NFL Draft Recap

At this point, it's no secret that the Houston Texans picked DE Mario Williams, skipping over a once-a-generation, future-hall-of-famer, difference-making, explosive and dynamic playmaker in Reggie Bush. (You can tell I think it was a dumb move, can't you?) The Saints, still reeling from their city's devastation after Hurricane Katrina, were more than happy to pick up Houston's scraps. The adding of Bush, along with the high-profile off-season acquisition of QB Drew Brees, to a team that has one of the best receivers in the league (Joe Horn) and one of the best running backs (Deuce McAllister), makes the Saints offense - potentially - pure TNT. I'm glad Nawlins got a little something to be happy about. The big question now is: how will Deuce and Reggie split carries?

Miami Hurricanes

The other big news (at least for me) is how, even though the 6-year streak of a top-15 pick coming from the Miami Hurricanes came to an end, Miami increased their record of first-round selections to 12 years. As the second to last pick in the first round, the Seattle Seahawks selected CB Kelly Jennings. The dude is fast, and I guarantee - barring injury - he will be starting come game 1.

Also of note: despite having arguably one of their least successful drafts of the last decade or so, Miami still had nine players drafted (only USC had more).

More from Canes Time:

In the second round, Rocky McIntosh was picked up by the Redskins with the 35th overall pick, Sinorice Moss went to the New York Giants, and the Chicago Bears selected Devin Hester with the 57th pick.

McIntosh joins three other high profile former 'Canes (Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, and Sean Taylor) on Washington’s roster. Since drafting Lavar Arrington second overall in 2000, the Redskins haven’t picked a linebacker this early in the draft, so the coaching staff must see something in Rocky that they like. He’s got decent size, has amazing quickness, and should be able to adjust to the professional game fairly quickly.

Like McIntosh, Moss will also be NFL teammates with another former Miami star, Jeremy Shockey. Giants quarterback Eli Manning must be grinning from ear-to-ear as he thinks about his receiving options this upcoming season. He already had Shockey at tight end and Plexico Burress at receiver, but he now also has the smaller-yet-lightning fast Moss. Like his older brother Santana, Sinorice will create match-up problems for opposing defenses and should se plenty of balls thrown his way in ’06.

There’s no doubt that Devin Hester has more pure talent that 99% of the other players in the draft, but the reason he fell to the late second round is because NFL scouts had the same problem that Larry Coker had last year: deciding where to put Devin on the field.

“A jack of all trades, yet a master of none” is the reputation Hester has acquired, but he was exactly what the Bears were looking for. They need defensive backs and kick/punt returners, so it only made since to draft Devin and kill two birds with one stone. He’ll definitely be Chicago’s starting return man next season, and could compete for a back-up spot in the defensive backfield.

In the third round, two Hurricane offensive linemen were drafted. The Houston Texans took Lone Star State native Eric Winston with the 66th overall pick, and 23 selections later, the Carolina Panthers picked up Rashad Butler.

LB Leon Williams and DL Orien Harris went in the fourth round, and cornerback Marcus Maxey was taken by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 154th overall pick one round later.

Miami Dolphins

First round pick Jason Allen should prove to be a monster at safety - if he stays healthy. And speaking of monster, fourth-round pick OL Joe Toledo just might be the gi-normous piece that the Dolphins' offensive puzzle was missing. I'm looking forward to seeing how third-round pick Derek Hagan turns out for the dolphins - he put up nice numbers in college and should easily slide right in to the #3 WR spot behind Chris Chamber and Marty Booker. DT Rodrique Wright, who had been projected to go as early as late in the first round, was hurt by news of a shoulder injury and the Dolphins were happy to take him in the 7th round. He could be a steal. While Nick Saban didn't necessarily go after the"sexy" high-profile picks, he agressively drafted to fill team needs. Plus, who's foolish enough to question Nick Saban draft strategy?