The 2005 NFL Draft: In-Depth Sick/Drunk Coverage

Originally posted on "Is It Sports?" 2 weeks after the NFL draft. Ryan is in black, and Steve is in red. Some of our opinions weren't that far off. We knew Troy Williamson and Cedric Benson might not work out, and we were a little skeptical on Alex Smith...

“Grand Prix” is the biggest party weekend of the year here at Purdue, and Saturday morning brings “breakfast club” in which the bars open early, and all people intending to drink show up there at seven in the morning with costumes on. Really, it’s one of the stupidest ideas ever in the history of college. I was supposed to head up there this morning, but a particularly fast moving and angry stomach virus (I don’t believe it’s either A.J. Pierzynski or Randy Moss that made me ill) had other plans, so here I am, recapping the draft. We can have fun here too, right?

I'm also adding in my 2 cents about the draft 2 weeks later as I am just reading what Ryan wrote and finally posting it now. On draft day, while my dad was donning the silver and black and working the Raiders table in New York, I was donning the blue paint suit costume and matching goggles while drinking screw drivers at Jake's (a bar) and AJ's apartment, where I also (sort of) watched the draft on TV.

San Francisco selects Alex Smith, Utah
I have mixed feelings about this pick. On the one hand, San Francisco is awful. I would think in their shoes, you would go ahead and pick the best available player. According to no one is Alex Smith the best available player, and not even in the top 5 if you talk to some scouts. Also, if you draft a quarterback, especially one who is only 20, you want someone to help them grow as a player, a veteran influence. Tim Rattay is not a veteran influence.

On the other hand, I like the pick, especially for the 49ers. San Francisco has a history of cerebral quarterbacks with Montana and Young, and Alex Smith may just be one of the brainiest guys in a very long time. Eventually, Smith will be a good fit in San Francisco.

Also, everyone knows that Leinart is coming out next year and will be the number 1 pick. Not picking a quarterback is like the management saying “yes we have needs everywhere, but we don’t really expect to improve at all next year, so we will get a top flight QB next year.” So, as a draft choice, this was…necessary.

I'm a little conflicted about Smith as well. I think Rattay isn't all that bad, but he is so injury prone that having Smith is about 1000 times better than having Ken Dorsey on the field. The Niners need a lot of help on D, and that will take numerous draft picks, free agent signings, and coaching to turn things around. Because of their salary cap issues, they probably won't be able to do this until 2008, so might as well try to improve the offense right now. On the other hand, the Niners will probably be the worst team in the NFL again this year, so they will probably be able to pick Leinart with the inevitable first pick that they will have again next year, but I guess he can always get hurt or something, so might as well take what you can now.

Miami selects Ronnie Brown, Auburn
How often does it happen that Miami makes a pick before someone from U. Miami gets picked? I’m not sure about this choice either. Ronnie Brown split time with Cadillac Williams and now he’s going to be playing more downs in more games. I worry about how much wear and tear he can take. At the same time, you have to trust Nick Saban’s eye for talent, as he saw this guy in person. Will stamina be an issue?

I like this pick a lot for Miami. That's all I got

Cleveland selects Braylon Edwards, Michigan
I really wish the Vikings had moved up to grab Edwards, and they may end up taking Mike Williams later, which would be equally fantastic. Having played Edwards in the Big Ten, I’ve seen him and Steve Breaston tear apart Purdue so I know the talent he has. He has a good head on his shoulders and will do well in Cleveland, unless they never bring in a quarterback, which of course, is always possible, especially in those Ohio teams. Nevertheless, this is the first pick I’ve really liked.

Unrelated, Romeo Crennel looks a lot like Denny Green, and if he can pick offensive players like Denny, Cleveland will be sitting pretty for years to come.

Big Ten wide receivers worry me a lot. The conference seems to be a step slower than a few others in the NCAA, and it leads to guys like the undrafted (but record breaking) Taylor Stubblefield to have great careers. I was almost certain the Bears would wind up with him, because they love taking Big Ten underachievers (see David Terrell, Curtis Enis, Anthony Thomas, etc.). I think the Browns would have been better off with Aaron Rodgers, because I have no idea who their QB is now.

Chicago selects Cedric Benson, Texas
It appears nature has dealt another cruel blow to the Bears. They did not have a running back, absolutely a huge problem. But they also didn’t get an opportunity to see that Rex Grossman is really not all that talented. Now they will have a grinder to keep the ball moving down the field. Of course, this means that the Bears seem to be content with Grossman running things, no matter what.

I do like this pick though, Benson seems pretty overwhelmed by being drafted. He’s going to be a hard worker, and he’ll endear himself well to the residents of Chicago. In his interview he was the most honest player I’ve seen in years, and his answers were some of the deepest I’ve ever heard.

Also, this is a huge favor to the Vikings, because I know Red McCombs wanted Benson, despite the fact that he has four running backs that can go for 100 yards in any game. Now, hopefully Cadillac gets selected quickly.

The Bears dodged a bullet by not winding up with Edwards, so they take probably the 3rd best running back in the draft Benson. Sure he's good so he'll help, but I don't think he's quite as good as Cadillac, but I guess we'll find out soon enough. The Bears eventually drafted Kyle Orton from Purdue much later in the draft, and knowing the Bears, he'll be starting for them soon over Grossman. The Bears have a storied history of really dumb draft picks, so I'm skeptical about Benson's future in the NFL.

Tampa Bay selects Carnell Williams, Auburn
And there goes Cadillac. I’m very pleased. I have the same problem with this pick as I did with Brown. I think it will take some time before he gets his legs under him. Tampa, which is another team lacking in passing talent will need to rely on him to run the ball, and I’m not so sure he can handle it.

I just wanted make another mention about the interviews. This was the first pick that wasn’t in the green room, so he wasn’t interviewed. Someone who was interviewed was Braylon Edwards. He sounded like he’s been planning that interview his whole life, and new exactly the right things to say. Going by these interviews, I say Benson and Edwards are locks to be big time players in the league.

Great pick for Tampa. I like Cadillac a lot (and not just because he's named after a GM car). He might get a little frustrated playing for the pass happy Jon Gruden, but I hope he's ready to catch some west coast offense passes.

Tennessee selects Adam Jones, West Virginia
Pac-Man might be one of the best nicknames in the history of the league. Just by appearances, however, he looks like the dumbest person selected in the draft up until now. As Kevin and I agreed, he looked a lot like L’il John, and visually had that kind of swagger, If history has proven anything, however, its that arrogant CB’s are some of the best out there.

I just remember thinking how awesome it will be to have this guy around the NFL for the next 10 years. Pac-Man...ha

Minnesota selects Troy Williamson, South Carolina
How can something so obvious be screwed up this bad. They need a receiver to play opposite Burleson, to replace Randy Moss. So what do they do? They pick some guy I’ve never heard of, when Mike Williams is still on the board. They got the right idea, but they just didn’t pull it out. This selection just leaves me speechless. When I think of something to say, I’ll let you know.

I can't believe they didn't take Williams. Totally stunned. I remember on draft day laughing about how angry Ryan must have been at the moment Troy's name was called. Who knows, maybe this guy will turn out to be pretty good, but how can you just leave Mike Williams sitting there?!?! Especially after trading Randy Moss for this pick!

Arizona selects Antrel Rolle, Miami
This was a good pick. The Cardinals had a glaring need on defense and they filled it with one of the best corner backs available. Kiper thought that Rolle would go to Tennessee instead of Pacman. I really think that that Denny Green is back to working his magic on draft day. If the Cards can play some more defense with existing players, they could sneak up on some people next year.

Hey, Miami finally gets someone selected, too, so now the draft has officially started.

So Rolle goes to the new look Cardinals (and as in new look, I mean Arena League style). Poor guy. But maybe with his help, they can finally get over the hump and finally beat those 49ers this year.

Washington selects Carlos Rogers, Auburn
Fred Smoot, thankfully, is playing in Minnesota next season, so the ‘Skins needed a cornerback to play opposite Shawn Springs. Joe Gibbs is clearly back in charge for the Redskins again, otherwise Daniel Snyder would have picked Mike Williams, the sexiest player left at this point.

Detroit selects Mike Williams, USC
I don’t get it. This is the third year in a row that the Lions have grabbed a wide receiver. Someone has to be getting traded out of that threesome, and I really hope that the Lions get someone good. If someone doesn’t get dealt, this may have been one of the biggest wasted picks of all time, and its hard to say that with such a talented player.

Williams is very very good, but why Detroit? They already drafted 2 top wideouts the last 2 years. Are they just trying to prove that Joey Harrington is the worst quarterback of all time now? I mean, I guess if he can't win with these guys, he probably is. AJ, the only Lions fan I have ever met, and that's after actually living in Detroit for 3 months too, was completely shocked by this pick as well.

Dallas selects Demarcus Ware, Troy
You absolutely have to be confident before you make a choice like this. Nobody watches games from Troy, Alabama, and Troy doesn’t play very talented teams. I don’t know much about him, but he had to have had brilliant work outs to be selected this high in the draft, the first end selected overall. Parcells has shown an eye for talent throughout his career, so we’ll see.

I drove through Troy, Alabama on my way to Panama City on spring break. Wow...the only way I knew I was in a college down was because of Trojans logo I saw every now and then. Dallas has a history of good scouting though, so I won't doubt them on this one. I wrote Ware's name on my roomate Jimmy's face, because he was passed out by this point, to let him know who his favorite team picked.

San Diego selects Shawne Merriman, Maryland
I had guessed that Merriman would go to the Lions two picks prior, but they decided to go a different route that made absolutely no sense. The Chargers have to be ecstatic that he fell to them. It has to be nice that their team matured so much last year that they were able to patch holes instead of build a new boat. They got the player they wanted using the Giants pick they acquired when they forfeited the prima donna, Eli Manning. Perhaps there is karma after all in the NFL draft.

I don't remember this pick, I think I passed out by this point too.

New Orleans selects Jammal Brown, Oklahoma
The Saints moved up to pick the guy they wanted, making sure that he didn’t go to the Panthers, who had the next pick. From what I’ve heard, this seems like a good choice. It always seems as thought it’s easier to find offensive linemen, like their talent is easier to transfer from college to the pros. Duce McCallister will love having this strong run-blocker in front of him.

same as above

Carolina selects Thomas Davis, Georgia
Carolina takes second place in the Jammal Brown sweepstakes, picking up Davis, a good looking tackler can play safety or linebacker. Tory Holt hopes he plays safety, but others say he harkens back to Derrick Brooks. Either way, he will be a good fit with the Panthers, who could use a little help in coverage, either from a safety or a cover linebacker.

I think at this point now I was watching the Pistons-76ers game. The Sixers were winning at the time, so I decided to call up AJ and trash talk him over it, which wound up being a hilarious voice mail. For some reason, he had left his own apartment and Jimmy and I were still there.

Kansas City selects Derrick Johnson, Texas
Johnson has a bad reputation as a poor tackler. The Kansas City Chiefs have a bad reputation as poor tacklers. This is a perfect fit. The thing is though, the Chiefs are picking up a lot of talented defensive players and Kendrell Bell will be well served by having Johnson playing on the outside, and the Chiefs will benefit from a new defensive player.

Johnson was supposed to be a top 10 pick, so the Chiefs had a solid player fall to them. Will he stop the defense from giving up 49 points a game? Probably not, but its a start.

All right, I’m not going to lie to you. My mom called and we talked for a little too long. I missed a good chunk of the first round, so that’s all I really have to say.. It’s not like I’m Mel Kiper or something - Ryan

I don't remember much of the first round after that either. It sucks being hung over at like 5 in the afternoon. Happy Grand Prix! - Steve