*2006 PTF DRAFT DAY GEMS*
It's that time again, the draft has now concluded, the picks are in and here are my favorite picks in the first 3 rounds on the 2006 PTF draft. This was a tough one because GM's are getting much smarter it seems. I didn't see a single head scratching pick in round 1 from any team this year, not 1. Of course all us arm chair GM's might think this GM should have taken him or this player but other than that I think this was the most competitive draft we've ever had, kudos to all of you. Round 3 seemed to be have some decent value, there were some solid players, starter level types at least I think so....Here are my favorite picks in each round.
Round 1
1.3- WR Brandon Marshall 6'5" 232 lbs. Age: 22 UCF (79 OVR)
SPD 97 STR 58 AWR 53 AGI 90 ACC 96 CTH 80 JMP 89
As soon as I looked over the draft class I immediately identified Marshall as the #1 player in the draft by a large margin, it's rare that you get a Randy Moss type of player in a draft class and that exactly what I saw when this class dropped and immediately knew Justin was going to trade Moss in order to move up and get him somehow lol. I tried several times to move up but I just wasn't willing to give up the kings ransome it took to jump ahead of him. Anytime you can get the top player in the draft at 1.3 I believe the value is insane regardless if it's 1.2 or 1.3. Justin just replaced Randy Moss with a younger version, it makes me sick to put him up here but well done sir.
1.8- TE Leonard Pope 6'8" 264 lbs. Age: 23 Georgia (71 OVR)
SPD 90 STR 62 AWR 49 AGI 87 ACC 89 CTH 79 JMP 87
The Raiders definitely made the right selection with Pope, not reaching for a QB was a wise idea. Pope is a freak of nature at 6'8" and I will not put a tight end this high unless he's special which he clearly is. There were only 2 tightends that met the attribute requirements that I typed in and both players were drafted in 2006. I think even with mediocre QB play he'll get around 700-800 yards, 6-7 TD catches and probably around 4-5 drops so I'll be looking forward to Jemarcus Russell throwing to him next season to get his full potential.
1.11- DE/DT Mario Williams 6'6" 300 lbs. Age: 21 N.C. State (86 OVR)
SPD 83 STR 87 AWR 54 AGI 65 ACC 85 TAK 74
I'm not sure where the Chargers plan on truly playing him but a DT with his speed/power combo could be a nightmare, at first I thought there may be a slight chance he could fall when GM's put him further down the draft boards but then when I started seeing him going 4th overall I knew it was a pipe dream. He would do good at RE but it never seems like RE's get much love on Madden, stats are usually mediocre but at DT he could have a monster season. Although I've also seen a few RE with 10+ sacks but it just seems rare to me. Either way he'll make an impact for the Chargers defense 1 way or another, great selection there.
1.14- TE Vernon Davis 6'3" 248 lbs. Age: 22 Maryland (80 OVR)
SPD 90 STR 80 AWR 51 AGI 89 ACC 92 CTH 79
This might have been the best tightend class I've seen not going to lie and Vernon Davis was either 1A or 1B on probably almost everyones board with some swaying either or but for me they were both in the 1A tier. Scott not only replaces Witten but athletically Vernon Davis is superior. Of course he'll have a ways to go before getting those up to Wittens level but I really liked this pick alot for Scott plus kept their weapons in tact for QB David Garrard. That was excellent value at 1.14 when you get a player of this caliber mid rounds, great pickup for the Skins.
1.18- DE/LB Chris Gocong 6'2" 263 lbs. Age: 23 Cal Poly (74 OVR)
SPD 85 STR 76 AWR 50 AGI 83 ACC 85 TAK 76
I see Gocong as the 2nd best or maybe even the top DE in this draft class, he was the only LB with the weight to convert him there if a GM wanted to although I'm not sure what Rock has in store for him. He has enough STR to go with the burst, speed off the edge and a solid tackler. I think he could have a ton of sacks if converted there but either way I think Rock got excellent value with this pickup.
1.22- DT Gabe Watson 6'3" 338 lbs. Age: 23 Michigan (73 OVR)
SPD 80 STR 94 AWR 51 AGI 68 ACC 73 TAK 62
When I first saw the trade of Detroit trading out with Miami I was instantly pissed. First off why did I never get a call to trade out (I wouldn't have) ? But then it was announced Felipe was on the hot seat and it made sense, dude is going for broke with an athletic freak in the middle so i can't fault them there.80 speed to go with 94 strength is going to be very interesting to see how it pans out. I tried the 2 stud DT's in the middle but neither had anything close to 80 SPD so we'll see if SPD/STR combo is what wins in the PTF. I really liked this pickup and the Dolphins despite having a top pick just had QB injury luck unfortunately, the rest of the roster looks pretty solid all around.
1.31- RB DeAngelo Williams 5'9" 207 lbs. Age: 23 Memphis (86 OVR)
SPD 93 STR 82 AWR 64 AGI 97 ACC 90 CTH 72 CAR 79 BTK 82
For me DeAngelo Williams was the top back in this class and it was really close at all. He has a mix of SPD, power, can juke you out of your shorts and run over you if need be, he also has the ability to take any cath or run to the house. He'll be an excellnt chang of pace back in the mix with starter Willis McGahee. This wasn't a terrible class for RB but Williams was the cream of the crop so getting him at the bottom of round 1 when a bunch of RB needy teams could have snagged him seemed like great value to me.
2.5- DT Tamba Hali 6'3" 275 lbs. Age: 23 Penn State (73 OVR)
SPD 80 STR 89 AWR 59 AGI 72 ACC 71 TAK 63 79
The ahtleticism is top notch, I liked a few of the DT's that went in round 1 like Kyle Williams and Gabe Watson so getting an athletic freak at the position is always solid value. I prefer a DT with 90+ STR but his SPD makes up for that although that 63 TAK is going to be a problem, will his speed make up for his insufficiancies? I think they will.
2.14- RB Michael Robinson 6'1" 240 lbs. Age: 23 Penn State (75 OVR)
SPD 87 STR 72 AWR 56 AGI 87 ACC 92 CTH 69 CAR 72 BTK 79
I like a big bruising back more that a scat back but that's just my preference, some probably would prefer more speed than Robinson possesses, I think he's a stud in the making and his size along with his STR will make him a differen't kind of back when Marshall Faulk call it a career which by that time he'll be an 89 SPD/ 74 STR/ 89 AGI/ 95 ACC which is some good value for a mid 2nd rounder, he'll also be a solid rotation back in year 1 probably get some goaline looks as well.
2.19- TE Anthony Fasano 6'4" 258 lbs. Age: 23 Notre Dame (69 OVR)
SPD 85 STR 82 AWR 46 AGI 80 ACC 85 CTH 71 JMP 86 BTK 62
There were 3 tightends I was sure would go in round 1, Leonard Pope/Vernon Davis/Anthony Fasano, since Fasano fell I thought he must have had a bad skew until he was taken by the Cowboys and they gave the private workout which I was shocked he made it. He doesn't quite have the same dominance as the other 2 but he'll be there in a few season, this was some excellent value for the Super Bowl champs.
3.3- QB Brad Smith 6'2" 213 lbs. Age: 23 Missouri (71 OVR)
AWR 55 BTK 60 THP 93 THA 83 INJ 87
For me this draft had a few decent QB options and Brad Smith was one of them. He's a bit smaller than I'd like my QB to be at 6'2" a 6'0" QB in Drew Brees win a SB so it truly doesn't matter but it still is a preference of mine. Smith won't need to change his tendency which is a plus, he's got a decent arm and mid range throwing accuracy, all make him a very good value here in round 3 which makes me wonder why the QB needy teams didn't pounce on these guys. I don't think Smith will get much playing time behind Brady but in case of emergency they have a solid developmental guy.
3.4- QB Kellen Clemens 6'2" 220 lbs. Age: 23 Oregon (71 OVR)
AWR 54 BTK 40 THP 90 THA 83 INJ 75
Clemens probably borders value for me here, he has 1 less AWR, 3 leww THP and what seems like a boatload less INJ (yes I still have PTSD from that) . But I still think Clemens is solid value here in the 3rd round. Ro can work on him behind the scenes even if he doesn't get all that much playing time which unless Romo is injured I don't forsee that happening, solid depth just in case never hurts and that's why we picked 1 up as well.
3.5- LB Manny Lawson 6'5" 240 lbs. Age: 22 N.C. State (70 OVR)
SPD 81 STR 79 AWR 51 AGI 81 ACC 84 CTH 55 TAK 69
Lawson was someone I was eyeing in round 1 with the rest of the group of LB's which in my opinion was a solid group, so for the Raidas to get a 1st round level talent (in my eyes) a the top of round 3 is excellent value. He has good enough athleticism which will be 82 SPD/81 STR/83 AGI/86 ACC/72 TAK and that's if Tim decides not to work on him at all by his sophmore progression. I really like the potential of Lawson, I think he can become a top tier LB in the PTF with some work.
3.7- SS Roman Harper 6'1" 205 lbs. Age: 24 Alabama (79 OVR)
SPD 90 STR 65 AWR 55 AGI 88 ACC 90 CTH 72 JMP 82 TAK 76
As an older prospect I'd say Roman Harper is a home run pick here in the 3rd round, the only thing I didn't like was the fact that he's already 24 years old. Getting a 91 SPD/66 STR/90 AGI/ 92 ACC/ 74 CTH/ 83 JMP/ 79 TAK player puts him right up there with the 1st rounders, Solid selection here by Erik. I definitely see him as an immediate starter at SS for the Jags so kudos to you sir.... "YOU JUST MADE THE LIST". All the wrestling fans will get that, hopefully. LOL
