Read Sports Geek’s argument that Aaron Rodgers is the best first round pick from the 2005 NFL Draft and Bleacher Fan’s argument that is it Roddy White.
A couple of weeks ago, the writing staff here at The Sports Debates were tossing around topic ideas and we discussed the 2005 NFL Draft. Folks, we trouble naming players out of that draft who had made big contributions. After looking over this list, we agreed that it was a terrible draft. Look at it, folks. The first round is lackluster AT BEST! San Francisco taking quarterback Alex Smith first overall really set the tone for the entire draft, didn’t it? You could make a solid case for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White, as my colleagues have decided to do. But, since I had to choose one guy that I would want to resign to a long term deal, I chose Dallas Cowboys‘ linebacker DeMarcus Ware.
Ware, out of Troy University, was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft. In a short time, he has become one of the league’s best linebackers. In four years, he has accumulated 297 tackles and 53.5 sacks, including a whopping 20 sacks last year. At one point last year, he had a sack in ten consecutive games. He also made the Pro Bowl the past three years.
Ware, who just turned 27, is in the last year of his rookie contract. His base salary is just over $1 million, a far cry from the extravagant contracts that not only some of the league’s top defensive players have (see Albert Haynesworth and James Harrison), but also what some of the players in his own draft class currently have (see Antrel Rolle, Aaron Rodgers, and Luis Castillo).
To the Cowboys credit, they have plans to extend Ware’s contract. The Cowboys obviously want to keep him, and he seems to want to stay in Dallas. He is also set to receive a gigantic pay raise that will raise him to the upper echelon of salaries in the NFL. Hopefully, this will raise his profile, also.
DeMarcus Ware still isn’t nearly as well known as some of his teammates. Yes, I know he plays for America’s Team and he gets a front row seat to the daily soap opera there. But, he’s strangely off of the national radar. Tony Romo and Terrell Owens stole all the headlines the last couple of years. The fact remains that Ware is a beast on the field and someone opposing offenses game plan around – without much success.
The Cowboys should definitely sign Ware to an extension… very soon. He’s just entering the prime of his career, and he should play the prime of his career at the new Cowboys Stadium.
Aaron looks like he will be a great QB for years to come, but defensive players like Ware, come around less often. You can win with an average QB, but u need turnovers from your defense to do it. You need game changing defensive players. I voted for Ware!
Interesting comment, as always, Mike. We disagree that defensive players are harder to come by than QBs. Only one team in the NFL modern era has won in SPITE of their QB, the Baltimore Ravens. Statistical trends show that it is far harder to win without a good QB than with a good QB. So, we’ll have to agree to disagree!