Top Draft Surprises of the Last Decade

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jun 7, 2007

Top Draft Surprises of the Last Decade

Mike Williams, 2005

Matt Millen surprised everyone when he selected a wideout with his third straight top-10 pick, taking the USC product who had sat out a season after failing in his attempt to challenge the NFL age limit. Williams was fined repeatedly during his first season with the Lions and has since been dealt to Oakland for a fourth-round pick.

Logan Mankins, 2005

The defending Super Bowl champions took the Fresno State guard with the last pick of the first round in 2005. The general reaction was "Logan who?" Mankins was on no one's radar as a possible first-rounder.

Kevin Williams, 2003

The Vikings actually held the seventh pick in this draft but fell two spots after failing to deliver their pick on time. Minnesota was castigated for its apparent confusion, but Williams has made the Pro Bowl twice while neither of the two players the Vikings lost out on, Byron Leftwich and Jordan Gross, has made it once.

Ted Ginn Jr., 2007

Miami passed over Brady Quinn, who had unexpectedly tumbled down in the draft, to take Ted Ginn Jr. out of Ohio State. Dolphins fans slammed the pick and continue to do so now that veteran quarterback Daunte Culpepper appears on his way out of town in favor of 36-year-old Trent Green.

Donte Whitner, 2006

Desperate to improve a defense that surrendered the fourth-most yards in 2005, the Bills took Whitner with the eighth pick. The selection raised eyebrows because most scouts and analysts hadn't projected him going in the top 10.

Willis McGahee, 2003

McGahee tore up his knee in the Fiesta Bowl and could barely walk, let alone play at the time of the draft. But thanks in part to the work of his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, McGahee was taken by the Bills and played well after sitting out his entire rookie season for rehab.

Sebastian Janikowski, 2000

With their selection of Janikowski, the Raiders became the fifth team in modern NFL history to take a kicker in the first round. Oakland made the pick based on his powerful kicking leg and weren't scared off by his off-the-field problems while at Florida State.

Maurice Clarett, 2005

Clarett seemed destined to be a first-round pick after his freshman year at Ohio State, but his attempt to challenge the NFL's age limit was fruitless and he entered the 2005 draft without having played football in more than a year. His 4.7-plus 40-yard speed at the NFL Combine -- which earned him the nickname of "Slo-Mo" -- didn't stop the Broncos from reaching to take him with their third-round pick. Clarett never played a game for Denver and is now in jail.

Eli Manning, 2004

Ignoring Manning's claims that he wouldn't sign with San Diego, the Chargers still took the Ole Miss quarterback with the top pick. After an uncomfortable series of events that included Manning having to pose for pictures while holding up the Chargers jersey he said he would never wear, San Diego worked out a deal with the Giants to swap Manning for fellow top-five pick Phillip Rivers.

Mario Williams, 2006

After winning the Heisman and impressing NFL scouts in workouts, Reggie Bush appeared to be the shoe-in first pick of the 2006 draft. But the Texans, feeling comfortable with Dominick Davis at halfback and unwilling to negotiate with Bush, opted for Williams and agreed to a contract with the N.C. State defensive end on the eve of the draft. Before the combine, Williams was not on most team's radar as a potential top-five pick.