Tuesday, October 31, 2006

PHSports: Mid-Season Rookie Review 2006

by Armin Mohajeri

Top 5 Offensive Rookies:

1) WR Marques Colston, Saints (7th round, 252nd overall): Not only has Colston been the steal of the draft, he’s also been the top offensive rookie in the league in the first half of the season. He was 3 picks away from being Mr. Irrelevant. With 33 receptions for 577 yards and 6 TDs, he’s on pace for 75 receptions, 1300+ yards and 14 TDs.


2) RB Joseph Addai, Colts (1st round, 30th overall): Addai has rushed for 447 yards while receiving for 144. He has 2 TDs (one running, one receiving). That projects to 1000+ rushing yards, 325+ receiving yards. He’s a little light on TDs (projecting to ~5 on the year), but has produced for an undefeated team.


3) RB Laurence Maroney, Patriots (1st round, 21st overall): With 395 yards rushing for 3 TDs and 110 yards receiving, he’s on pace for 900+ rushing yards for 7 TDs and 250+ receiving yards. While he has shared time with Corey Dillon, Maroney has shown flashes of being the go-to back, and has made Corey Dillon expendable for the upcoming offseason.


4) RB Leon Washington, Jets (4th round, 117th overall): In limited time, Leon Washington has put up 397 yards rushing for 2 TDs (76 yards receiving). That’s on pace for 900+ yards and 4+ TDs. However, if you were to consider that he’s really only started 3 games (arguably 4), he’s on pace for ~1500 yards. He would be up there at the #2 spot, however consistency has been lacking (based on sharing time and poor team play).


5) RB Reggie Bush, Saints (1st round, 2nd overall): Reggie Bush is currently tied for 6th in the NFL in receptions (42). He has not had an offensive TD, but has a game-winning 65-yard punt return for a TD against Tampa Bay. His 212 yards rushing and 290 yards receiving project to nearly 500 rushing and 650+ receiving yards. Add a couple of TDs to his offensive repertoire, and he shoots up to #2.


Honorable Mentions:

WR Greg Jennings, Packers (2nd round, 52nd overall): He’s been a playmaker for the Packers and one would think that if he had a QB like Tom Brady throwing to him, he might have even better numbers.

RB Mike Bell, Broncos (Undrafted): While many thought (whether right or wrong) that his promotion to starting RB in the preseason was to motivate Tatum Bell, it’s evident that despite an early fumbling problem, Shanahan has no problem turning things over to Mike Bell. He decimated the Colts defense in the second half of their game and nearly (single-handedly) put the first blemish on their record.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville (2nd round, 60th overall) & TE Owen Daniels, Texans (5th round, 98th overall): 5TDs each.

No QBs!


Top 5 Defensive Rookies:

1) DE Mark Anderson, Bears (5th round, 159th overall): Nothing like having a guy prove you right. I had this kid pegged as a sleeper who reminded me a lot of Robert Mathis (DE, Colts). Anderson has 7.5 sacks, putting him on pace to get 17+ sacks on the season. He’s also forced 3 fumbles and recovered one. He’s the edge rusher on passing downs for the top defense in the league.


2) OLB AJ Hawk, Packers (1st round, 5th overall): Hawk has 52 tackles and 2.5 sacks, projecting to ~120 tackles and ~6 sacks on the season. He quieted concerns over his lack of production in the preseason.


3) MLB DeMeco Ryans, Texans (2nd round, 33rd overall): His stats don’t tell the whole story, though he leads all NFL rookies in tackles with 63 (projected 144). Ryans is the leader of the Texans defense, making the calls from the middle linebacker position.


4) FS Dawan Landry, Ravens (5th round, 146th overall): He’s been solid, starting for the Ravens, racking up 3 interceptions (one for a TD). He has the ball-hawk mentality, and is usually around to make the tackle at the second level.



5) OLB Ernie Sims, Lions (1st round, 9th overall): The Lions drew a lot of criticism for not drafting Leinart and going with Sims. However, Sims has been all over the field for the Lions defense. He has 59 tackles and is on pace for 135.


Honorable Mentions:

SS Donte Whitner, Bills (1st round, 8th overall): The Bills raised many eyebrows by drafting this 20-year-old who was projected to go late in the 1st or early in the 2nd round. Whitner has amassed 45 tackles, one interception, while being the most solid player in the Buffalo defensive backfield.

DE Elvis Dumervil, Broncos (4th round, 126th overall): Dumervil stepped in when Courtney Brown went down. In those three games he’s put up 5 sacks. That would put him on a freakish pace…however, since he’s only played three games, he doesn’t end up on the list.

CB Richard Marshall, Panthers (2nd round, 58th overall): As the 3rd CB on the Panthers, he’s putting up similar numbers to the starters (Gamble, Lucas). My biggest question on my Post Draft Analysis was why so many teams that could have used a CB passed on him.



Top 3 Teams:

1) New Orleans Saints: I could stop at Marques Colston and Reggie Bush, but then I’d be doing a disservice to Roman Harper and Jahri Evans. Harper was on the fast track, gaining the starting strong safety position (before a season-ending injury). Evans is the starting left guard of an offensive line that’s been solid so far. There are teams that have more than 4 contributors, but this group has quantity and quality.


2) New York Jets: Leon Washington is a Top 5 offensive rookie. Two-fifths of their offensive line are rookies (Ferguson, Mangold). Brad Smith is getting on the field more and more, as the coaches figure out new ways to utilize him. Drew Coleman is the starting CB now.


3) Buffalo Bills: The Bills got quality out of their draft, but this ranking is based more on quantity. Donte Whitner, Ko Simpson, Kyle Williams, Keith Ellison and Terrance Pennington are all starters. John McCargo had a season-ending injury. Ashton Youboty has seen time in spots. Aaron Merz has started in a game. Ellison was one of my surprise picks in my Post Draft Analysis, as I felt he could be a starter on this team (which he proved me right on).


Note: I refuse to put the Houston Texans on this list, even though DeMeco Ryans, Charles Spencer, Eric Winston, Owen Daniels and Wali Lundy are all either starters or strong contributors. The fact that they took Mario Williams over Reggie Bush nullifies their standing for a top draft.

Posted by Paymon at 11:48 PM

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As much as I hate him, I think Vince "I throw like Uncle Rico" Young deserves honorable mention. He stepped in for a WEAK Tennessee Flying Thumbtacks squad and led them to a near upset of Indy, and what I still contend is an upset of Washington. While he may not have the stats yet, I think his leadership should prompt some mention.

But I still say F Texas and F Vince Young :-)

9:03 AM
Paymon said...

Excluding the honorable mentions, four of the top 10 best off. and def. rookies are second-day picks, including tops for either side of the ball.

RE: Vince Young consideration -- Leinart's stats are more impressive, but the Titans have rallied around Young. The jury is still out.

4:21 PM

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