Bengals 2001 draft second best of last decade

[BlainThePain]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6741422

Best, worst drafts of last decade

John Czarnecki / FOXSports.com

Posted: 3 hours ago

Fans of the draft — and there are a lot of you out there — know that the Saints had a great draft last season. Any time you draft a starting receiver (Marques Colston) with the 252nd selection, you are either very, very lucky or pretty damn smart.

Whereas the Houston Texans were pretty dumb for not drafting Reggie Bush, the Saints jumped at the opportunity even though coach Sean Payton had to placate his unhappy veteran running back Deuce McAlister.

One of the toughest jobs in this business is grading every team's draft. For example, a lot of experts gave Lions GM Matt Millen very good grades for drafting Mike Williams in 2005 and also praised his 2002 draft, when he selected Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington. Well, we all know now how those drafts turned out. Detroit has had some of the worst drafts in recent memory.

And while we'll undoubtedly be rating team's draft performances as soon as Sunday night, the best way to do it is to see how the picks actually perform in the NFL. With that in mind, here are my best and worst drafts of the last 10 years.

The Best

1. Chargers, 2004: I noticed that Sports Illustrated rated San Diego's 2001 draft a lot higher, which was the LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees draft. And those picks are damn good because the late John Butler passed on Michael Vick, but this A.J. Smith draft had quality and unbelievable depth. This draft was the one in which the Giants caved on Eli Manning, and the Chargers ended up with Phillip Rivers, defensive tackle Igor Olshansky, kicker Nate Kaeding, center Nick Hardwick, outside linebacker Shaun Phillips, the best backup running back in the league in Michael Turner and starting right tackle Shane Olivea in the seventh round. That's six starters in all, plus the rights to take Shawne Merriman in 2005.

2. Bengals, 2001: Owner Mike Brown has taken a lot of grief for his recent run of bad boys in Cincinnati, but this draft gave the Bengals the nucleus of their playoff team. The first pick was Justin Smith, their best defensive linemen with 40½ sacks since then. Their second pick was Pro Bowl receiver Chad Johnson and the seventh-rounder was a receiver named T.J. Houshmandzadeh. They also grabbed their starting running back, Rudi Johnson, in the fourth round. They missed on their other three picks, but who really cares?

3. Eagles, 2005: I realize these guys have been playing only two seasons, but Andy Reid and Tom Heckert really had an amazing run in this draft. They selected five starters, including starting offensive tackle Todd Herremans with the 126th overall pick followed by defensive end Trent Cole with the 146th pick. Top picks Mike Patterson and Reggie Brown are both starting while Matt McCoy and Ryan Moats are decent reserves. Sean Considine, a fourth-rounder, made safety Michael Lewis expendable. You are supposed to find starters in the top two rounds, but the Eagles grabbed them later, too.

4. Panthers, 2001: I realize there are huge issues today with this draft, but the first three picks of this draft were linebacker Dan Morgan, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and receiver Steve Smith. Those three players put Carolina in the Super Bowl and Smith, when healthy, is still the game's best playmaker. Carolina has been trying to trade Jenkins because he has gotten fat and lazy. But in 2003, when they lost to the Patriots on Super Sunday, Jenkins was the game's best defensive tackle.

5. Buffalo, 2001: The first three picks were cornerback Nate Clements, now the highest-paid player in San Francisco, underrated defensive end Aaron Schobel (14 sacks last season) and Travis Henry, a running back who has bounced around and will start for the Broncos this season. Third-round pick Ron Edwards played five seasons in a reserve role while offensive tackle Jonas Jennings received big money in 2005 from the 49ers. Basically, the Bills took all the right players; they simply didn't have enough money in free agency to keep them all.

Honorable Mention: 1998 Steelers: Alan Faneca, Deshea Townsend and Hines Ward late in the third round; 1997 Dolphins: Sam Madison in the second round and Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor with the 73rd overall pick; 2003 Patriots: Asante Samuel in the fourth round and Dan Koppen in the fifth round while top picks included Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Bethel Johnson and Dan Klecko.

The Worst

1. Chargers, 1998: Yes, this was the Ryan Leaf draft and it exposed San Diego for not doing its character homework on the troubled Washington State quarterback. Leaf preferred to have a beer in his hand than a football and he will be forever compared to Peyton Manning, the first pick. The amazing thing was that most teams were split on these two players; Leaf was thought to have a stronger arm and was given high marks for leading a traditionally sorry team to the Rose Bowl while Manning never won anything at Tennessee. This draft also included receiver Mikhael Ricks, another huge bust.

2. Vikings, 2001: Minnesota doesn't have one player from this draft currently on its roster and the top pick, running back Michael Bennett, is the only player still in the NFL and just barely as a backup. Bennett had a couple good years in Minnesota, but overall this draft was a total strikeout.

3. Browns, 2003: This is the Jeff Faine draft. Cleveland has had some awful first-round picks in this decade from running back William Green to Gerard Warren to tough-luck Courtney Brown. Of this franchise's 61 selections in the last seven years, 27 players are out of the league. The only two players left on the roster from this draft are long-snapper Ryan Pontbriand and reserve linebacker Chaun Thompson.

4. Packers, 2004: This is the draft that got head coach/GM Mike Sherman fired. Both cornerbacks Ahmad Carroll and Joey Thomas were busts, plus Green Bay wasted a third-round selection on failed punter B.J. Sander. Amazingly, the only survivor in this draft was center Scott Wells, who was a seventh-round pick. Wells signed a long-term contract last year and he should be the starter in Green Bay for a long time.

5. Saints, 1999: Ricky Williams in a wedding dress and nobody else. Yes, Williams has had some great NFL seasons, but with the Dolphins not the Saints. When Mike Ditka traded his entire draft for the weed-smoking Williams, he thought he was getting a bigger, faster Walter Payton. Of course, it was hilarious to see Ditka posing with dreadlocks, but this draft led to the downward spiral of the franchise. Remember, these were the years when Williams preferred to do all interviews with his helmet on and proved to be a loner in the locker room.

Honorable Mention: 1999 Bengals: QB Akili Smith was taken with third overall pick, but rest of picks were awful, too; 2003 Texans: Andre Johnson in the first round and seven other guys who are no longer with the team; 2001 Cowboys: No first-round picks, but nine were drafted, headlined by QB Quincy Carter, and none played last season in Dallas.

[jjakq27]

Can't argue with that one.

[HairOnFire]

I've never wanted an iPod until today.

[Thurmanation]

I believe the worst to be the saints of '99, who in their right mind that calls them self an NFL head coach trades away an entire draft for one player..

[GapControl]

I've never wanted an iPod until today.

Huh? No blood left in brain................

[James_Brooks21]

I've never wanted an iPod until today.

Huh? No blood left in brain................

Hold up, Hold up, am I the only one who didn't know that Kelly Gregg of the Ravens was originally drafted by the Bengals in 1999. I found that out when I went back and took a look at the 1999 draft after they said it was honorable mention for sixth worst draft. Kelly Gregg is a key player on the Ravens defense, they are always hyping him up on Baltimore Radio Stations saying that he is one of the best players on the defense.

[HairOnFire]

Hold up, Hold up, am I the only one who didn't know that Kelly Gregg of the Ravens was originally drafted by the Bengals in 1999.

True story. A long time ago, and on a message board far away, I actually spent some time pimping Kelly Gregg as a mid-round pick I'd like to see the Bengals add. As you can guess I was pretty happy when they actually did so. But only weeks after the draft another poster from that same message board mentioned that he had just played in a pick up basketball game with Gregg and said that Kelly was probably in the worst shape of any athlete he had seen. Couldn't run, couldn't jump, and most import...always out of breath. I promptly ignored the remarks as I felt one of Kelly Gregg's greatest attributes was as a human fireplug. Or if you prefer, a short unmovable object who could anchor a defensive line. Long story short, the Bengals eventually cut Gregg and the only explanation I ever read is that they felt he was poorly conditioned and lacked athleticism. Which I have no doubt was something that was completely true every single day of Kelly Gregg's life.

That said, even though I like Gregg I never imagined he'd be nearly as good as he's become, and you have to give the Ravens huge props for putting a fairly marginal athlete in a perfect situation for success.

[bengal4life]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6741422

Best, worst drafts of last decade

John Czarnecki / FOXSports.com

Posted: 3 hours ago

Fans of the draft — and there are a lot of you out there — know that the Saints had a great draft last season. Any time you draft a starting receiver (Marques Colston) with the 252nd selection, you are either very, very lucky or pretty damn smart.

Whereas the Houston Texans were pretty dumb for not drafting Reggie Bush, the Saints jumped at the opportunity even though coach Sean Payton had to placate his unhappy veteran running back Deuce McAlister.

One of the toughest jobs in this business is grading every team's draft. For example, a lot of experts gave Lions GM Matt Millen very good grades for drafting Mike Williams in 2005 and also praised his 2002 draft, when he selected Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington. Well, we all know now how those drafts turned out. Detroit has had some of the worst drafts in recent memory.

And while we'll undoubtedly be rating team's draft performances as soon as Sunday night, the best way to do it is to see how the picks actually perform in the NFL. With that in mind, here are my best and worst drafts of the last 10 years.

The Best

1. Chargers, 2004: I noticed that Sports Illustrated rated San Diego's 2001 draft a lot higher, which was the LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees draft. And those picks are damn good because the late John Butler passed on Michael Vick, but this A.J. Smith draft had quality and unbelievable depth. This draft was the one in which the Giants caved on Eli Manning, and the Chargers ended up with Phillip Rivers, defensive tackle Igor Olshansky, kicker Nate Kaeding, center Nick Hardwick, outside linebacker Shaun Phillips, the best backup running back in the league in Michael Turner and starting right tackle Shane Olivea in the seventh round. That's six starters in all, plus the rights to take Shawne Merriman in 2005.

2. Bengals, 2001: Owner Mike Brown has taken a lot of grief for his recent run of bad boys in Cincinnati, but this draft gave the Bengals the nucleus of their playoff team. The first pick was Justin Smith, their best defensive linemen with 40½ sacks since then. Their second pick was Pro Bowl receiver Chad Johnson and the seventh-rounder was a receiver named T.J. Houshmandzadeh. They also grabbed their starting running back, Rudi Johnson, in the fourth round. They missed on their other three picks, but who really cares?

3. Eagles, 2005: I realize these guys have been playing only two seasons, but Andy Reid and Tom Heckert really had an amazing run in this draft. They selected five starters, including starting offensive tackle Todd Herremans with the 126th overall pick followed by defensive end Trent Cole with the 146th pick. Top picks Mike Patterson and Reggie Brown are both starting while Matt McCoy and Ryan Moats are decent reserves. Sean Considine, a fourth-rounder, made safety Michael Lewis expendable. You are supposed to find starters in the top two rounds, but the Eagles grabbed them later, too.

4. Panthers, 2001: I realize there are huge issues today with this draft, but the first three picks of this draft were linebacker Dan Morgan, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and receiver Steve Smith. Those three players put Carolina in the Super Bowl and Smith, when healthy, is still the game's best playmaker. Carolina has been trying to trade Jenkins because he has gotten fat and lazy. But in 2003, when they lost to the Patriots on Super Sunday, Jenkins was the game's best defensive tackle.

5. Buffalo, 2001: The first three picks were cornerback Nate Clements, now the highest-paid player in San Francisco, underrated defensive end Aaron Schobel (14 sacks last season) and Travis Henry, a running back who has bounced around and will start for the Broncos this season. Third-round pick Ron Edwards played five seasons in a reserve role while offensive tackle Jonas Jennings received big money in 2005 from the 49ers. Basically, the Bills took all the right players; they simply didn't have enough money in free agency to keep them all.

Honorable Mention: 1998 Steelers: Alan Faneca, Deshea Townsend and Hines Ward late in the third round; 1997 Dolphins: Sam Madison in the second round and Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor with the 73rd overall pick; 2003 Patriots: Asante Samuel in the fourth round and Dan Koppen in the fifth round while top picks included Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Bethel Johnson and Dan Klecko.

The Worst

1. Chargers, 1998: Yes, this was the Ryan Leaf draft and it exposed San Diego for not doing its character homework on the troubled Washington State quarterback. Leaf preferred to have a beer in his hand than a football and he will be forever compared to Peyton Manning, the first pick. The amazing thing was that most teams were split on these two players; Leaf was thought to have a stronger arm and was given high marks for leading a traditionally sorry team to the Rose Bowl while Manning never won anything at Tennessee. This draft also included receiver Mikhael Ricks, another huge bust.

2. Vikings, 2001: Minnesota doesn't have one player from this draft currently on its roster and the top pick, running back Michael Bennett, is the only player still in the NFL and just barely as a backup. Bennett had a couple good years in Minnesota, but overall this draft was a total strikeout.

3. Browns, 2003: This is the Jeff Faine draft. Cleveland has had some awful first-round picks in this decade from running back William Green to Gerard Warren to tough-luck Courtney Brown. Of this franchise's 61 selections in the last seven years, 27 players are out of the league. The only two players left on the roster from this draft are long-snapper Ryan Pontbriand and reserve linebacker Chaun Thompson.

4. Packers, 2004: This is the draft that got head coach/GM Mike Sherman fired. Both cornerbacks Ahmad Carroll and Joey Thomas were busts, plus Green Bay wasted a third-round selection on failed punter B.J. Sander. Amazingly, the only survivor in this draft was center Scott Wells, who was a seventh-round pick. Wells signed a long-term contract last year and he should be the starter in Green Bay for a long time.

5. Saints, 1999: Ricky Williams in a wedding dress and nobody else. Yes, Williams has had some great NFL seasons, but with the Dolphins not the Saints. When Mike Ditka traded his entire draft for the weed-smoking Williams, he thought he was getting a bigger, faster Walter Payton. Of course, it was hilarious to see Ditka posing with dreadlocks, but this draft led to the downward spiral of the franchise. Remember, these were the years when Williams preferred to do all interviews with his helmet on and proved to be a loner in the locker room.

Honorable Mention: 1999 Bengals: QB Akili Smith was taken with third overall pick, but rest of picks were awful, too; 2003 Texans: Andre Johnson in the first round and seven other guys who are no longer with the team; 2001 Cowboys: No first-round picks, but nine were drafted, headlined by QB Quincy Carter, and none played last season in Dallas.

MMMMM, Marissa Miller!

[James_Brooks21]

Hold up, Hold up, am I the only one who didn't know that Kelly Gregg of the Ravens was originally drafted by the Bengals in 1999.

True story. A long time ago, and on a message board far away, I actually spent some time pimping Kelly Gregg as a mid-round pick I'd like to see the Bengals add. As you can guess I was pretty happy when they actually did so. But only weeks after the draft another poster from that same message board mentioned that he had just played in a pick up basketball game with Gregg and said that Kelly was probably in the worst shape of any athlete he had seen. Couldn't run, couldn't jump, and most import...always out of breath. I promptly ignored the remarks as I felt one of Kelly Gregg's greatest attributes was as a human fireplug. Or if you prefer, a short unmovable object who could anchor a defensive line. Long story short, the Bengals eventually cut Gregg and the only explanation I ever read is that they felt he was poorly conditioned and lacked athleticism. Which I have no doubt was something that was completely true every single day of Kelly Gregg's life.

That said, even though I like Gregg I never imagined he'd be nearly as good as he's become, and you have to give the Ravens huge props for putting a fairly marginal athlete in a perfect situation for success.

Thanks for the insight, I'm a diehard Bengals fan and did not know that. How much athleticism do you have to have to play defensive tackle? I hate the Ravens but I respect them on making stars out of ordinary defensive players.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

Thanks for the insight, I'm a diehard Bengals fan and did not know that. How much athleticism do you have to have to play defensive tackle? I hate the Ravens but I respect them on making stars out of ordinary defensive players.

If you're big enough, no athleticism. I'm pretty sure there were times when Giblet Brown was breathing through an oxygen mask when he was *on* the field. Sometimes all you need for DT is something big with leverage and a mean streak.

[membengal]

Sure glad they didn't get Mike Brown out of the draft room that day...

[jjakq27]

I think a lot of guys on those Bengals teams should have been cut for being out of shape. Too bad we didn't keep Gregg and s**tcanned Reinhard Wilson or James Francis first.