Question about the 2006 Draft

[Lexwhat]

Although I know that they are rookies...I was just wondering if anyone knew how some of the other players that were selected in the 2006 draft have been playing thus far? I could look at stats, but I'm not a big fan of them. Has anyone actually seen these players play and can assess their performances so far? Moreover, are these players showing promise for the future?

Although I do not know much about prospects, these are some players that I liked...Of course, I don't know how most of them are turning out, which is why I am asking...

Feel free to comment on other players from this draft as well.


Specifically:
- D'Brickashaw Ferguson (JETS)
- AJ Hawk (PACKERS)
- Michael Huff (RAIDERS)
--------------------------------
(These are players we could have gotten)
- Haloti Ngata (RAVENS)
- Brodrick Bunkley (EAGLES - He seems to have been having some issues - but how has his play been?)
- Kamerion Wimbley (BROWNS - I really liked this guy coming out of college)
- Nick Mangold (JETS)
- Mathias Kiwanuka (GIANTS - I saw the mistakes he has made on NFL highlights, but what about his game as a whole).
-Taitusi Lutui (CARDINALS - I know their line sucks...so I'm guessing he is not doing that well?)
- Marcus Mcneill (CHARGERS - A 2nd round steal?)

[LifetimeBillsFan]

...Feel free to comment on other players from this draft as well.


Specifically:
- D'Brickashaw Ferguson (JETS)
- AJ Hawk (PACKERS)
- Michael Huff (RAIDERS)
--------------------------------
(These are players we could have gotten)
- Haloti Ngata (RAVENS)
- Brodrick Bunkley (EAGLES - He seems to have been having some issues - but how has his play been?)
- Kamerion Wimbley (BROWNS - I really liked this guy coming out of college)
- Nick Mangold (JETS)
- Mathias Kiwanuka (GIANTS - I saw the mistakes he has made on NFL highlights, but what about his game as a whole).
-Taitusi Lutui (CARDINALS - I know their line sucks...so I'm guessing he is not doing that well?)
- Marcus Mcneill (CHARGERS - A 2nd round steal?)

With a few exceptions, I have seen most of these players play at least twice this season and have also gotten input on a couple of them from others who follow their teams closely. This is what I have observed or heard:

D.Ferguson, Jets: as started all season and has been pretty good, though not the dominating player that he may yet become and was projected to be. He's struggled at times, but, with Pennington's quick release and the Jets' short passing game, when Ferguson has struggled, it has not been as evident or had as bad an impact on his team as it would were he playing with a different QB or in a different offense.

AJ Hawk, GB: I believe has started all season as well. I don't know what his numbers are, but he was not impressive in the games that I saw (four) him play, especially given his position and the hype he got going in. He wasn't bad, except perhaps against the Jets, but had no real impact on any of the games I saw. In four games, I can only remember two good plays that he made--a nice tackle for a loss and a tipped pass--not much for a WLB. That's not to say that he won't get better with all of the experience that he is getting, but I didn't see him being a game-changer on defense yet.

Michael Huff, Oak: has started all season, although I thought that I had read that he had been hurt in one of their games--so he may have played hurt in one or more. I only saw him once and he didn't play badly, but their offensive line was so horrible that the D was on the field a lot and their play could hardly be fairly evaluated. His stats are at best equal to those of Whitner: While Whitner has 74 total tackles, 46 unassisted, with an INT; Huff has 57 total tackles (Oakland's website doesn't breakdown the total tackles into assisted and unassisted), with a safety and 0 INTs.

Haloti Ngata, Balt.: is listed as their starting NT and has played all season. I've only seen him play once early in the season and I don't think he started, but was rotating in at DT at the time. He was solid in that game, but not spectacular--had one really good tackle from behind on a sweep that I recall. However, for what it's worth, my cousin is a rabid Ravens fan and he really likes Ngata. In his view, Ngata, along with the Ravens' other NT, have done a better job of keeping blockers off of Ray Lewis and their other LBs in the run game than the NT they had last season. He hasn't given the Ravens much in the pass rush, but my cousin is OK with that because of what the rest of their D can do in that area. Numbers-wise, Ngata's numbers are slightly better than those of Kyle Williams: Williams has 31 total tackles, Ngata 35; Williams has 17 unassisted tackles, Ngata 19; Ngata also has 3 passes defensed and an interception to his credit, the Bills don't list passes defensed in Williams stats.

Broderick Bunkley, Phil.: who? I've seen Philly play 3 games and heard Bunkley's name mentioned once. He was no factor in any of those three games at all. He's backing up Darwin Walker and has 7 total tackles on the season while appearing in 11 games. John McCargo appeared in just 5 games before getting hurt and had one less tackle than Bunkley has in his 11 appearances.

Kameron Wimbley, Clev: is starting at ROLB for the Browns. I've only seen him in one game and parts of two others, but he seems to be pretty good--he made a couple of good plays, including a sack and a key stop in short-yardage in one game. From what I have heard from a friend who is a big Browns fan--and also something that was said by the announcers in one of the games that I saw--Wimbley is a big key in the Cleveland defensive scheme and has been playing very well. The fact that he has 7.5 sacks and a fumble recovery would seem to bear that out stat-wise. Not bad for a rookie.

Nick Mangold, Jets: has started all season for the Jets and played a key role in turning their offense around. He took over the starting job when T.Teague got hurt and has had a stranglehold on it since. He has had a couple of games where he has struggled, but, overall, has probably been their best offensive lineman. While, like Ferguson, he has benefited from being in the Jets' short passing offense with a QB like Pennington, the Jets and their fans love him because of the toughness that he has brought to their line and because of how well he has done with making the line calls, etc. The Jets' running game struggled early on IMHO in part because of the two rookies, but has consistently gotten better as they have gotten more experience. No doubt about it, Mangold has shown every sign that he is a player and is going to be a good one for a long time if he stays healthy and continues to get better with experience.

Matthias Kiawanuka, Giants: has been starting since Umenyiora, Strahan and Tuck were injured and will probably be their # 3 DE the rest of the way with Tuck out--was #4 DE and on the bench before the injuries hit, though. He has been up and down: has shown some flashes of real brilliance, making outstanding plays, at times, but has also made some boneheaded plays and struggled at times. He has been better as a pass rusher than against the run. IMHO Dallas pretty much neutralized him. I don't know if he is ready yet to take over from Strahan, but he looks like he is an excellent fit in the Giants' defense at this point and will be a pretty good player down the road if they stay with this type of defensive system. He has been a pleasant surprise so far and has, admittedly, benefited greatly from working with Strahan and Umenyiora.

Taitusi Lutui, Ariz: I will admit that I have only seen the Cardinals play once, against the Bears, and did not pay much attention to Lutui. He has started 5 of their games and is currently listed as their starting RG. I think I read somewhere that the Cards were a little disappointed in his progress this season, but that was a month or six weeks ago, so don't hold me to that. You'd really have to ask someone who follows the Cardinals more closely to get a real take on him.

Marcus McNeill, SD: has been starting all season at LT. And has been making me--and I suspect a lot of others who saw him last year--wonder "who the heck is this guy"? I've seen him three times and I have to admit that he has been nothing less than good-to-very good--much to my surprise. I have seen him make blocks this year that he was missing last season and he is playing with a fire and aggressiveness that I didn't see from him before. And, I haven't seen him make any really bad mistakes in the games I saw him in. Now, you might hear something different from someone who has seen him more often and watched him more closely, but, at least right now, I would have to agree that he is looking like a second round steal. But, then again, he isn't looking like the guy who was playing for Auburn or the South squad last year either--I don't know what they are feeding him in sunny SD, but he looks like a totally different guy and a much better player to me.

Daryn Colledge, GB: has started all season for GB at LG. Was moved inside to OG from OT and has had his ups and downs. In the games I saw him play in he has been very inconsistent--at times very good, but also making some bad mistakes. Frankly, I thought he would be better and he may yet become a pretty good player, but he has shown his inexperience in the games that I have seen. It hasn't helped that he has been playing with another rookie at the other OG position and a younger guy next to him at center.

Well, that's all that I can offer you from what I have seen. And, of course, my opinions are very subjective, so you have to take them with a grain of salt. Still, I hope this is of some help.

[Lexwhat]

With a few exceptions, I have seen most of these players play at least twice this season and have also gotten input on a couple of them from others who follow their teams closely. This is what I have observed or heard

WOW! That was great! Thanks a lot...

Yes, in hindsight it is definetely easy to see what players will exceed expectations and which players will not live up to them.

It seems that players like Wimbley, Vince Young, Mangold, and Maroney will definetly live up to expectations, while many others selected in the 1st round will fail to meet those expectations.

Thanks again - I really enjoyed reading that...

[Earthquake Enyart]

What about that McCargo guy?

Anybody seen him play?

[Devin]

Hawk has been steady, he plays all over the field. I think with him its more getting used to the NFL game.

[BILLSROCK1212]

Ill rank on a scale of 1-5 based on this season 1 being terrible 5 being pro bowler

- D'Brickashaw Ferguson (JETS)-a stud in the making 3 1/2
- AJ Hawk (PACKERS)- has to get used to the speed of the game 3
- Michael Huff (RAIDERS)- he'll make the pro bowl a couple times in the future 2
--------------------------------
(These are players we could have gotten)
- Haloti Ngata (RAVENS)-not getting the attention he deserves 4
- Brodrick Bunkley (EAGLES - he has no future in the NFL after his rookie contract expires 1
- Kamerion Wimbley (BROWNS)-great future ahead of him 4
- Nick Mangold (JETS)
- Mathias Kiwanuka (GIANTS)-rookie mistakes 2 1/2
-Taitusi Lutui (CARDINALS)- hasnt been playing very well 1 1/2
- Marcus Mcneill (CHARGERS)- pro bowler already, on of the best OTs in the nfl 5

Our draft

Donte Whitner- has been fairly productive 4
John McCargo- got injured early in the season and wasnt that great but wasnt terrible 2 1/2
Ashton Youboty- as far as i know hasnt been on the field for one snap no rank
Ko Simpson- has had his ups and downs 3
Kyle Williams- needs work but looks like he could eventually turn out to be a steal 3
Keith Ellison- he came out of nowhere and has really surprised me 3 1/2
Brad Butler- dont have much to say about him hasnt done too much no rank
Terrance Pennington- for a 7th rounder he hasnt been playing too bad 2 1/2
Aaron Merz- played okay when given the oppurtunity 2