Grading the 2005 NFL draft

There are a ton of clowns out there handing out draft grades this week for a draft in which no one has played yet. How can you grade the draft now? The closest we’ve ever seen to being able to grade a draft is to just go by position. You needed a LB. You took two in the first four rounds. Ok, you addressed the issue, well done. We don’t know if they will be any good, but nobody does.

They say the best way to grade a draft is three years later. Give the busts time to prove they are busts. Give some of the slow starters a chance to blossom. So we’re going to do that by looking back at the 2005 Draft. We’re just going to look at the first three rounds though…why? Because we are lazy. So here we go:

Arizona Cardinals:
1 8 Antrel Rolle DB
2 44 J.J. Arrington RB
3 75 Eric Green DB
3 95 Darryl Blackstock LB

Grade: D+

Atlanta Falcons:
1 27 Roddy White WR
2 59 Jonathan Babineaux DE
3 90 Jordan Beck LB

Grade: White turned into a good player this year. C

Baltimore Ravens:
1 22 Mark Clayton WR
2 53 Dan Cody LB
2 64 Adam Terry T

Grade: B

Buffalo Bills:
2 55 Roscoe Parrish WR
3 86 Kevin Everett TE

Grade: Parrish is a dynamite return man. Everett’s situation was tragic. B-

Carolina Panthers:
1 14 Thomas Davis DB
2 54 Eric Shelton RB
3 79 Evan Mathis G
3 89 Atiyyah Ellison DT

Grade: Ehhh…D

Chicago Bears:
1 4 Cedric Benson RB
2 39 Mark Bradley WR

Grade: I guess this depends on what you think of Benson. We didn’t like the fact that they already had Thomas Jones on the roster. We’re grading harshly today. D

Cincinnati Bengals:
1 17 David Pollack LB
2 48 Odell Thurman MLB
3 83 Chris Henry WR

Grade: Shame about the Pollack injury, he looked like he could have been something. He retired last week. Thurman and Henry have spent more time being suspended than they have on the field. F

Cleveland Browns:
1 3 Braylon Edwards WR
2 34 Brodney Pool DB
3 67 Charlie Frye QB

Grade: Edwards is a baller, Frye was traded last year after Week 1. B+

Dallas Cowboys:
1 11 DeMarcus Ware OLB
1 20 Marcus Spears DE
2 42 Kevin Burnett LB

Grade: Ware is an absolute monster. The other two, not so much. B+

Denver Broncos:
2 56 Darrent Williams CB
3 76 Karl Paymah DB
3 97 Domonique Foxworth CB
3 101 Maurice Clarett RB

Grade: Clarett never played a down. Sadly, Williams is dead, but that’s not the Broncos. Still…D

Detroit Lions:
1 10 Mike Williams WR
2 37 Shaun Cody DE
3 72 Stanley Wilson DB

Grade: What a waste of a #1. D

Green Bay Packers:
1 24 Aaron Rodgers QB
2 51 Nick Collins FS
2 58 Terrence Murphy WR

Grade: We like Rodgers and think he’ll be the guy. Great value at #24. Terrence Murphy? C+

Houston Texans:
1 16 Travis Johnson DT
3 73 Vernand Morency RB

Grade: Ehh. C-

Indianapolis Colts:
1 29 Marlin Jackson DB
2 60 Kelvin Hayden DB
3 92 Vincent Burns DE

Grade: We like Jackson and Hayden. B

Jacksonville Jaguars:
1 21 Matt Jones WR
2 52 Khalif Barnes T
3 87 Scott Starks DB

Grade: Jones hasn’t done anything. Barnes has issues with the law. D-

Kansas City Chiefs:
1 15 Derrick Johnson OLB
3 99 Dustin Colquitt P

Grade: C

Miami Dolphins:
1 2 Ronnie Brown RB
2 46 Matt Roth DE
3 70 Channing Crowder

Grade: We like Brown and Crowder. B

Minnesota Vikings:
1 7 Troy Williamson WR
1 18 Erasmus James DE
2 49 Marcus Johnson G
3 80 Dustin Fox DB

Grade: Williamson is terrible. C-

New England Patriots:
1 32 Logan Mankins G
3 84 Ellis Hobbs CB
3 100 Nick Kaczur T

Grade: Good stuff. B+

New Orleans Saints:
1 13 Jammal Brown T
2 40 Josh Bullocks FS
3 82 Alfred Fincher LB

Grade: Brown was All-Pro in 2006. B

New York Giants:
2 43 Corey Webster DB
3 74 Justin Tuck DE

Grade: Webster plays out of necessity more than anything else. But we LOVE Justin Tuck. B

New York Jets:
2 47 Mike Nugent K
2 57 Justin Miller CB
3 88 Sione Pouha DT

Grade: Nugent was not worth it in the second. D

Oakland Raiders:
1 23 Fabian Washington CB
2 38 Stanford Routt DB
3 69 Andrew Walter QB
3 78 Kirk Morrison LB

Grade: Washington just got traded for a fourth rounder to the Ravens. Andrew Walter isn’t very good. We love Morrison though. C

Philadelphia Eagles:
1 31 Mike Patterson DT
2 35 Reggie Brown WR
2 63 Matt McCoy LB
3 77 Ryan Moats RB

Grade: Patterson is a very nice tackle. Brown is a serviceable #2 if he has dynamite on the other side (which he doesn’t). McCoy is a joke. Moats can’t learn a playbook or pickup a blitz. He’ll be cut shortly. C

Pittsburgh Steelers:
1 30 Heath Miller TE
2 62 Bryant McFadden DB
3 93 Trai Essex T

Grade: Miller is a nice TE. C

San Diego Chargers:
1 12 Shawne Merriman OLB
1 28 Luis Castillo DE
2 61 Vincent Jackson WR

Grade: We’re going to bump them up because of Jackson’s emergence last year. A-

San Francisco 49ers:
1 1 Alex Smith QB
2 33 David Baas G
3 65 Frank Gore RB
3 94 Adam Snyder T

Grade: We think Smith is a stiff and he went #1. Gore is injury prone. C-

Seattle Seahawks:
1 26 Chris Spencer C
2 45 Lofa Tatupu MLB
3 85 David Greene QB
3 98 Leroy Hill OLB

Grade: Tatupu is a baller. David Greene? C+

St. Louis Rams:
1 19 Alex Barron T
2 50 Ronald Bartell CB
3 66 O.J. Atogwe DB
3 81 Richie Incognito C

Grade: Barron is a holding machine. Atogwe had a good year last year. C

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
1 5 Cadillac Williams RB
2 36 Barrett Ruud LB
3 71 Alex Smith TE
3 91 Chris Colmer T

Grade: Smith could be worse. Cadillac wears down. C-

Tennessee Titans:
1 6 Pacman Jones CB
2 41 Michael Roos T
3 68 Courtney Roby WR
3 96 Brandon Jones WR

Grade: What do you think? F+ (the plus is for Roos)

Washington Redskins:
1 9 Carlos Rogers DB
1 25 Jason Campbell QB

Grade: Rogers is ok at best. Campbell we like, but the jury is still out. C

Micah Warren is the sports editor for Blast Magazine

In Draft Picks, Football, Transactions April 30, 2008

Comments

3 Responses to “Grading the 2005 NFL draft”

Dan on May 1st, 2008 11:39 am

Nice job… I agree, draft grades don’t mean anything unless it’s done years later.
Neetz on May 1st, 2008 7:36 pm

Interesting read. I agree with most of your grades, except San Francisco. Sure Gore is injury prone, but to get that type of talent in the 3rd round deserves an overall grade of better than C-. 1695 rushing yards in 2006 and 1102 rushing yards in 2007 is pretty impressive.
Micah Warren on May 1st, 2008 7:41 pm

But Neetz, they blew the #1 overall so I offset them. And according to my fist that is currently clenched tightly, you will to.

Got something to say?

Comments

Share this article

Advertisement

Right now...

Categories

Right now in Blast Magazine