Kirwan: 2006 NFL Draft positional rankings

[Nick]

2006 NFL Draft positional rankings
By Pat Kirwan
NFL.com Senior Analyst

(April 7, 2006) -- With three weeks to go until the draft, here is my positional draft board for the first day. With one compensatory pick in Round 3, there will be 97 players drafted on Saturday, April 29. Here's my first look at how they will come off the board by position. NFL teams like to say they draft the best available athletes, but in recent years, many teams have drafted for need with an eye on the value. Grades are subjective, and no two teams in the NFL have the same draft boards, so I prefer to list the positions and the round the player should go in.

QUARTERBACK
1. Matt Leinart -- 1
2. Vince Young -- 1
3. Jay Cutler -- 1
4. Brodie Croyle -- 2
5. Charlie Whitehurst -- 3
6. Omar Jacobs -- 3
7. Reggie McNeal -- 3

RUNNING BACK
1. Reggie Bush -- 1
2. DeAngelo Williams -- 1
3. Laurence Maroney -- 1
4. LenDale White -- 1
5. Brian Calhoun -- 2
6. Joseph Addai -- 2
7. Jerious Norwood -- 2
8. Maurice Drew -- 3

WIDE RECEIVER
1. Santonio Holmes -- 1
2. Chad Jackson -- 1
3. Sinorice Moss -- 2
4. Maurice Stovall -- 2
5. Derek Hagan -- 2
6. Travis Wilson -- 2
7. Devin Aromashodu -- 3

TIGHT END
1. Vernon Davis -- 1
2. Marcedes Lewis -- 2
3. Leonard Pope -- 2
4. Joe Klopfenstein -- 2
5. Dominique Byrd -- 3
6. Anthony Fasano -- 3
7. Owen Daniels -- 3

GUARD
1. Davin Joseph -- 1
2. Deuce Lutui -- 2
3. Max Jean-Gilles -- 2
4. Charles Spencer -- 3
5. Fred Matua -- 3

TACKLE
1. D'Brickashaw Ferguson -- 1
2. Winston Justice -- 1
3. Eric Winston -- 2
4. Marcus McNeill -- 2
5. Andrew Whitworth -- 3
6. Jonathan Scott -- 3
7. Ryan O'Callaghan -- 3
8. Daryn Colledge -- 3
9. Paul McQuistan -- 3

CENTER
1. Nick Mangold -- 1
2. Greg Eslinger -- 3

DEFENSIVE END
1. Mario Williams -- 1
2. Mathias Kiwanuka -- 1
3. Tamba Hali -- 2
4. Ray Edwards -- 2
5. Victor Adeyanju -- 3
6. Daryl Tapp -- 3
7. James Wyche -- 3

DEFENSIVE TACKLE
1. Haloti Ngata -- 1
2. Brodrick Bunkley -- 1
3. Claude Wroten -- 2
4. Rodrique Wright -- 2
5. Gabe Watson -- 2
6. John McCargo -- 3
7. Johnathan Lewis -- 3
8. Dusty Dvoracek -- 3
9. Barry Cofield -- 3

INSIDE LINEBACKER
1. Abdul Hodge -- 2
2. D'Qwell Jackson -- 2
3. Gerris Wilkinson -- 3
4. Tim Dobbins -- 3

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
1. A.J. Hawk -- 1
2. Ernie Sims -- 1
3. Manny Lawson -- 1
4. Kamerion Wimbley -- 1
5. Chad Greenway -- 1
6. DeMeco Ryans -- 1
7. Bobby Carpenter -- 2
8. Thomas Howard -- 2
9. Jon Alston -- 2
10. Roger McIntosh -- 3

CORNERBACK
1. Jimmy Williams -- 1
2. Tye Hill -- 1
3. Antonio Cromartie -- 1
4. Jonathan Joseph -- 1
5. Kelly Jennings -- 2
6. Ashton Youboty -- 2
7. Cedric Griffin -- 2
8. Richard Marshall-- 3
9. Dee Webb-- 3
10. Devin Hester -- 3
11. DeMario Minter -- 3
12. Anwar Phillips -- 3

SAFETY
1. Michael Huff -- 1
2. Jason Allen -- 1
3. Darnell Bing -- 2
4. Ko Simpson -- 2
5. Donte Whitner -- 2
6. Daniel Bullocks -- 2
7. Pat Watkins -- 3
8. Greg Blue -- 3
9. Anthony Smith -- 3
10. Bernard Pollard -- 3

[RAM-BO]

Antonio Cromartie. Yeah.