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Greenway left Monday night’s game with the Raiders with an undisclosed knee injury that will cause him to miss the 2006 season. This is a major blow to the Vikings defense as Greenway was drafted to start this season.
1. Chicago Bears (7) The Bears have the best defense in the NFL, and they added return ace Devin Hester in the draft.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (4) The Steelers play keep away with their offense, but the defense is still very good and opportunistic.
3. Tampa Bay Bucs (4) The Bucs are super quick on defense and rush the passer well.
4. Philadelphia Eagles (9) The Eagles are a solid defensive team that has been good for awhile now.
5. Baltimore Ravens (7) Drafting Ngata will keep O-Linemen off Ray Lewis…who should have a huge season.
6. Washington Redskins (8) The Redskins’ offense will pressure other team into making mistakes.
7. Indianapolis Colts (6) Colts fast defense takes advantage of teams trying to play “catch-up”.
8. San Diego Chargers (3) Chargers have a quick, opportunistic defense.
9. New England Patriots (6) As long as Belichick is putting the X’s and O’s on the chalkboard, the Patriots will have a good defense.
10. Dallas Cowboys (3) The Cowboys have re-loaded the defense with guys Parcells hand-picked for the job.
11. Miami Dolphins (8) Saban is a master at defense, and he has alot of good players on that side of the ball.
12. New York Giants (4) Big, physical defense that gets alot of sacks.
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (6) Coach Del Rio stockpiled defensive players when he got the job, and now it’s paying off.
14. Carolina Panthers (9) Defense is opportunistic, and Peppers is a sack machine.
15. Atlanta Falcons (5) Adding John Abraham will make this a tough defense to deal with.
16. Kansas City (3) Herman Edwards is a defensive coach, but he’s not a miracle worker. They do have the best kick-returner in the NFL in Dante Hall.
17. Cleveland Browns (6) Four new starters on defense will make this a very physical unit.
18. Seattle Seahawks (5) Under-rated part of the team.
19. Minnesota Vikings (6) A quick unit that doesn’t make alot of big plays.
20. Green Bay Packers (6) Young linebackers Hawk and Hodge make this a unit on the way up.
21. Denver Broncos (4) Imported too many Ex-Browns that weren’t that good.
22. St. Louis Rams (7) Defense is under construction.
23. Cincinnati Bengals (5) Losing their best player for the first four games will hurt the defense…..badly.
24. Buffalo Bills (8) The draft was a good start, but the new blood won’t make that much of a difference this season.
25. NY Jets (9) Not alot of playmakers on this side of the ball.
26. Arizona Cardinals (9) Defense not in same league as the Cards offense.
27. Detroit Lions (8) Defense could be on the field alot…..and that’s not a good thing.
28. Tennessee Titans (7) Not a lot of playmakers on this side of the field.
29. New Orleans Saints (7) Rebuilding, just like the city.
30. Houston Texans (5) Mario Williams can’t do it alone.
31. San Francisco 49ers (7) Defense will be on the field alot, and they will more than likely be defending short fields because of their inept offense.
32. Oakland Raiders (3) A long way to go to just be average.
The Vikings defense played an outstanding game, except for one play. Johnnie Morant caught a 67 yard TD pass on the pass defense. Take that one play out and the Vikings only gave up 203 yards the rest of the game. Excitement ensued when the Vikings brought in their second round pick, QB Tavaris Jackson. Jackson looked real good out there completing 7 of 13 passes for 60 yards. Jackson also rushed three times for 36 yards, but he better learn to slide because safety Darnell Bing tried to rip his head off. Also interesting during the game was when the Vikes got close to the goal-line and called on Tony Richardson to run it in instead of Ciatrick Fason.
1. Antonio Gates, Chargers (3) The undisputed king of tight ends. A young QB’s best friend is the tight end.
2. Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs (3) Gonzalez is the Chiefs #1 receiver. Almost impossible to stop.
3. Chris Cooley, Redskins (8) Was a force last season, and with Al Saunders calling the plays…he could explode.
4. Jeremy Shockey, Giants (4) I love watching this guy play. He’s old-school, and he’s good.
5. Todd Heap, Ravens (7) Watch out….he has a real QB for the first time in his career.
6. Randy McMichael, Dolphins (8) With Culpepper on board he could make the Pro Bowl.
7. Alge Crumpler, Falcons (5) Michael Vick’s favorite receiver. That shouldn’t mean too much, but if Schaub plays…look out!
8. Jason Witten, Cowboys (3) The Tuna loves throwing to the tight end, and Witten is a good one.
9. L.J. Smith, Eagles (9) Donovan McNabb has to throw to someone.
10. Kellen Winslow, Browns (6) A man on a mission. Safeties beware.
11. Vernon Davis, 49ers (7) He’ll be the guy Alex Smith is looking for….and soon.
12. Jermaine Wiggins, Vikings (6) Wiggins doesn’t look the part, but he’s been very good for the Vikings.
13. Heath Miller, Steelers (4) A carbon copy of Todd Heap. If Big Ben looks his way….Miller will catch it.
14. Zach Hilton, Saints (7) Brees likes throwing to his tight end, and Hilton had a good second half last year.
15. Mercedes Lewis, Jaguars (6) The Jags first round pick has alot of ability, and Leftwich needs someone to throw to.
16. Ben Watson, Patriots (6) Brady’s receiving corps is looking thin, so he will look to the TE more this season.
17. Dallas Clark, Colts (6) Clark is a good athlete that catches his share of passes.
18. Marcus Pollard, Lions (8) Pollard is getting old, but he can still catch the football.
19. Erron Kinney, Titans (7) Tight-ends catch alot of passes in the Titans offense, but they’re usually short ones.
20. Eric Johnson, 49ers (7) If healthy, and that’s a big if, Johnson is a good TE.
21. Jeb Putzier, Texans (5) Putzier should catch alot of short passes from Carr. It should help Carr from taking a beating again this year.
22. Doug Jolley, Jets (9) Jolley is a good receiver, but he’s under utilized by the Jets.
23. Jeramy Stevens, Seahawks (5) If Stevens just caught the passes that hit him in the hands, he would rank much higher.
24. Bubba Franks, Packers (6) Franks is slowing down, but Favre will be looking for him in the Red Zone.
25. Ben Troupe, Titans (7) Catches alot of passes, but doesn’t get alot of yards.
26. Daniel Graham, Patriots (6) Graham is a good receiver and should increase his receptions this season.
27. Steve Heiden, Browns (6) Tough as nails throwback. If you draft Winslow…..you better draft Heiden too.
28. Anthony Fasano, Cowboys (3) Rookie from Notre Dame is a good receiver.
29. Alex Smith, Buccaneers (4) Smith is just scratching the surface of his potential.
30. Bryan Fletcher, Colts (6) Fletcher was a find for the Colts as a rookie. His role could expand.
31. Dominique Byrd, Rams (7) Rams TE job is open and Byrd is a good receiver.
32. Leonard Pope, Cardinals (9) Rookie TE has the upper hand in Arizona. He’s a big target.
33. Stephen Alexander, Broncos (4) Good hands, but lacks speed.
34. Adam Bergen, Cardinals (9) Bergen looked decent as a rookie, but he’s a possession type receiver.
35. Jim Kleinsasser, Vikings (6) Better blocker than receiver.
36. Joe Klopfenstein, Rams (7) Will battle Byrd for starting spot. Has good hands.
37. Anthony Becht, Buccaneers (4) Over-rated every season.
38. Courtney Anderson, Raiders (3) Tight-end is an afterthought in Raiders offense.
39. Desmond Clark, Bears (7) Bears starter, but doesn’t get many balls thrown his way.
40. Jason Dunn, Chiefs (3) Gets an occasional bone thrown his way. Usually near the end-zone.
41. Christian Fauria, Redskins (8) Redskins will use the tight-end alot. You could do worse.
42. Kris Mangum, Panthers (9) Tight-ends block in Panthers offense.
43. Robert Royal, Bills (8) Starting TE for the Bills, but not much of a receiver.
44. Ernie Conwell, Saints (7) Dependable, but not flashy receiver.
45. Matt Schobel, Eagles (9) Decent back-up, value spikes if Smith is injured.
46. Aaron Shea, Chargers (3) Decent possession receiver.
47. Reggie Kelly, Bengals (5) Not used much in the passing game.
48. Kevin Everett, Bills (8) Good pass catching TE, but he missed his rookie season in Buffalo due to injury.
49. David Martin, Packers (6) Good speed, but under-utilized in the offense.
50. Chris Baker, Jets (9) Not much of a pass catcher.
51. Daniel Wilcox, Ravens (7) Now you’re reaching.
52. Itula Mili, Seahawks (5) Would rank higher but he missed all but two games last season.
53. Tony Scheffler, Broncos (4) Good receiver if he gets a chance to play.
54. Dwayne Blakely, Falcons (5) I know Vick likes the TE……but…..
55. Visanthe Shiancoe, Giants (4) You don’t even want him if Shockey gets hurt.
56. Jerame Tuman, Steelers (4) Rarely gets to go out for a pass.
57. Dan Campbell, Lions (8) Good hands, no speed.
58. Mike Seidman, Panthers (9) Never used in the passing game.
59. Mark Bruener, Texans (5) Good for one catch a game.
60. Kyle Brady, Jaguars (6) Also good for one catch a game.
61. Randal Williams, Raiders (3) You don’t want him.
62. Tony Stewart, Bengals (5) Until Marvin Lewis realizes that tight ends are eligible receivers…you don’t want him.
63. Justin Peele, Dolphins (8) Good blocker.
64. John Gilmore, Bears (7) Just say no.
Greg Blue is a good hitter at safety. He’s very strong in run support, but not very good in man coverage. He will have to be hidden in zone coverages to succeed in the NFL. It’s also possible that he could switch to outside linebacker at some point if he bulked up a little. He has good size for a safety (6’2″, 211 pounds) and has elite speed (4.42 40). He should be a great special teams player from day #1.
Blue played in 49 games at Georgia (28 starts) and made 260 tackles, broke up 12 passes , intercepted two passes and forced four fumbles.
Ray Edwards needs to get a kick in the butt. Coach Childress might be the kind of coach that can motivate Edwards. Edwards has the physical tools (6’6″, 270, 4.7 40) to be a dominator, but he plays soft and takes plays off.
Edwards played in 36 games at Purdue (18 starts) and has made 83 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss and batted down five passes.
Edwards can be a good starter or a huge bust that’s out of the league in a couple of years, it’s really up to him.
Maybe the most puzzling pick in the whole draft. The Vikings traded two third round picks to move up and take Jackson who was projected to be drafted in the 5th or 6th round. He has alot of mechanical problems that will take a while to correct. A lot of times his feet are facing a different direction than the one his throwing, causing his ball to float. He can get away with that kind of stuff at Alabama State, but those passes will get picked off in the NFL.
Jackson played 44 games at Alabama State (37 starts) and completed 54.0% of his passes for 7,987 yards with 68 TD passes and 29 interceptions.
A huge reach for the Vikings that will take years to contribute.
What in the world are were the Vikings thinking here? Cook is a big guy (6’6″, 322), but he’s a soft body that needs a lot of weight room work to be any kind of contributor in the NFL. He played center out of necessity, but will probably move to tackle in the pros because of his size. Cook was projected to be drafted in the fifth or sixth round, and the Vikings took him in the second. This was a huge mistake by the Vikings, as there was still players on the board that could have started for them this season.
Griffin is a good corner and potentially great safety in the NFL. He excels in zone coverage, but has improved his man to man coverage as he got more experienced at Texas. Griffin is quick to support the run and effective at stopping it. Griffin will porbably play in the nickel to start his career with the Vikings, but he will be a starter eventually. He should help on special teams immediately.
Griffin played in 51 games at Texas (44 starts) and made 275 tackles, broke up 32 passes, had three interceptions and forced five fumbles.
Offensive Co-Ordinator Darrin Bevell wants to get him the rock. Taylor has never touched the ball over 200 times. So he will either be tired the second-half of the season, or more likely….he will thrive in his new role. Taylor has been waiting for this day since he was drafted.