Smith got help in San Fran; Raiders were reachingBy Mel Kiper Jr.
ESPN.com Insider
Archive

Utah quarterback Alex Smith was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, and William Penn tight end Andy Stokes earned the "Mr. Irrelevant" label when he went No. 255 to New England, but there is plenty to talk about in between, too:

• Smith got plenty of potential help from the rest of the San Francisco 49ers draft class, as the Niners drafted center David Baas in the second round, running back Frank Gore and guard Adam Snyder in the third round, as well as three pass catchers in the later rounds.

• In the first two rounds, the Oakland Raiders drafted cornerbacks who can flat-out fly in Fabian Washington and Stanford Routt, but both have questionable ball skills and cover skills. Conversely, the Raiders got three good value picks in the sixth round – defensive tackle Anttaj Hawthorne, linebacker Ryan Riddle and offensive tackle Pete McMahon – who made much more sense than the reaches in the early rounds.

• St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz took a chance on another player with character questions when he reached for offensive lineman Richie Incognito in the third round. Incognito parted ways with Nebraska and coach Bill Callahan last season and transferred to Oregon but never played there, and off-the-field questions dogged him much the same way they did quarterback Jeff Smoker, whom Martz drafted in the sixth round in 2004.

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted a potential sleeper in wide receiver Larry Brackins out of Pearl River Junior College. Brackins also played basketball there and has plenty of athletic ability, but he is very raw. If coach Jon Gruden has some patience and allows Brackins to develop, the wideout could pay dividends a year or two down the road.

• Teammates hit it big this year, as 10 different NFL teams drafted 11 sets of college teammates over the span of two days. The clear winner was Auburn, which sent cornerback Carlos Rogers and quarterback Jason Campbell to the Washington Redskins in the first round.

Doubling their pleasure
NFL team College teammates
Arizona LB Darryl Blackstock (3rd) and G Elton Brown (4th), Virginia
Baltimore WR Mark Clayton (1) and DE Dan Cody (2), Oklahoma
Buffalo WR Roscoe Parrish (2) and TE Kevin Everett (3), Miami
Carolina RB Eric Shelton (2) and QB Stefan LeFors (4), Louisville
Cincinnati DE David Pollack (1) and LB Odell Thurman (2), Georgia
C Eric Ghiaciuc (4) and OT Adam Kieft (5), C. Michigan
Detroit WR Mike Williams (1) and DL Shaun Cody (2), USC
Indianapolis DE Jonathan Welsh (5) and RB Anthony Davis (7), Wisconsin
New England G Logan Mankins (1) and S James Sanders (4)
St. Louis WR Dante Ridgeway (6) and P Reggie Hodges (6), Ball St.
Washington CB Carlos Rogers (1) and QB Jason Campbell (1), Auburn



Steals and Reaches
Plenty of teams reached for draft picks, and just as many had some great steals fall into their laps. Here's my opinion on which picks came off the board too early and which lasted longer than most thought they would. And it's important to note that I rate steals and reaches based on my overall rankings, not where I projected players to go in my mock draft:
Too high or too low?
Steals
WR Mike Williams, No. 10 overall, Detroit
QB Aaron Rodgers, No. 24 to Green Bay
WR Roddy White, No. 27 to Atlanta
DE Matt Roth, No. 46 to Miami
LB Odell Thurman, No. 47 to Cincinnati
OT Khalif Barnes, No. 52 overall to Jacksonville
DE Dan Cody, No. 53 overall to Baltimore
WR Roscoe Parrish, No. 55 overall to Buffalo
CB Justin Miller, No. 57 to New York Jets
CB Bryant McFadden, No. 62 to Pittsburgh
CB Eric Green, No. 75 to Arizona
RB Ryan Moats, No. 77 to Philadelphia
OG Evan Mathis, No. 79 to Carolina
OG Adam Snyder, No. 94 to San Francisco
LB Darryl Blackstock, No. 95 to Arizona
OT Ray Willis, No. 105 to Seattle
QB Kyle Orton, No. 106 to Chicago
WR Jerome Mathis, No. 114 to Houston
C Eric Ghiaciuc, No. 119 to Cincinnati
C Jason Brown, No. 124 to Baltimore
RB Darren Sproles, No. 130 to San Diego
WR Roydell Williams, No. 136 to Tennessee
WR Airese Currie, No. 140 to Chicago
OT Adam Kieft, No. 153 to Cincinnati
S Gerald Sensabaugh, No. 157 to Jacksonville
G Scott Young, No. 172 to Philadelphia
G Chris Kemoeatu, No. 204 to Pittsburgh
S Justin Beriault, No. 208 to Dallas
OT Pete McMahon, No. 214 to Oakland
CB Daven Holly, No. 215 to San Francisco

Reaches

WR Matt Jones, No. 21 overall to Jacksonville
CB Fabian Washington, No. 23 to Oakland
QB Jason Campbell, No. 25 to Washington
DT Luis Castillo, No. 28 to San Diego
G Logan Mankins, No. 32 to New England
CB Stanford Routt, No. 30 to Oakland
LB Lofa Tatupu, No. 45 to Seattle
CB Ronald Bartell Jr., No. 50 overall to St. Louis
CB Nick Collins, No. 51 to Green Bay
CB Darrent Williams, No 56 to Denver
CB Kelvin Hayden, No. 60 to Indianapolis
WR Vincent Jackson, No. 61 to San Diego
CB Karl Paymah, No. 76 to Denver
OL Richie Incognito, No. 81 overall to St. Louis
QB David Greene, No. 85 to Seattle
CB Scott Starks, No. 87 to Jacksonville
DT Sione Pouha, No. 88 to New York Jets
DE Vincent Burns, No. 92 to Indianapolis
OT Trai Essex, No. 93 to Pittsburgh
CB Domonique Foxworth, No. 97 to Denver
LB Leroy Hill, No. 98 to Seattle
OG Nick Kaczur, No. 100 to New England
RB Maurice Clarett, No. 101 to Denver
RB Manuel White, No. 120 to Washington
C Raymond Preston, No. 122 to Buffalo
S Kerry Rhodes, No. 123 to New York Jets
DE Chauncey Davis, No. 128 to Atlanta
OG Claude Terrell, No. 134 to St. Louis
S Matt Giordano, No. 135 to Indianapolis
C Drew Hodgdon, No. 142 to Tennessee
CB Michael Hawkins, No. 167 to Green Bay
S Ben Emanuel, No. 171 to Carolina
LB Tyjuan Hagler, No. 173 to Indianapolis

The sleepers
A few guys who despite being unheralded talents could eventually become contributors in the NFL:
Travis Daniels, CB, Miami, 4th round – New Dolphins coach Nick Saban coached Daniels at LSU and knows Daniels has ball skills. He was helped by a 4.45 in the 40 at his last individual workout and would not have lasted much longer if the Dolphins had passed.

Michael Hawkins, CB, Green Bay, 5th round – The only player not included in my draft guide to come off the board, Hawkins last played in college in 2002 at Oklahoma and has been in the Arena League since. Another guy with good ball skills.

Derek Anderson, QB, Baltimore, 6th round – Did not get a redshirt year because his original college coach, Dennis Erickson, thought he would be an All–American who would be gone after three years. As it ended up, Anderson was a four–year starter who showed some inconsistency, but a guy who's played that much football in a major conference will get a chance to prove himself.

Andrew Hoffman, DT, Cleveland, 6th round – Played in a pro-style 3-4 defense for Al Groh at Virginia and will be in the same system with the Browns under Romeo Crennel.

Will Svitek, OT, Kansas City, 6th round – Moved from the defensive line to the offensive line in college and could make an impact once he is coached up on that side of the ball.
Matt Cassell, QB, New England, 7th round – A good athlete who also played baseball at USC, Cassell has impressive size and learned a lot backing up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

Chris Roberson, CB, Jacksonville, 7th round – Moved from wide receiver to cornerback in the spring before his senior year and was the best athlete on Eastern Michigan's defense.

Rodriques Wilson, S, Chicago, 7th round – Got into the draft thanks to one spectacular year when he was South Carolina's best defensive player, and if he can build on that, good things may be in store.

I think we reached for the WR, and we stole McPherson.

Saints? No steals or reaches?

I think we reached for the WR, and we stole McPherson. Everyone else was about right, from what I\'ve read.

Brown wasn\'t really a reach at 13, but we gave up to much to move 3 spots. I don\'t know if that qualifies as a reach though.