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2006 SFL Draft Grades
By Anonymous
Special to sfl-football.com



1.1 - WR Brandon Marshall - A+ - This is a homerun pick to me, but I am higher on Marshall than most, especially having a similar player myself in Drew Carter. I think Marshall is going to be better, however, and his 230 lb build is a big reason why. Marshall and Edwards give the Lions maybe the best WR tandem in the league.

1.2 - OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson - B - This isn't the most popular pick so far, but I actually think it's a good selection. I don't know what the Saints were offered for this pick, but I know it wasn't the ideal spot to be in given there was no consensus #2 player in this class. I think in the end the Saints made the best out of what they were given. D'Brickashaw is not a top echelon tackle in the mold of Wes Sims, but finding an OT ready to play from day one in this league is not easy to come by, and that's the big appeal with D'Brickashaw.

1.3 - WR Cory Rodgers - C- - I don't have a problem with this pick so much as I have a problem with how the Chargers got the pick. I have no idea what the motivation was in trading Chad Pennington when you were set up at the most important position for at least 6 or 7 more seasons. Rodgers is actually a pretty good pick here and gives the Chargers a legitimate weapon, but looking at the big picture I'm left scratching my head. I would love to hear an explanation on why San Diego moved on from their franchise quarterback in a somewhat weak class at the top.

1.4 - OLB AJ Hawk - C+ - Hawk is a great talent and clearly the best OLB in this draft, but there's two reasons I have this grade in "C" territory. The first is simply because I don't view it as a premium position, but the main reason is once again the big picture. The Texans moved their 31 year old veteran QB to move up from 1.9 to 1.4 and the end result is ultimately an OLB. Hawk will no doubt be a great addition to their defense, but he's not going to impact the W/L column near as much as Griese would have.

1.5 - CB Marcus Maxey - B - The Ravens earn a solid B from me here for staying put here and making a great selection. If I'm being honest I'm not a huge Maxey fan (as many have said it will depend on the skew), mostly due to his very low 53 AWR. That's going to take a lot of time (and playing time) to develop. The good news for the Ravens is that they have a strong secondary they can ease him in to and cover up some of his flaws. But I like this pick much more than some of the other players being talked about at number 5.

1.6 - QB Matt Leinart - A - I was a big advocate of the Buccs taking Leinart at this spot, so it's no surprise they earn a good from me here. Bulger is not a terrible QB, but by the time he gets really good attributes he's going to be at the end of his career and close to retirement. Buccs GM Bill Ryan has a fresh new contract so he will have plenty of time to develop Leinart and make him their franchise quarterback. I don't know much about the left handed issue with Madden which I suppose could plummet this pick. If that is a known issue I think it would make sense to announce that "attribute" ahead of time.

1.7 - OT Quinn Ojinnaka - A - This is another pick that earns an "A" grade for me, and another that I was a proponent of in my mock drafts. I have been very clear (and loud) that I thought he was the perfect player and fit for the Seahawks. I look for him to endure an AWR hit and move to LT, but we will see if Rock sticks with him at the RT spot. Either way I think it's a great pick and a great fit, as well as a great value. Ojinnaka will develop into the best OT in this class one day.

1.8 - MLB Leon Williams - B+ - I think this is a really solid selection here for the Colts. Williams isn't quite as athletic as Fincher taken in last year's class, but he is definitely the most athletic MLB this year. I am definitely in the camp that prefers him over the type of prospect that D'Qwell jackson is as low AWR MLBs have shown they can have success and put up numbers. Williams will be great in Indy and fills a big need. Only reason it's not an "A" is because of the plethora of MLB talent in this year's class, so the value isn't incredible.

1.9 - WR Maurice Stovall - B - Stovall probably wouldn't have been my pick at this spot, but I don't think it's a bad pick at all and I also really like the type of player Stovall is. His low AWR/CTH for the type of player he is is a bit concerning to me, but there's no doubt his physical traits set him up to be a great and somewhat unique talent for a long time. I can't argue with too much about this pick at all.

1.10 - CB Tye Hill - A- - I like the Tye Hill pick more than most I assume. I am as big a fan of height at cornerback as anyone - I took Brandon Browner 1.1 last year - but I think there's a legitimate case to be made for the type of player that Hill is. While I would have liked to see him have a little more CTH, his AWR and athleticism combo is the best in this year's class. He will be a playmaker and adds an element of speed to a secondary that already has plenty of length.

1.11 - OT Ryan O'Callaghan - B - This is definitely not the pick I was expecting Neal to make. He has incredible size and strength to go with good but not great athleticism, so he wasn't going to be every GMs cup of tea. Apparently Neal is looking to go with as high as a STR lineup as possible, which is interesting as at least one GM with a history of success has talked about how strength really doesn't matter so much. I like O'Callaghan, but just don't love the value here.

1.12 - OLB Thomas Howard - A - I agree with the seemingly league-wide thought that this pick made a ton of sense for the Bengals. Howard was a Top 10 talent but fell due to a combination of lack of need and lack of playing a premium position. But there's no denying his skill level and he will slide in seamlessly to the Cincinnati defense. He will take some time to season, but he is going to be a force in that front 7.

1.13 - CB Tramon Williams - D+ - I think the reasoning behind this pick is pretty clear - Rock values athleticism, and Tramon Williams has it for sure. His SPD/AGI/ACC/CTH is all elite, but I don't see how you can take a 43 AWR CB this high. It's going to take probably at least 5 seasons before he even sniffs the 80 AWR mark. The talent is undeniable here, but I can't imagine having to start him season after season until he gets his AWR up.

1.14 - SS Roman Harper - B- - This isn't a terrible pick, but I definitely would consider it a reach. I have a bit of an advantage grading this pick because I ran a workout on Harper, which wasn't great. His SPD skewed down to 85, which may or may not be a cause for concern depending on your personal preferences. For me that's a bit low, even if the rest of his attributes are elite. Still I think there is clear case to be made for Harper as the best S in this class, and I have no problem with the Patriots making sure they got their guy. I just think they could have traded down and done the same.

1.15 - OT Marcus McNeil - A- - There was a lot of talk about where McNeil was going to go. Pre-skew several GMs and pundits had him as a surefire Top 10 pick. His workout obviously did not go as planned, but I still think he is going to be a top notch OT in this league. Yes, his workout brought him down to 86 STR, but OL get an automatic +2 STR in this league meaning at a minimum he will be 88 STR. I wouldn't be surprised if his real number is 87 STR which would then mean 89 STR, which would only be 25k APs away from 90 STR. This is still a player that has elite size, elite AGI, great ACC, and good SPD. He will be a heck of a player in Tampa.

1.16 - FS Pat Watkins - C - There was a fair amount of pre-draft hype for Watkins, but I was never really feeling it. 59 STR/50 AWR/83 AGI/86 ACC is not a place I like my safeties to start at whether they are 6'5" or not. Now I didn't work out Watkins so it's possible he could have severely outperformed these attributes, but I tend to doubt it. There's also nothing he can do to change that 50 AWR which for me is the real killer. I had Watkins as a second round talent and as honestly surprised to see him go this high. I have a feeling he is going to be biting on a lot of play action passes for a good portion of his career.

1.17 - WR Todd Watkins - A - Watkins was a player that stirred a lot of discussion in the pre-draft build up. He was mocked all over the first round, but also came up in discussions in the Top 5. I think a big reason for the disparity is that his base attributes don't really pop out at you while they are still very solid, and then on top of that he had a really nice if not spectacular workout. The potential with Watkins is very good, and he reminds me of someone who can be just shy of a player like Tyrone Calico or Jon Olinger if the work is put into his SPD rating. A good pick and good value here at pick 17.

1.18 - OLB Chris Cocong - "A" - Daren Roberts writes: "Gocong was a consideration for me at 1.19. His PW was pretty decent. 6-2, 260lbs. Speed wont be lower than 80 and agility and acc are all good. He could end up being the best LB in the class."

1.19 - DE Darryl Tapp - A+ - The Bengals continued to absolutely crush the first round of this draft with another incredible talent AND value selection here in Tapp. Tapp was a player that was either Top 5 or Top 10 in talent according to most GMs, and the Bengals land him here at the 19th pick. Some GMs took him off their board due to his AWR and 6'2" frame, but I don't think there's any doubt this guy has the talent to consistently disrupt plays. He and Howard in the same front 7 are going to be an absolute nightmare.

1.20 - DT Haloti Ngata - B- - Ngata was a somewhat polarizing player in this class. Some liked his physical talent, especially his 6'4" 336 lb size. I am one of those who questioned if he was worth a 1st round pick considering his very low AWR and the position he plays. I think the Bears could have gotten better value here for sure, as I know I offered a decent 2nd round pick + a Future 1st, and I also felt a player like RG Davin Joseph would have been way more valuable here.

1.21 - MLB Stephen Tulloch - C - This is an interesting pick to grade as there are many different dimensions to it. First of all is the base player. I like Tulloch's attributes a good bit, as he is very similar to some of the top LBs taken in these drafts. His AWR/TAK are elite coming out. And then there's word from Will that his private workout was off the charts (which I'm very interested to see). For me, I would not have taken Tulloch in the first round simply because he's 5'11". In my opinion that makes him close to what Neal calls a "broken" player. Some will disagree for sure, and that's the fun of it. With all that in mind, given Tulloch's talent, I'd have no problem giving this a "B" grade. However the Saints traded their future 1st for this pick. If they really covet Tulloch and were truly considering him in the Top 5 perhaps that makes sense, but I still can't get behind the move when you are starting a QB like David Greene. To me that is when you should never trade your Future 1st unless someone is already counting it as Top 10 value. All in all, it's a C, because I do still think he can be a very good player and it's a premium position in my book.

1.22 - DE Mario Williams - A- - Another pick, another polarizing player. Williams has elite physical traits and abysmal awareness. As was discussed on the radio show Williams is likely to dip below 35 AWR with the move over to LE, and we are going to figure out real fast how much that matters at the position. In my opinion LE is one of the only spots on the defense where you can get away with such a number, and I think he can still have a good deal of success. I also love the talent.

1.23 - OG Davin Joseph - A - It was a foregone conclusion that Kevin was going to come away with some great players here, and Joseph certainly sets the bar here. He's a player that I feverishly tried to acquire even after I traded up to 1.18 and picked Chris Gocong, as they were two of my top targets I wanted to come away with from this entire class. His workout was amazing and he will be a phenomenal guard in this league. The Jets are building an amazing offensive line and Joseph will be a big part of it.

1.24 - CB Jimmy Williams - A - The concern with Williams was his SPD and AWR ratings, and at least one of those causes for concerns appears to have been alleviated given the report of a 91 SPD workout for Williams. That means he is going to be elite in every aspect once he develops assuming some additional work there. The big problem and the reason he was still available is the low AWR rating. The Jets will have to balance trying to win football games while also giving him the necessary playing time to develop, but the payoff is an eventual Top 5 talent.

1.25 - MLB D'Qwell Jackson - B - I originally thought I was going to give this pick a higher grade, but the more I look at it the less I like it compared to Kevin's previous two here. Now don't get me wrong he set an incredibly high bar with those picks and this is still a good selection, but the fit is a bit questionable considering the Jets signed 2 MLBs to 5 year deals already this off-season. I think the fact that the large appeal with Jackson is his ability to day one further complicates this. If this was a BPA pick I would have expected a less ready but more physically talented player. Like I said, not a bad pick, just not a home run like Joseph/Williams.

1.26 - WR Miles Austin - B+ - I really like the talent level of Miles Austin. He is a raw but well-rounded player who brings a little bit of everything to the table - height, build, strength, and athleticism. I think this was the right spot for him to come off the board and he fills a need for the Bears. Very solid pick.

1.27 - CB Antonio Cromartie - A - Hard to give the Comartie pick anything other than an A after Williams earned the same. They are very similar players, and I think this is good value for Cromartie here. He has 1 less max potential SPD versus Williams, but both have everything you look for other than starting AWR. If the work is put in Cromartie will be an excellent player down the road.

1.28 - OG Max-Jean Gilles - A - Max-Jean Gilles is an outstanding athlete at 340 lbs, and this is another great pick coming off the board. Is there any question this was a sweet spot in the 1st round? He can road grade opposing lineman or get out in space in run you over. Needs a little bit of development but he will be a fantastic player for a long time.

1.29 - TE Vernon Davis - B- - Apparently Leo wanted Jean-Gilles and picked Davis in a bit of a panic move as he was tight against the clock. Davis was someone who got some pre-draft praise but his workout was less than ideal. He will be a good player in this league but ultimately I think he was a 2nd round talent. Far from a wasted pick though and still firmly in "B" territory.

1.30 - DT Broderick Bunkley - B+ - I personally was not a huge fan of any of the DTs in this class, but if I was going to draft one it probably would have been Bunkley. He has great athleticism even if his ACC might leave something to be desired, and his already good STR is only going to go up. 6'2" concerns me, but the overall package is very good and not bad value here.

1.31 - CB Jonathan Joseph - A - Joseph is a player that had a phenomenal workout. He fell here because he is 5'11" tall and not 6'2" like Williams/Cromartie, but he is more ready to play from day one and will not need the same SPD development that they will. He will be a great CB if not elite and represents great value at this spot.

1.32 - DT Jesse Mahelona - B- - This pick puzzles me a bit, so I'm going to go ahead and assume that Mahelona skews up in STR. If so he will be a very talented player attribute wise, but personally I am still hung up on the 6'0", 311 size. DT is one of the positions where Kevin and I tend to not see eye to eye, so I will be interested to see how this pick works out for him. He was a not a player I ever considered would go in the 1st round, but I do see the appeal.
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