The 2006 NFL Draft generously rewarded a talented group of LSU football seniors this past weekend in New York.
After 255 selections, seven former LSU players landed with NFL teams led by the first round selection of former running back Joseph Addai.
The Indianapolis Colts had the 30th overall pick and chose Addai, who was the first running back chosen in the first round by the Colts since Edgerrin James in 1999.
When James departed for Arizona in free agency this season, pre-draft speculation pointed to Addai landing with the Colts.
The comparisons between the two backs have begun with each back’s physical stature mirroring one another.
James stands 6 feet tall, and Addai stands 5 feet 11inches tall. Both players weigh in at 214 pounds.
Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy was not shy about pointing out the players’ similarities in a story published on the team’s Web site.
“He was the guy who reminded us most of Edgerrin in that he could do a lot of things,” Dungy said. “He’s going to do a lot of things that are going to remind people of Edgerrin, but he’s replacing a guy who for seven years might have been the best back in the league.”
Addai said he is conscious of the comparisons but said he cannot let them dictate his play.
“It will take me a long time to fill his shoes, but I know what I can control,” Addai said. “He’s one of the best running backs in the NFL.”
Former offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth was the 55th overall selection in the draft and will join two former teammates on his new team.
The Cincinnati Bengals chose Whitworth in the second round, and Whitworth will be reunited with former LSU lineman Ben Wilkerson, who signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2005.
Whitworth will also join former LSU wide receiver Bennie Brazell, whom the Bengals drafted in the seventh round Sunday.
“It’s a great thing – me and Andrew came in together, and we’re leaving together,” Brazell said. “We can’t get rid of each other.”
In an article published on the Bengals’ team Web site, offensive line coach Paul Alexander reportedly told Whitworth that he was a first-round type player and didn’t know why he was not on teams’ first round draft boards.
“You can never have enough good linemen. It comes down to that,” said Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. “Teams that are good year-in and year-out have good linemen.”
Former LSU defensive tackle Claude Wroten had to wait until the third round to hear his name called with his stock dropping.
The St. Louis Rams used the 68th overall pick in the draft to take Wroten, who was a projected first round pick before he was caught Jan. 5 with 24.5 grams of marijuana and $3,000 in cash in his possession.
In the fourth round, former LSU wide receiver Skyler Green became the new teammate of one of the most controversial players in the league, Terrell Owens.
The Dallas Cowboys chose Green with the 125th overall pick. The 5-foot-10-inch receiver joins Owens and Terry Glenn on the team’s roster.
“[Owens] is going to show me great leadership and help me out in ways I’ve never been helped out before,” Green said. “He’s going to show me the ins and outs of the game. I want someone to take me under their wing.”
Green said the pre-draft indications pointed to him going to the Cowboys but admitted he thought he would be a first-day selection.
“They said they were very interested, and they were saying first day, but that totally changed,” Green said. “I knew I had to go in the fourth round, and I couldn’t go in the fifth.”
Former defensive tackle Kyle Williams followed Green in the fifth round as the 134th overall pick in the draft.
The Buffalo Bills chose Williams, who said both the timing of the pick and the team were a little unexpected.
“I slipped a little bit,” Williams said. “From people we talked to, we thought third or fourth round.”
Former defensive end Melvin Oliver was the sixth Tiger drafted and the fourth LSU player drafted on the second day.
The San Francisco 49ers chose Oliver with the 197th pick in the draft. Oliver said the position was expected, but the team that chose him was not.
Oliver said he talked to 25 out of the 32 teams in the NFL but had not spoken with the 49ers.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” Oliver said. “California has great weather, and it’ll be a great place to play.”
 
Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]