[image: fantasyfootball] <http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/> | Sports The Z Report
The Z Report <http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/> A sports blog with *Lance Zierlein* It feels great, to draft a Florida Gator? Not so much For the last few years I've heard scouts and coaches ding Texas players for having too many prospects who are either soft or just too weird, USC offensive players for being overrated and underwhelming and Big 10 running backs for being too slow. The team prospects that I'm starting to hear get more and more heat starting last year and carrying into this year are the Florida Gators. Sure, Florida has had a history of busts at the WR position, but I decided to go back and look at Florida players drafted within the first four rounds (typical rounds of impact) since 2001 and here is what I found. *2001* *Gerard Warren, DT - Browns (1st) Kenyatta Walker, OT - Bucs (1st) Jesse Palmer, QB - Giants (4th)* *Z-Report says:* Warren wasn't a total bust but was a big disappointment as the 3rd pick of the draft for the Browns who passed on Richard Seymour for "Big Money" Warren. Warren only lasted four seasons with the Browns and was a bit of a problem in the locker room during his stay in Cleveland. Walker was unable to play left tackle, which is what he was drafted to play, so the Jaguars switched him to right tackle. They ended up getting about 4th round value from Walker at best before he was cut in 2007. Jaguar fans would argue they got even less than that. Jesse Palmer is famous for dating a bunching of women on a reality show. *2002* *Lito Sheppard, CB - Eagles (1st) Jabar Gaffney, WR - Texans (2nd) Mike Pearson, OT - Jaguars (2nd) Reche Caldwell, WR - Chargers (2nd) Jeff Chandler, PK - Niners (4th) Alex Brown, DE - Bears (4th)* *Z-Report says:* Some scouts might argue that Sheppard has performed to a 2nd round value, but I would say that this was a pretty solid selection for the Eagles (even though he's not there anymore). Sheppard had two Pro Bowl appearances, but I will tell you in advance that Pro Bowl appearances mean much less to me than being named to an All Pro team. Gaffney was a major disappointment for the Texans who passed on Clinton Portis with the first pick of the 2nd round. Gaffney found some notoriety while Tom Brady was throwing to him, but overall, he's been just a guy. Pearson started for a couple of seasons with the Jaguars and then got hurt and never really made it back. He's currently playing in Canada. Reche Caldwell's best season came when Brady threw him 61 passes for 760 yards, but other than that, he's never had more than 28 catches or 352 yards receiving. You simply can't have 2nd rounders turn out like Caldwell and Pearson. Alex Brown, on the other hand, was a terrific value selection in the 4th round for the Bears as they focused less on his lack of size and more on his speed. He has had at least 6 sacks in five of his eight seasons all of which have come with the team who drafted him. *2003* *Rex Grossman, QB - Bears (1st) Taylor Jacobs, WR - Redskins (2nd) Todd Johnson, CB - Bears (4th) Ian Scott, DT - Bears (4th)* *Z-Report says:* I think we can all agree that Rex Grossman was a bust. Other than one season where he helped them get to the Super Bowl (and that is a pretty big deal, don't get me wrong), he had 10 TDs and 15 INTs in the other five years combined and he played in only 20 games during those five years thanks in large part to injuries. That's not exactly what I call first round money well spent. Because of the miss on Grossman, it has led to a chain reaction that eventually lead Chicago to make an expensive trade for Jay Cutler which got off to a rocky start last year. Jacobs only lasted three seasons with the Redskins and over his six year career had only 37 total catches with two TDs. That was a terrible miss by the Redskins. Johnson has been a serviceable pro during his stretch in the league and Scott was part of the defensive line rotation for the Bears during a stretch from 2003-2006. Both players were decent 4th round selections. *2004* *Ben Troupe, TE - Titans (2nd) Keiwan Ratliff, S - Bengals (2nd) Max Starks, OT - Steelers (3rd) Guss Scott, S - Patriots (3rd)* *Z-Report says:* Ben Troupe had his best years over the first two seasons in the league and then nothing after that. He is out of the league now at the ripe, old age of 27. Keiwan Ratliff was an early 2nd round selection and he was an average contributor for the Bengals over his first three seasons but since that time has turned into a journeyman. Ratliff played up to a 4th or 5th round grade during his time in the league in terms of his overall value. Max Starks has lost his job in the past and he's bounced from the right side to the left side but he got a chance to resurrect his career when Marvel Smith went out for the Steelers with an injury and Starks stepped in and did a decent job at LT. While Starks' play has been very average, he has two Super Bowl rings and has rang up two strong paydays in a row over the last two years. All in all, you can't really call this pick a miss. Gus Scott played two seasons in the league and that was it. That is disappointing for a 3rd round pick. *2005* *Channing Crowder, LB - Dolphins (3rd) Ciatrick Faison, RB - Vikings (4th)* *Z-Report says:* Crowder slipped to the 3rd round over concerns regarding his character, but overall, he's been a pretty solid player for the Dolphins. Faison had only 50 carries over his two year run in the NFL and averaged just 3.2 yards per carry. He is out of the league. *2006* *Chad Jackson, WR - Patriots (2nd)* *Z-Report Says:* The Patriots liked Jackson so much that they traded their 2nd (52nd overall) and a 3rd rounder to move up to the Packers No. 36 spot to take him. Jackson was hampered with a bad hamstring throughout his rookie season with the Patriots and tore his ACL in the 2006 AFC championship game. Since 2006, Jackson has played in six games and has one catch. Jackson was out of football in 2009. *2007* *Jarvis Moss, DE - Broncos (1st) Reggie Nelson, FS - Jaguars (1st) Ray McDonald, DE - Niners (3rd) Marcus Thomas, DT - Broncos (4th) Joe Cohen, DT - Niners (4th)* *Z-Report says:* The Broncos traded up to the 17th pick of the draft in order to take Moss. Despite concerns about Moss' weakness against the run, the Broncos were hoping to get a great pass rusher in Moss. Instead, Moss has a total of 3.5 sacks over his three years in the NFL and he doesn't appear to be a very good fit in Denver's new 3-4 scheme. Reggie Nelson was a guy who I really liked in the 2007 draft, but boy was I wrong. Oh yeah, the Jaguars were wrong too. The first rounder has steadily regressed since his rookie season and his poor tackling has become a major issue. There is a good chance that Nelson will be cut by the Jaguars this season. Ray McDonald has been a rotation player for the 49'ers and while he hasn't had the impact or become the starter that the team had hoped for, I wouldn't call him a bust. Marcus Thomas was basically another Gerard Warren only he slipped in the draft due to several issues he had during his time at Florida. Thomas has played every game for the Broncos and is a backup NT. While he has disappointed relative to his talent, he isn't a disappointment relative to the round where he was drafted. Cohen failed to latch on with the 49er's, Dolphins or Raiders but played in seven games last year and notched his first NFL sack. It's safe to say he was a 4th round miss, but he was the 135th pick of the draft so that isn't that big a deal. *2008* *Derrick Harvey, DE - Jaguars (1st) Andre Caldwell, WR - Bengals (3rd)* *Z-Report says:* Jaguars GM, Gene Smith, calls this year a "defining year" for Harvey which means he hasn't done crap so far. Harvey was drafted with the 8th pick of the draft in order to shore up the pass rushing issues the Jaguars have had, but he managed only 4 sacks his rookie season and just 2 this year. It is too early to pass judgment on Harvey, but it is safe to say he is off to a slow start at best. Caldwell was a late 3rd rounder by the Bengals, but he had a solid second season last year logging 51 catches for 432 yards and three TDs. *2009* *Percy Harvin, WR - Vikings (1st) Louis Murphy, WR - Raiders (4th)* *Z-Report says:* Unless Harvin's "character concerns" creep up on him, he should be a very good NFL player. There is nothing on the field that leads me to believe that he will regress from what we saw this year. As for Murphy, he had a very good rookie season as a 4th rounder. Murphy averaged 15.3 yards per catch and had four TDs. -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
