Recapping the 2005 Draft

All offseason, Jets’ coach, Herm Edwards, has insisted that kicker, Doug Brien, would be back for the 2005 season, despite his having missed two key field goals in the playoffs last January. After this weekend’s NFL Draft, Brien would be wise to update his resume. The Jets spent their top selection on kicker, Mike Nugent, of Ohio State, almost guaranteeing the end of Brien’s career as a Jet. The Jets also added a kick returner to replace Santana Moss in Justin Miller, depth for the defense with Dione Pouha, Kerry Rhodes and Andre Maddox and some prospects for the offense with Cedric Houston, Joel Dressen and Harry Williams.

The Giants did not have the same quantity of picks that the Jets did, but they managed to fill several needs. With Michael Strahan’s injury last year, the Giants’ lack of depth on their defensive line was exposed; adding Jason Tuck and Eric Moore should help to address that. Third down with one yard to go has been a situation that makes Giants’ fans queasy and hopefully running back, Brandon Jacobs will solve that. At 6-3, 256 pounds, he certainly has the size to. With their top selection, the Giants chose cornerback, Corey Webster. Webster will instantly become the cornerback in the nickel defense and protects the Giants from the potential loss of starter, Will Allen, after the 2005 season.

Perhaps the biggest story of the draft was precipitous fall of quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, who many thought would be the first selection in the draft as recently as two weeks ago, fell all the way to Green Bay at the 24th pick. Before you feel too sorry for him, just remember that he will still sign a multi-million dollar contract and will get to learn how to play in the NFL under the tutelage of future Hall-of-Fame QB, Brett Farve.

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By Peter Trinkle on April 25, 2005 2:25 PM

Comments [rss]

T.A.

Who cares whether Clarett's "slothlike conditioning" is validated? Sportswriters love to go on about this kind of crap, but who cares? He could have sat on a couch eating Entemann's donuts for the last ten years, as far as I'm concerned, it's what he does on the field that matters. If he runs for four yards a carry every down and makes Denver forget about Terrell Davis, great. If not, next back, please.

JT

Ha, good point Tien. I feel like he might get a chance every now and then in the Rocky Mountain Air, but then again, seeing him on ESPN talking about his abilities made me think twice.

As it stands, he'll be fighting for second- or third-string behind Tatum Bell with Ron Dayne, Mike Anderson, Quentin Griffin, amongst others.

Not to mention that, but at 101, they could have used more defense. Signing 3 defensive linemen from the Cleveland Browns in the offseason does not equal "upgrading the defense."

Speaking of the draft (again), how about the Lions taking more top WRs?

tien

clarett really lucked out. he got drafted into a system that almost anyone could run in. it's kind of a shame that because denver took him, his 2 years of apparent sloth like conditioning will be validated. unless, of course, he fails miserably.

JT

I think bigger than the Rodgers story was Maurice Clarett. No-one imagined he would go that high, despite those big injuries he suffered in "college", and various character issues with teammates, coaches, the media, and the law.

Not only that, it was widely thought that he wouldn't even be drafted. To go 101st to the Broncos (a team with enough characters and problems of their own), was a huge shock.

As for Rodgers, it was pretty much thought that aside from the 49ers, not many other teams high in that 1st Round were looking for a QB, as they had more pressing matters to attend to.

I think being in GB will help him greatly, as he can learn from Favre and also develop quietly under the radar at the left arm of one of the game's QB greats.

Jen

Yeah, the thing about getting picked in the top five picks, say, is that you're playing for crap teams that'll take a while to rebuild. Yes, Eli, we're talking to you!