	Broncos	WR	Derek Hagan	Pac-10 all time leading receiver. Good hands, marginal burst; Hagan has some Rod Smith attributes.
62	Cowboys (f/Indy)	DE (I/OLB)	Chris Gocong	Will be a LB in Dallas� 34. The Boys worked him out both inside and out.
63	Seahawks	DE	Mark Anderson	High try guy who came on in his senior season, later impressing both at the Senior Bowl and the Combine.
64	Redskins (f/Pittsburgh)	LB	Gerris Wilkinson	Greg Williams will like his versatility. Played OLB, MLB and DE at Georgia Tech. Was a team leader.

R2 notes:

(12) O-side including: 2 RB, 3 WR, 2 TE, 1 OT and 4 IOL.
(19) D-side including: 5 DE, 2 DT, 4 LB and 8 DB.
(1) Undecided: Devin Hester.

Round 3:

	Team	Pos.	Player	Remarks
65	Texans	TE	Joel Klopfenstein	BPA pick. Jeff Putzier is not a #1 TE.
66	Texans	OLB	Thomas Howard	Exceptional speed; in transitioning to the 4-3, the Texans do need a coverage LB.
67	Packers	WR	Demetrius Williams	A developmental target for Favre, or Rodgers
68	Broncos	S	Anthony Smith	Plays faster than he times, had (6) INT last year even while yoked to a wretched Syracuse team.
69	Raiders	LB	Clint Ingram	R1 athlete with UDFA instincts. Over-drafted at this spot.
70	Bills	LT	Rashad Butler	Has a vast wingspan, decent athleticism but lacks strength. Still, was a fairly durable player at The U. May start year 2.
71	Jets	QB	Kellen Clemens	Good fit for the Jets� version of the WCO
72	Cardinals	NT	Babatunde Oshinowo	AZ needs a stuffer to make their UT 4-3 go. Oshinowo will rotate with former Steeler Kendrick Clancy.
73	Bills	OG	Charles Spencer	Converted DT who played both LG and LT at Pitt. Raw but may have more upside than either Lutui or Jean-Gilles.
74	Lions	DE	Victor Adeyanju	The Lions take character over production.
75	Patriots	OLB (SS)	Jon Alston	3-4 SS: Rodney Harrison doesn�t figure to make it back. Athletically, Alston has some similarities with Polamalu.
76	Eagles	WR	Maurice Stovall	A big WR for the Philly WCO. Has TE size and, unfortunately, TE speed too.
77	Vikings (f/St. Louis)	DT	Kyle Williams	Not a good athlete but a good player. Trivial pursuit: Vikes would have 3 DT named Williams.
78	Browns	DT (DE)	Rodrique Wright	Will be a DE in the Browns� 3-4. Boom or bust but it is worth noting that Texas D-linemen typically have performed well in the NFL.
79	Falcons	RB	Jerious Norwood	Two straight seasons with over 1000 yards rushing, when playing for a Miss. State team that had no air game at all.
80	Cowboys	WR/RT	Brandon Williams	A slot receiver who can contribute in the return game. Small, touches must be limited.
81	Chargers	ILB	Abdul Hodge	Good player, bad athlete, excellent leader.
82	Dolphins	DT	Dusty Dvoracek	Quality rotation DT. Will die for it.
83	Vikings	TE	Tony Scheffler	Highly intelligent player with some ability to stretch it. An Eagles� type TE for the Vikes� new HC, Brad Childress.
84	Niners	DE (OLB)	Brent Hawkins	Buchanon finalist; will be an OLB in the Niners 3-4.
85	Chiefs	DB	Cedric Griffin	Not a great athlete but a good player. Package DB initially, future may be at FS.
86	Saints (f/NE)	OT	Andrew Whitworth	Made 52 straight starts for LSU at LT. Figures as a RT in the show. Would give the Saints an option to fragile Jon Stinchcomb.
87	Giants	OT	Jonathan Scott	Boom or bust. It is worth noting that Texas O-linemen typically have disappointed in the show.
88	Bears	CB	DeMario Minter	Good size, fair speed; good in zone, limited on-man. Quality package DB with a high degree of want-to.
89	Panthers	WR/ST	Brandon Marshall	Exceptional size/speed developmental WR. Will perform effectively on coverage teams too.
90	Bucs	CB	Alan Zemaitis	Good fit in the Bucs� Cover 2.
91	Bengals	WOLB	James Anderson	Coverage LB with some speed.
92	Jaguars	OG	Fred Matua	After Davin Joseph, the best pulling OG in this class.
93	Falcons	QB	Brodie Croyle	Reportedly, Atlanta is shopping Matt Schaub. If so, they�ll need a backup. Croyle is an excellent leader but has a long and troublesome injury history
94	Colts	DT	Jonathan Lewis	Another penetrating DT
95	Rams (f/Minnesota)	FS	Roman Harper	Plays faster than he times, and did 4.48 at Pro Day. Son of a coach, and a coach on the field.
96	Washington (f/Pittsburgh)	DB	Antoine Bethea	Small school DB with 4.39 speed and good COD. Over-drafted here, but the Skins won�t go again �til deep in R5.
97	Jets	DT (DE)	Barry Cofield	A natural for the 3-4; will be a DE in the Jets� new set. Best Combine tests among all DT, excluding Bunkley.

R3 notes:

(14) O-side: 2 QB, 1 RB, 4 WR, 2 TE, 3 OT and 2 IOL
(19) D-side: 2 DE, 6 DT, 5 LB and 6 DB.

Three round totals:

(42) O-side including: 5 QB, 7 RB, 9 WR, 6 TE, 8 OT and 7 IOL.

(54) D-side including: 10 DE, 11 DT, 13 LB and 20 DB. (Note: both Lawson and Gocong are counted as DE here, Alston as a LB and Cofield and Wright as DT. Switching those to the facts of various 3-4 aggregates yields: 10 DE, 9 DT, 14 LB and 21 DB.)

(1) Undecided: Devin Hester.

Steeler-centric notes:

In this projection, the PS land LenDale White and then scramble for a R2 safety. That costs their R3 but, on the plus side, the possibility of moving up in R4 (using their negotiable R5) does remain.

In this projection, WR picks run a round behind standard, with most of that differential taken up in Fr. 7 personnel. On the plus side, possession receivers do remain into (this) Day 2, and nearly all WR/RT too. The former figure as R4 comp values; it is likely that OLB may be had in that spot as well.

The Steelers� invitee list suggests they�re looking at the left side of their O-line. Too bad since, in this projection, Guy Whimper is the only mid-round worthy LT remaining. Mainly, the available (per this projection) OT are R4 stiffs like Ryan O�Callaghan and Jeremy Trueblood, both over-valued as Day 1 prospects, IMO. Either Whimper or a DE like Julian Jenkins may be available via that R4 move noted previously.

Deep Day 2 value, R5 comp and on, figures at LB, WR/return, receiving TE, S and IOL.

Coming attractions:

Final SBBV.

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2006 Draft, 3 round mock

April 21, 2006 by Steel Phantom

Mario Williams

Broncos

Vikings

Packers

Rams

Colts

Texans

Cowboys

Steelers

LenDale White

Team

Bengals

Jason Allen

Patriots

Packers

Daniel Bullocks

Rams

Saints

Steelers

Ko Simpson

Cowboys

Redskins

Team

Vikings

Saints

Rams

Washington

(f/Pittsburgh)