Grades for 2006 Draft

[Wooderson]

Ko Simpson is a joke, he is not worth millions.

[QB Bills]

I really wanted Ngata that year. But Donte is my favorite Bill now. And to be fair, I really wanted Robert Gallery two years earlier, and now I am very glad the Bills didn't take that tub.

In my best Costanza impression...

 

beep, beep, beep...backup

 

Not criticizing, but just curious as to why Whitner is your favourite Bill?

[TheLynchTrain]

I always laugh at Prisco's articles.

 

It's funny when a lot of these national media types write about individual teams or players, and their writing shows they know almost nothing about the team, save for looking at the roster.

 

If he watched, he'd know that Ko Simpson lost his job (for the most part) last year, and they drafted a CB this year to take over his job.

 

And who can tell me Youboty hasn't panned out? Anybody that watched him last year could tell he was probably the most dominating defender on the field...until he got hurt. He had no injuries in college, and this was not something expected of his career. Even though he got injured, don't you think his flashes of play are worth at 3rd rounder if he pans out in the end. I do.

 

That said, picking McCargo in the first round (and trading away picks for him) should merit a poor grade.

[tennesseeboy]

Baltimore got an A grade - The Ravens landed starting defensive tackle Haloti Ngata in the first round and he is one of the dominant players at his position.

 

What could have, and should have, been!

The fact is that the bills have never really addressed the poor quality overall in the trenches. Missing on Ngata (Okoye is the other we should have gotten) resulted in our being so poor on defense and our being a bad to mediocre team. We got a good safety? Wonderful..He can show off with all the opportunities to make tackles that should have never gotten past the line of scrimmage. We got a "stud" corner...wonderful that he gets the opportunity to show his stuff for five or six seconds when there isn't any pass rush. We got Lee Evans and TO? wonderful when they rush down the field to see Trent Edwards looking up at the sky. Want to grade drafts? Look at our win/loss record.

[silvermike]

Thank God Butler came out of that draft. Otherwise, it was a series of role-players, washouts and Donte Whitner.

[Bill from NYC]

The fact is that the bills have never really addressed the poor quality overall in the trenches. Missing on Ngata (Okoye is the other we should have gotten) resulted in our being so poor on defense and our being a bad to mediocre team. We got a good safety? Wonderful..He can show off with all the opportunities to make tackles that should have never gotten past the line of scrimmage. We got a "stud" corner...wonderful that he gets the opportunity to show his stuff for five or six seconds when there isn't any pass rush. We got Lee Evans and TO? wonderful when they rush down the field to see Trent Edwards looking up at the sky. Want to grade drafts? Look at our win/loss record.

 

[Dawgg]

OK, then.

 

 

From now on, when you suggest the 2006 draft was a disaster, and that Levy was an incompetent GM who set the team back, I want you to cc Casserly. Maybe we can get him involved here.

Par for the course, Dean-o showing he's incapable of independent, objective thought. It doesn't matter what move the Bills make, Deano-o is first in line with effusive praise. Considering they have missed the playoffs 3 years in a row, it's pretty apparent that Marv's tenure as GM was shoddy, at best. It's also pretty apparent that most of what Dean-o said after Marv's numerous illadvised moves were wrong.

 

When they signed Dockery, Dean-o praised the FO. Two years later, Russ Brandon had to clean up the mess. Dean-o was wrong (again).

 

Dean-o argued that McCargo was the real deal and was worth the draft-day trade that cost the Bills valuable picks. Dean-o was wrong (again). The Bills tried to trade him for pennies on the dollar.

 

Dean-o argued that Simpson would turn out to be a solid starter. That was hardly the case Dean-o were wrong (again). Russ Brandon had to clean up Marv's mess by drafting Byrd. Simpson has probably played his last game as a Bill.

 

Dean-o, if it makes you feel better to get off on the words of a GM like Casserly, who himself was a disaster like Marv, feel free. Bottom line, 3 straight 7-9 seasons speak loud and clear about the job Marv did as a "talent evaluator"

[Dawgg]

If he watched, he'd know that Ko Simpson lost his job (for the most part) last year, and they drafted a CB this year to take over his job.

 

That said, picking McCargo in the first round (and trading away picks for him) should merit a poor grade.

That alone shows how little credibility this article has.

[Dawgg]

Most NFL people don't think Whitner is merely average, from what I can tell. That seems to be the valuation of some "special" Bills fans.

Most NFL people don't even bother talking about Whitner because he has little-to-no impact on a game.

 

He does know how to market himself though

[StupidNation]

I would rate it an D-, and that's not the hyperbole "the sky is falling" crap that a lot of people have here

 

2 1st round over-reaches that are not game changers, and one an absolute bust

Lost a pick

Simpson sucks

Butler was the best pick of the draft, and makes this a passing grade if he goes to tackle and plays well

Williams is solid as depth and nothing more

 

You rate your top picks, which is also allocated in money, with the highest scale. I would put it on a sliding scale of how a draft should be graded something like:

 

40% of the quality rating should be about how the 1st round performs

25% 2nd round performance

15% 3rd round

10% 4th round

and so on... and I only thing round 5-7 should count 20% of your draft grade as most never pan out.

 

Using such a scale we allocated 70% of our draft's potential on 2 players which have not performed as game changers. What is Whitner? Anyone know? First we were told he was a strong safety, and then when he couldn't match up with Antonio Gates they put him in the backfield of FS as to stop him from being a liability.

 

Whitner is a D grade to me, solid in the run, not good in coverage, and way too much money allocated to a player who we didn't notice was gone when he was injured. McCargo gets a F. That's an F for 40% of the draft because it's the 2nd and 3rd. Whitner would be an F if you factor in what we lost with Ngata. We just lost so much value. But on his own Whitner is a D player for his value.

 

Simpson is an F, so that's 55% of the draft with an F.

 

The only way we get a passing grade is Williams who is a B- for value, and Butler who gets a B+ for value.

 

Honestly, most drafts ratings are lame with too many Bs and Cs. There should be more Fs and Ds. If your team didn't really change from your draft, and when I mean change I don't mean just starters, but guys who change the game for the better, you can't just use the title "starter" as justification.

[2003Contenders]

I think that he nailed it in 06 when you hit his link in that article to his original grades.

 

I give it a C, and Butler is what pushes it to that level. Otherwise I would give it a solid D.

 

Oh, come on now. I think you are just trying to be contrary. There are seven players that are still on the team from that draft, for crying out loud!

 

Whitner may not have been the best choice at #8, but he's proven to be a versatile and important part of the defense. The guy I honestly hoped and prayed would fall to us was D'brick, but that guy has way under-performed for the Jets. Whitner has been MUCH better than Huff, who many on this board cried about losing to the Raiders one pick before. Vince Young is becoming a joke, and Matt Leinart can't stay on the field. In hind-sight Cutler and Nagata turned out better, but who is to say that either would have been successful in Buffalo?

 

McCargo has been a bust, no doubt. Let's just hope that new coaching may help turn him around. Youboty showed definite glimpses before he got hurt last year. With our luck he'll play lights out this year -- just so that he can sign a ridiculous contract somewhere else next year!

 

Simpson may be on his way out, but he was at least a starter for a couple of years. Hard to ask for more from a 4th rounder. Butler has certainly turned out to be the best pick from that draft. Many (including Jim Kelly) felt that he was our best lineman last year -- yes, better than Mr. Two-Time Pro Bowler Jason Peters. Kyle Williams had proven to be exceptional value for a 5th rounder. If nothing else, he will always be fondly remembered as they guy that finally got Tim Anderson packing. Ellison is a favorite whipping boy around here, but exceptional value for a 6th rounder.

 

This draft certainly did not produce any true stud players, so you can't give it an A. However, it did unearth a number of sturdy players, many of whom have been starters. This was a draft about quantity over quality, which makes it even more ironic that Marv didn't do the wise thing and trade down from the #8 spot to acquire even more picks. The fact that so many of the rookies became instant starters probably says a thing or two about the dearth of talent that Mort's buddy Tom Donahoe left behind. While I applaud Marv for building a consensus approach after all those years of Donahoe's autocratic style, he shouldn't have become so enamored with Whitner, simply because he was a player that everyone in the war room could sign off on. He certainly shouldn't have eschewed trade talks for fear of losing out on Whitner at pick 13, 14 or whatever.

 

I'd give the 2006 draft a solid B.

[stuckincincy]

Par

 

Dawgg: a species. Specifically, b. dorkus amongus.

[AlbanyBill]

Williams is [probably the best value pick from 06 and Donte is solid but still not sure he was worth 8...

[scribo]

In my best Costanza impression...

 

beep, beep, beep...backup

 

Not criticizing, but just curious as to why Whitner is your favourite Bill?

He earned that titled from me when he took young players under his wing, had McKelvin stay at his house, had the defensive backs over to his house regularly, and guaranteed a playoff berth. He is the best leader on the team, hands down.

 

Yes, he had a big problem recently, and he may not have handled it the best possible way. But it seems he was doing what he thought was best for his family at the moment, and I respect that, so I am giving him a pass right now.

 

I also loved when he tackled the Raiders' Higgins in the endzone last year. http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=72438

 

I love how involved he is willing to get with the fans. He is constantly Tweeting and posting stuff on Facebook, even inviting fans to come out with him. It might be borderline crazy, but it is refreshing.

 

He played through injuries last year, even when the docs said he shouldn't, just to send a message to the rest of the team.

 

I think he genuinely has the team's best interests in mind all the time. He is willing to do what it takes to be successful, to help his teammates be successful and help the team win. That's why.