2006 NFL Draft Preview Continued: Picks 6-10

The San Francisco 49ers are excited about Maryland’s Vernon Davis, whom they took with the sixth pick in this year’s draft. At 6-foot-4, 253 pounds, Davis has a great NFL body and is one of the top athletes in this year’s draft. Young and Bush have gotten most of the attention in terms of being the most athletic players of 2006, but Davis may well be the best. He ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the combine and has a 42-inch vertical jump. He’s a receiving tight end who should be a big target for Alex Smith for years to come. His receiving skills remind me of Tony Gonzalez, but he’s faster than the Kansas City Chiefs star and more athletic. Despite Davis’ great body in the NFL, he will need to improve his blocking. If he can do that, I think he has a great opportunity to be one of the elite tight ends in the game. Great pickup for a team known for having great receivers.

With the seventh overall pick, Oakland surprised some people by selecting Michael Huff, a talented safety out of Texas. Many pundits speculated that Oakland could take Leinart at No. 7 if he slipped that far, hoping for another Kenny Stabler. But I think they have a better player in Huff who will be able to come in and start contributing as a rookie. He is a big defensive back at 6’1”, 205 pounds with exceptional speed under 4.40. He’s a big hitter who reminds me of Bobby Sanders in Indianapolis. I may not like him, but Huff has experience at the corner position, having played there in the past, and his speed and size could be a nice asset in matching up 1-1 with some of the best outs. of the game. However, if Oakland decides to put him in the corner, they will lose some of his great playmaking ability.

Donte Whitner probably wasn’t on most people’s radar, but the Bills snatched him up with the eighth pick. At this stage, Michael Huff is more advanced as a safety prospect as Whitner greatly benefited from playing in a great defensive system at Ohio State in which every player understands his role and is rarely out of position. I like the Buckeyes defense better than the Chicago Bears in this regard. I’m not sure I agree with this selection, as there were still better players available who could have given the Bills bargaining power with several other teams, but they decided to fill a defensive need. Don’t get me wrong, at 5-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Whitner is built like a ton of bricks and hits like one, too. In my opinion, what gives this guy a huge advantage is that he has a great attitude and never gives up until the whistle blows. He could be very effective in some lightning packages for the Bills. Maybe this surprise pick will be a big surprise in the NFL this season.

This was the year of linebacker in the Black and Blue division with Green Bay going with AJ Hawk and Minnesota grabbing Chad Greenway. I’m a little surprised Detroit bypassed Greenway with this pick and went with Florida State’s Ernie Sims. His numbers aren’t even close to Greenway’s and Hawk’s, but he has better speed. He, too, is small in a division with so many punishing running backs at just 220 pounds. I think he could be great in some late blitz packages with his quick burst of speed and great timing, and maybe Detroit likes his quick pass coverage. Sims has a lot of potential and the Lions hope to take advantage of it.

Pundits were calling Matt Leinart the most NFL-ready quarterback in this year’s draft, and he was ultimately taken by the Cardinals with the 10th overall pick. He’ll be a great stand-in for Kurt Warner who, as one of the best in the game at spotting blitzes and getting rid of them quickly on a hot route, will be a great learning tool for Leinart to figure out the intricacies of one of the things harder for a young QB to do. I can see Leinart getting a few starts this season if Arizona decides midway through that the future is now. Additionally, Warner has been plagued with injuries in recent years. I love these kids’ ability to stay in the pocket and deliver the ball accurately. His speed and mobility are big questions, but those things were also big questions for Kurt Warner, who has won a Super Bowl and the league MVP award a couple of times. Arizona should be delighted to have Leinart this late.