Top 25 Players of the 2005 Draft: Honorable Mentions and Notes

In making my lists for the "Top 25 of '05", I had four players that didn't quite fit onto the list. Here they are, in all their Honorable-Mention glory:

Todd Herremans, G/T, 126th overall by the Eagles. The T.J. Lang of Philadelphia: played six seasons of left guard before making the emergency switch to right tackle in 2011, where he held up well. Allowed just four sacks of Michael Vick in '11, which is doubly impressive when you consider that the right side is Vick's blind side (Vick is a lefty). Missed five games in '09 due to injury; otherwise that's about it. Just a solid player all the way through.  

Robbie Gould, K, undrafted by the Patriots. Gould slipped through the Patriots' fingers, since they had Adam Vinatieri at the time, and went on to sign with the Bears. All he's done since is become the second most accurate kicker in NFL history, at 86%. A Pro Bowler in 2006, Gould's greatest moment was probably a 49-yard field goal in overtime against the Seahawks, which sent the Bears to the '06 NFC Championship. I must admit to a certain anti-specialist bias in leaving him off the list; Gould is really, really good at what he does, but there were just too many good full-time players who were equally good or better at their tasks.

Lofa Tatupu, LB, 45th overall by the Seahawks. Looking back on it, Tatupu probably got robbed; Barrett Ruud was probably more consistent and less injury-ridden than Tatupu, but had fewer big plays and certainly three fewer Pro Bowl nods. Tatupu had 335 tackles, eight picks and five forced fumbles in his first three years, but regressed as a pass defender and was released by the Seahawks after 2010. He struggled with injuries in '09 and spent '11 out of football before the Falcons called earlier this offseason. Another good, playmaking 4-3 linebacker whose career was derailed by injury.

Alex Smith, QB, 1st overall by the 49ers. Originally, Smith squeaked in at No. 25, before being bumped off when I realized I'd left out Michael Roos. Smith isn't a bad quarterback, but he's suffered from the expectations of being a No. 1 pick; if he were a third-rounder, I think there would be less clamor over whether or not he was a "bust". I've never heard of another No. 1 pick that was so consistently unspectacular who has stuck with his team--as a starter--as long as Smith. On the other hand, his No. 1 status and decent production have inspired the Niners to stick with him for seven years. He made it onto the list based on a solid '11 season and unbelievable performance in the divisional round, where he accounted for four TDs and led two separate fourth-quarter comebacks. It's just that that is really his only significant career highlight to date.

Miscellaneous notes:

-I marked this in the last post, but how about the San Diego Chargers' draft that year? They got the ridiculously talented Shawne Merriman and solid 3-4 end Luis Castillo in Round 1, No. 1 receiver Vincent Jackson in Round 2, and all-purpose back Darren Sproles in Round 4. Sure, none of them are currently with the Chargers, but that's one heck of a talented draft class.

-The Giants, too, had an unbelievable offseason. They snagged a top cover corner (Corey Webster) in the 2nd, a top defensive end (Justin Tuck) in the 3rd and a bruising running back in the fourth (Brandon Jacobs). That was the offseason they signed Plaxico Burress, who would catch the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII, as their No. 1 receiver; they also picked up future two-time 1,200-yard rusher Ryan Grant (RB) and signed OLB Cameron Wake, a future Pro Bowler, as undrafted free agents. Another free-agent signing, LB Chase Blackburn, picked off Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI. How does all that even happen?

-Speaking of Tuck and Wake, this was a stupendous year for pass-rushers. The consensus top 3-4 OLB in the NFL, DeMarcus Ware, came out of this draft; so did Wake, Tuck, Trent Cole, Merriman and Jay Ratliff, five other Pro Bowlers. Safeties and corners had an "up" year as well, with Antrel Rolle, Webster, Nick Collins, Merriman and O.J. Atogwe making my list.

-On the other hand, wideouts had a terrible year. NFL teams missed on Braylon Edwards, Troy Williamson, Mike Williams, Matt Jones and Mark Clayton in the first round alone. Edwards had one brilliant season in Cleveland (2007; 1,289 yards and 16 TDs) and one good season with the Jets. The rest of those names are unqualified busts. Outside of Roddy White and Vincent Jackson, the talent is very sparse at WR.

-Things are a bit better at RB, where this actually turned out to be a pretty good class. Despite Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams busting out within the first five picks, Cedric Benson eventually had three 1,000-yard seasons with Cincinnati (Brown only managed one despite being selected No. 2 overall) and Frank Gore has had an excellent career. Other notables include Brandon Jacobs, Marion Barber III (one of my favorite players despite being a Cowboy and a Bear), Darren Sproles, Ryan Grant and John Kuhn.

-The Chargers and the Giants had excellent drafts, and you could probably add the Packers to that list (despite the fact that they only got three starters out of it: Aaron Rodgers, Collins and Brady Poppinga). The Vikings, on the other hand, had a horrendous draft. Seven years later, only one of their picks is still in the NFL (sixth-rounder C.J. Mosley). First-rounders Troy Williamson (WR) and Erasmus James (DE), second-round G/T Marcus Johnson, third-round corner Dustin Fox and fourth-round RB Ciatrick Fason were all busts.