NFL Draft 2005: Day 1 + Day 2 too

Pages

Hello football fans! This is *Legion* broadcasting live from New York* with your live, ongoing coverage of the first day of the 2005 NFL Draft. Look here for all of your cutting-edge draft news and analysis, as we sort out the movers and the shakers of the draft.

San Francisco is on the clock.

(* = by way of bedroom TV)

49ers - Alex Smith

Pick 1 - San Francisco - Alex Smith, QB (Utah)
The 5th straight quarterback selected #1 in the draft (as well as 7 of the last 8 picks). Smith is an intelligent QB that will need to transition from a college shotgun offense to a pro-style, under-center offense. Really separated himself from Aaron Rodgers in workouts. Smith could still be traded by the 49ers, however.

The real news of the draft may happen right now. Miami has been fielding phone calls from other teams for the past week. A number of teams want to move up to take Braylon Edwards, and a couple of them (Minnesota, Washington) have two 1st round selections that they could trade to make the move.

Pick 2 - Miami - Ronnie Brown, RB (Auburn)
Nick Saban strikes. Just a day after the talking heads of the sports media insisted that the Dolphins were absolutely, positively NOT taking a running back, Saban and the Dolphins take the highest graded running back on the charts. One guy was on NFL Network yesterday saying there was a 0% chance of Miami taking a running back. Clearly, Saban has the ""playing the press"" part of the NFL down pat. As for Brown, he is far and away the most complete back in the draft, in terms of size, speed, and hands.

Chris Berman flubbed a cute joke about Cleveland Browns players ending up on Denver.

That''s the kind of coverage you get here.

Pick 3 - Cleveland - Braylon Edwards, WR (Michigan)
Cleveland was in near-panic mode for the last few days, when it looked like both Smith and Edwards would be gone by #3. GM Phil Savage probably breathed a sigh of relief when Tagliabue announced that the Dolphins picked Ronnie Brown. Cleveland was no doubt entertaining trade offers, but in the end, they take Edwards. Edwards is a talent that may reflect fellow Michigan receiver David Terrell more than anyone cares to admit. Edwards has skills to spare, but showed concentration lapses in college, resulting in enough drops to play for my 2K5 team. It will be interesting to see how Cleveland will fit both Edwards'' ego and that of Kellen Winslow in the same stadium. Trent Dilfer will have some great hands to throw to if coach Romeo Crennel can keep both Winslow and Edwards in line.

Amazing that no trades have happened yet, given how much jostling and positioning some teams made in the days leading up to the draft. Both Minnesota and Washington seemed eager to package both their 1st rounders together to move up, and it has yet to happen. With Edwards off the board, it might not happen - though I could see Minnesota trying to move up from #7 in order to secure Mike Williams (though they could sure use a halfback like Cadillac too)

Keep them coming Legion, I can''t watch the draft and I find this all very interesting.

Short of a TE, Cleveland could have picked almost any position and been OK!

I just hope a lot of RB''s go early so my beloved Bills get something for Henry.

BTW, speaking of RB''s, check out this video of the KState RB Darren Sproles. Barry Sanders anyone?

http://www.darrensproles43.com/video...

Damn, it''s the Bucs pick and one of the top 2 rated QBs is still on the board.

Please don''t pick a QB, please don''t pick a qb....

Damn, it''s the Bucs pick and one of the top 2 rated QBs is still on the board.

Please don''t pick a QB, please don''t pick a qb....

If Gruden takes a QB, the bucs are dead to me until he is gone.

Man, poor Suzy, theis Benson interview is tough!

As the clock ticks, I know he is going to...WE NEED A RB!!!!!

He looks weird without the dreads. Please God, don''t let Chunky screw this up.

No sympathy for Suzy...I hate her interviews.

I could be happy with Mike Williams.

Pick 4 - Chicago - Cedric Benson, RB (Texas)
Benson is a classic ground-pounding back, who put up huge numbers in college. There are some concerns about the number of carries he had at Texas, and the resulting wear. Yet, one of the reasons he had so many carries is because he stayed healthy all that time. Still, carries are like body blows in boxing - they eventually add up. See George, Eddie (though if the Bears get as many years out of Benson as the Titans/Oilers got out of Eddie George, I doubt they''ll complain). I''m surprised the Bears went for the bruising back, that''s not all that far removed from the team''s derailed A-Train (though certainly quicker). A true franchise back was desperately needed, and the young QB Rex Grossman will appreciate it. Still, I''m surprised they passed on the chance to add Mike Williams to the opposite side of Muhsin Muhammad. Thomas Jones might''ve been serviceable at halfback in that sort of setup.

I agree with your Mike Williams comments, Legion. Someone is gonna'' get a steal with Williams out of the top 5. My Bears really could have used him.

WOOT! looks like its Cadillac baby!

Not terrible. I''ll go back to sleep now.

Pick 5 - Tampa Bay - Carnell ""Cadillac"" Williams, RB (Auburn)
Fits like a glove. The knock on Cadillac is the fact that he''s rather light (sub-220) and probably not best suited for an I-formation, straight-forward pounding running game. In Jon Gruden''s horizontal West Coast offense, Williams will be asked to use his elusiveness out in space, rather than using strength to try and pound through the other team. Cadillac is great at making tacklers miss, and Gruden''s offense will get him the ball on the edges. Won''t be surprised at all to see him lined up in the slot on occasion, a la Brian Westbrook in Philly.

"firesloth" wrote:

I agree with your Mike Williams comments, Legion. Someone is gonna'' get a steal with Williams out of the top 5. My Bears really could have used him.

Tennessee has reportedly been hoping for such a thing to happen. Now they''ve got their chance.

Minnesota hopes he can slide one more pick. I bet Minnesota''s on the phone with Tennessee right now, but it''s tough to justify paying a load to move up one spot.

Wow three running backs in the first five picks pretty good stuff. So Legion who do you think is the best of the three? I''d go with Benson I think he got a little too much criticism beacuase he played at Texas and had dreads. Anyone else think Pacman looks a lot like Little John?

Man, reading the comments on ESPN about character and Pac-Man depressed me. He was the only male member of his immediate family to make it to age 21, with his father and uncle both being killed by that point in their lives. Ugh.

Pick 6 - Tennessee - Adam ""Pac Man"" Jones, CB (West Virginia)
God bless you stupid, stupid Titans. On a team with holes across the board, a pure cover corner is a luxury, not a necessity. With Derrick Mason gone, the Titans need another pair of hands, badly. Passing on Mike Williams is a flat out mistake. New England showed this year how cornerbacks are a bit de-emphasized under the current rules (they won the Super Bowl with a strong front 7 and scrubs at cornerback). Everyone still would like a great corner, but it''s usually one of the last pieces put into place, not the first. ""Pac Man"" is an excellent coverman, but without any pass rush or anyone to cover the other receivers, his skills will be wasted for at least the first couple years of his career.

Darn it Legion, now I''m refreshing just to see your write ups!

"Stric9" wrote:

Wow three running backs in the first five picks pretty good stuff. So Legion who do you think is the best of the three? I''d go with Benson I think he got a little too much criticism beacuase he played at Texas and had dreads. Anyone else think Pacman looks a lot like Little John?

Benson is a good runner but he refuses to block. I think Ronnie Brown is the best back. I think Cadillac is a guy that has the chance to be a very productive back for many years, with his ability to avoid letting anyone get a clean hit on him (that''s what Emmitt Smith, with his underwhelming size and speed, built his career on). I don''t know that you get 1,500 yards a year out of Cadillac, but I see 1,200 years for many years out of him. Ronnie Brown has a chance to be the guy that challenges for the rushing crown.

"karmajay" wrote:

Darn it Legion, now I''m refreshing just to see your write ups!

You know you love it, baby.
If I wasn''t already over 1,000 posts, I''d be accused of pumping up my totals.

Dude, Minn..3 f-ups in 3 straight drafts, eh?

Now, the Cards HAVE to go QB. They have Boldin, Johnson and Fitzgerald, they CAN''T go WR, right?

Pick 7 - Minnesota - Troy Williamson, WR (South Carolina)
Williamson is a straight-line downfield burner that some people had charted to go in the lower half of the 1st round. He''s a pure speed guy that''s coming out of an offense in college that didn''t pass much. Him moving up to #7 is purely on the strength of workouts, not college production. Not a complete receiver. Looks like an almost desperate attempt to plug someone in to fill Randy Moss''s shoes. Williamson may have Moss speed, but he doesn''t have Moss height or leap to go after the chucked-it-up jump ball. Could end up as a bust.

"karmajay" wrote:

Now, the Cards HAVE to go QB. They have Boldin, Johnson and Fitzgerald, they CAN''T go WR, right?

They can''t really go WR, but I don''t know if Aaron Rodgers would be the right pick for that team. Personally, I want to see Denny Green take Adrian McPherson in the 3rd or something.

Arizona really loses out by not getting in on any of the running backs. Benson would''ve been an ideal fit.

Pick 8 - Arizona - Antrel Rolle, CB (Miami-FL)
Not a thrilling pick, but a sound one from a value perspective. Arizona''s defense needs help, and there isn''t a lot of value at linebacker or defensive tackle at this point in the draft. I hope the Cardinals did not pass on an opportunity to trade down, because that would have been the optimal move for them. Assuming no trade down option was there, then it''s hard to fault the pick of Rolle, even though I like Carlos Rogers a lot better (Rolle seems like a bit of a man-to-man mauler that might not fit well under the new NFL downfield contact rules).

Pages