2005 redraft article

[Russ Smith]

http://www.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_7393041?nclick_check=1

'05 Draft Redux: What might 49ers do now?
Don't expect Smith on this top-10 list
Daniel Brown
Mercury News
Article Launched: 11/07/2007 01:53:05 AM PST


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49ers Coach Mike Nolan, and owner John York were all smiles at the... (Media News Photo)«1»
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Who would you want the 49ers to take with the No 1 pick if you could do 2005 draft all over?

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Nov 7:
Daniel Brown's NFL rankingsLarry Johnson expected to sit against DenverDaniel Brown's NFL ExtraAt a news conference to introduce the No. 1 pick of the 2005 draft, 49ers Coach Mike Nolan opened with a few questions of his own.
"How many in this room thought we were going to take Braylon Edwards?" he asked.

"And how many thought Aaron Rodgers?"

"And how many thought Alex Smith?"

Nolan was just having fun. The only vote in the room that mattered was the 49ers' and they selected Smith as their franchise quarterback.

Three years later, can we get another show of hands?

Each passing week - that is, each poor passing week - raises the possibility that the 49ers made a $24 million mistake. Sunday's debacle against the Atlanta Falcons leaves Smith with 19 touchdown passes against 31 interceptions. He has reached 200 passing yards just six times in 29 career starts.

Smith has been hampered by injuries, a suspect offensive line, overmatched receivers and revolving offensive coordinators (three in three seasons). But that can't explain away everything. As Nolan, a Smith supporter, said Monday: "It's getting down to an execution factor. I think Alex recognizes that."

The No. 1 spot is supposed to be where John Elway, Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer come from, not players whose 57.6 passer rating ranks last this season among qualifying quarterbacks.

There is still time, of course, for Smith to prove worthy. He is just 23, which makes him among the youngest quarterbacks in the NFL. And it is


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still so soon after draft day that another potential No. 1 - Rodgers, the former Cal standout - has yet to make even one career start.
But going back to that franchise-altering day of April 23, '05, would Smith still be the top choice?

That famously dicey draft had no clear-cut No. 1, which meant the top choice was virtually untradeable. The top 10 alone has already yielded two epic busts: cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones (No. 6), whose behavior got him suspended from the NFL, and Mike Williams (No. 10), who is out of work after being cut by the Raiders.

Other players have been haunted by injuries, including running backs Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and Ronnie Brown and linebacker David Pollack. With help from our 20-20 Hindsight Crystal Ball (and several national football writers), we've revisited the 2005 draft to reconstruct the top 10.

First, some ground rules: The choices were limited to the players actually chosen in the top 25 in 2005. No one could fairly argue that a G.M. would have been courageous enough to use the No. 1 pick on, say, risky Frank Gore (the 49ers got him in the third round) or unheralded Derek Anderson (sixth round), the red-hot quarterback now with the Cleveland Browns.

Our pool of candidates runs 25 players deep because Rodgers (24th overall) was a 49ers finalist that year; that means any player within Rodgers' range should also be considered a potential No. 1.

With that, we're on the time machine . . .

1. T Jammal Brown, Oklahoma (originally No. 13): Few commodities are as valuable as a stalwart left tackle, and Brown has all the makings of a mainstay for the New Orleans Saints. He made the transition from right to left last season and promptly made the Associated Press All-Pro team and started in the Pro Bowl. The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder has anchored a line that has allowed just five sacks this season, fewest in the NFL.

2. LB Shawne Merriman, Maryland (No. 12): Earned defensive rookie of the year honors with the San Diego Chargers, then followed that up with an NFL-high 17 sacks last year. He has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons. Merriman would rank No. 1 if not for the four-game suspension he earned by testing positive for a banned substance. Merriman's lawyer, David Cornwell, said Merriman unwittingly ingested nandrolone, which was present in one of his supplements.

3. LB DeMarcus Ware, Troy. (No. 11): Earned his first Pro Bowl start last season after registering 11 1/2 sacks, a Dallas Cowboys record for linebackers. He is also the first player in team history to have (or share) the team sackslead in each of his first two seasons. In all, he has 26 1/2 sacks and nine forced fumbles in 40 career games.

4. WR Braylon Edwards, Michigan (No. 3): While the 49ers struggle for every offensive yard, Edwards racks up huge totals for the Browns on a weekly basis. His 736 receiving yards trail only Randy Moss, Chad Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald this season. Edwards is a big-play threat (17.5-yard average) who racked up 146 yards and two TDs in Week 2. The highest total by a 49ers receiver this year is 77 yards by tight end Vernon Davis.

5. LB Derrick Johnson, Texas (No. 15): Has quickly matured into one of the Kansas City Chiefs' most consistent defensive players. Johnson's sideline-to-sideline speed helped him rack up 110 tackles in '05, according to the Chiefs. That's the most by a Kansas City rookie linebacker since Dino Hackett (140) in 1986.

6. RB Ronnie Brown, Auburn (No. 2): Before going on the injured-reserve list Oct. 23, the running back had emerged as the dual threat the Miami Dolphins envisioned. Brown led the NFL with 991 yards from scrimmage - a total that still leads the AFC. Playing for a woeful, winless team, Brown nevertheless managed four consecutive 100-yard rushing games, one short of Ricky Williams' team record.

6. QB Jason Campbell, Auburn (No. 25): With Smith struggling and Rodgers stalled behind Brett Favre, Campbell has emerged as the most productive quarterback from 2005's first round. He trails Smith in TD passes (19 to 16) but has less than half his interceptions (31 to 13). Campbell has held up well this season against a tough schedule.

8. CB Carlos Rogers, Auburn (No. 9): Like so many others from the '05 first round, Rogers has struggled with injuries. But he demonstrated excellent cover skills last season in leading the Washington Redskins with 17 pass deflections and finishing among the team leaders with 79 tackles (67 solo). Rogers is out for the season because of a torn ACL and MCL.

9. Cadillac Williams, Auburn (No. 5): The 2005 offensive rookie of the year had six 100-yard games in his first season with Tampa Bay. But he is out for the remainder of this season after suffering a knee injury Sept. 30. When healthy, Williams is an elusive runner who relishes the workhorse role.

10. WR Mark Clayton, Oklahoma (No. 22): Trapped in an inept Baltimore offense, the dynamic playmaker nonetheless managed 939 yards receiving and five touchdowns last season. A year earlier, he set Ravens rookie records with 44 catches for 471 yards.




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[Russ Smith]

Alex Smith has officially been labelled a bust, the number of articles each week that ask if he's the QBOF or not grows exponentially.

 

[Mulli]

Rolle isn't an epic bust yet? Right on!!

 

[football karma]

Look at the players at spots 6 through 10--

good, but not great players. Keep in mind -- 224+ players drafted, and the 10th best is Mark Clayton?

This says as much about the 2005 draft as to who was drafted where

 

[Russ Smith]

Look at the players at spots 6 through 10--

good, but not great players. Keep in mind -- 224+ players drafted, and the 10th best is Mark Clayton?

This says as much about the 2005 draft as to who was drafted where

I actually don't agree with the author anyways, I think the best player in the draft right now is Merriman first and Edwards second.Jammal Brown is good but I don't think he's as good as the author thinks he is. And I don't see why Merriman's steroids are any factor he's averaged almost a sack a game for his NFL career and unless the author feels he's in danger of future suspensions over steroids, it's really not a factor in rating the draft?

I would rank them Merriman, Edwards, Ware, Johnson and then it gets dicey because Brown(Ronnie) and Cadillac both had serious knee injuries so if you're redoing the draft now you have to take that into account. If you just ignore the injuries they probably go Brown 5, Cadillac 6 then Jammal Brown.

 

[football karma]

I actually don't agree with the author anyways, I think the best player in the draft right now is Merriman first and Edwards second.Jammal Brown is good but I don't think he's as good as the author thinks he is. And I don't see why Merriman's steroids are any factor he's averaged almost a sack a game for his NFL career and unless the author feels he's in danger of future suspensions over steroids, it's really not a factor in rating the draft?

I would rank them Merriman, Edwards, Ware, Johnson and then it gets dicey because Brown(Ronnie) and Cadillac both had serious knee injuries so if you're redoing the draft now you have to take that into account. If you just ignore the injuries they probably go Brown 5, Cadillac 6 then Jammal Brown.

Russ-- my point wasnt necessarily with the rankings -- it was with the fact that out of the entire 2005 draft, the tenth best guy is Michael Clayton-- a guy who in any other year would be maybe the 30th or 40th best player in his draft.

the 2005 draft stunk, like the 2002 draft -- both for the Cardinals and for almost everybody else.

BTW-- I find it interesting that Merriman has gone from an unbelievably dominant player with 17 sacks in 12 games (and oh, by the way, busted for steriods) in 2006 to merely a really good player with 5.5 in eight games (and theoretically, clean). Coincidence that his production has dropped in half?

 

[wembley88]

Lets just pick from Auburn in this year's draft.

 

[Russ Smith]

Russ-- my point wasnt necessarily with the rankings -- it was with the fact that out of the entire 2005 draft, the tenth best guy is Michael Clayton-- a guy who in any other year would be maybe the 30th or 40th best player in his draft.

the 2005 draft stunk, like the 2002 draft -- both for the Cardinals and for almost everybody else.

BTW-- I find it interesting that Merriman has gone from an unbelievably dominant player with 17 sacks in 12 games (and oh, by the way, busted for steriods) in 2006 to merely a really good player with 5.5 in eight games (and theoretically, clean). Coincidence that his production has dropped in half?

Oh I agree weak draft that's why Smith went so high. I just disagree with his rankings and why. I've seen New Orleans a few times this year and Brown hasn't exactly jumped off the screen as being dominant, good yes, best in the draft no.

On Merriman yeah I agree he's not as dominant now as he was 2 years ago and I'm sure it's because he got caught. He's still a great player and people scheme for him but I've never doubted he and Vernon Davis were the products of good chemistry.

Edwards in another year may be the best player from that draft he's had a hell of a first half.

 

[1DS]

Russ-- my point wasnt necessarily with the rankings -- it was with the fact that out of the entire 2005 draft, the tenth best guy is Michael Clayton-- a guy who in any other year would be maybe the 30th or 40th best player in his draft.

the 2005 draft stunk, like the 2002 draft -- both for the Cardinals and for almost everybody else.

BTW-- I find it interesting that Merriman has gone from an unbelievably dominant player with 17 sacks in 12 games (and oh, by the way, busted for steriods) in 2006 to merely a really good player with 5.5 in eight games (and theoretically, clean). Coincidence that his production has dropped in half?

The choices were limited to the first 25 players selected.


"First, some ground rules: The choices were limited to the players actually chosen in the top 25 in 2005. No one could fairly argue that a G.M. would have been courageous enough to use the No. 1 pick on, say, risky Frank Gore (the 49ers got him in the third round) or unheralded Derek Anderson (sixth round), the red-hot quarterback now with the Cleveland Browns.

Our pool of candidates runs 25 players deep because Rodgers (24th overall) was a 49ers finalist that year; that means any player within Rodgers' range should also be considered a potential No. 1."

 

[Houdini]

http://www.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_7393041?nclick_check=1


....Our pool of candidates runs 25 players deep because Rodgers (24th overall) was a 49ers finalist that year; that means any player within Rodgers' range should also be considered a potential No. 1.

I'm still wondering if Rodgers will turn into another Tommy Maddox that was supposed to replace Elway, or into the Steve Young that replaced Montana? No idea what to expect from him when Favre retires. It's possible he could end up becoming a free agent before replacing the QB he was drafted to replace. That would really be a wasted draft pick if that happens.

 

[football karma]

The choices were limited to the first 25 players selected.


"First, some ground rules: The choices were limited to the players actually chosen in the top 25 in 2005. No one could fairly argue that a G.M. would have been courageous enough to use the No. 1 pick on, say, risky Frank Gore (the 49ers got him in the third round) or unheralded Derek Anderson (sixth round), the red-hot quarterback now with the Cleveland Browns.

Our pool of candidates runs 25 players deep because Rodgers (24th overall) was a 49ers finalist that year; that means any player within Rodgers' range should also be considered a potential No. 1."

Well that makes it better -- but really, not that much better.

Going through the rest of that draft, you would be hard pressed to fill out a first round you feel pretty good about.

 

[Russ Smith]

I'm still wondering if Rodgers will turn into another Tommy Maddox that was supposed to replace Elway, or into the Steve Young that replaced Montana? No idea what to expect from him when Favre retires. It's possible he could end up becoming a free agent before replacing the QB he was drafted to replace. That would really be a wasted draft pick if that happens.

He had a great camp and preseason but you are right he's just been sitting now for 2 1/2 seasons so they really have no idea what to expect. And with the team record they certainly aren't going to bench Favre now.

 

[Houdini]

He had a great camp and preseason but you are right he's just been sitting now for 2 1/2 seasons so they really have no idea what to expect. And with the team record they certainly aren't going to bench Favre now.

In a round about way, Aaron Rodgers could be the reason Favre is having more success this season. Former NFL QB Rich Gannon does the preseason TV games for the Packers, and I remember him saying how he told Rodgers last year that he has to push Favre for the starting job even though Rodgers won‘t be starting. Gannon said not to push in a disrespectful way, but in a competitive way. It’s possible Favre has gotten complacent the last few years, and knowing he has a replacement ready in the wings could have pushed Favre even harder in workouts and practice. Hard to say.

But I do remember you liking Rodgers when he came out of college. His rookie season he looked terrible to me in the preseason. This last preseason he looked pretty good, but it’s hard to say how he’ll perform during the regular season when teams start game planning against him. I don’t know what to expect from him, but for some reason he gives me a Joey Harrington vibe. Hopefully I’m wrong and he’ll turn out better than that. I will say he’s lucky he didn’t have to start his first year like Alex Smith did, because Rodgers wasn’t ready and would have gotten pounded because of his indecision. He has looked more decisive with his throws this last preseason.

Looking back though I wouldn’t have minded drafting Jason Campbell who was taken one slot ahead.