|
| |
2006 Expert Poll - Part 2
|
| by Richard Harris |
| July 22, 2006 |
| |
| Also see
Part 1 of Expert Poll (QB, RB, and WR) |
| |
TIGHT ENDS
Antonio Gates
is the new king at tight end, garnering 10 of the 12 first-place votes in
this year’s poll. The former king, Tony Gonzalez, finished a
distant third, trailing the Giants’ Jeremy Shockey. After the top
three, there was quite a drop-off.
With
former Titan QB Steve McNair now in Baltimore, Todd Heap
finished solidly entrenched at the fourth spot, while Washington’s Chris
Cooley was somewhat of a surprise at No. 5, outdistancing the likes of
Alge Crumpler, Jason Witten, and Randy McMichael.
The
real surprise picks at tight end all came from Kellogg, who not only ranked
Gates fifth but also had Ben Utecht (Ind), Aaron Walker (StL),
and Eric Johnson (SF) among his top 10.
|
Rank |
Name |
Tm |
CB |
JC |
BC |
BH |
RH |
GK |
MK |
MP |
SS |
KS |
TS |
CW |
Total |
|
1 |
Antonio Gates |
SD |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
115 |
|
2 |
Jeremy Shockey |
NYG |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
99 |
|
3 |
Tony Gonzalez |
KC |
3 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
93 |
|
4 |
Todd Heap |
Bal |
4 |
4 |
7 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
80 |
|
5 |
Chris Cooley |
Was |
8 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
68 |
|
6 |
Alge Crumpler |
Atl |
5 |
5 |
10 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
5 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
7 |
8 |
61 |
|
7 |
Jason Witten |
Dal |
6 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
|
7 |
8 |
|
|
2 |
6 |
46 |
|
8 |
Randy McMichael |
Mia |
10 |
7 |
8 |
|
7 |
9 |
10 |
6 |
|
|
9 |
|
22 |
|
9 |
Ben Watson |
NE |
7 |
9 |
5 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
10 |
|
|
18 |
|
10 |
Heath Miller |
Pit |
|
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
9 |
8 |
8 |
|
7 |
14 |
|
11 |
Kellen Winslow |
Cle |
9 |
|
|
10 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
7 |
|
|
10 |
10 |
|
12 |
Vernon Davis |
SF |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
|
10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
|
13 |
L.J. Smith |
Phi |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
|
9 |
|
8 |
|
7 |
|
14 |
Dallas Clark |
Ind |
|
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
6 |
|
15 |
Ben Utecht |
Ind |
|
|
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
16 |
Aaron Walker |
StL |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
17 |
Zach Hilton |
NO |
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
18 |
Bubba Franks |
GB |
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
19 |
Eric Johnson |
SF |
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
KICKERS
The
experts loved the idea of Adam Vinatieri moving to
Indianapolis to kick for the high-powered Colts. The former
Patriot finished well ahead of Neil Rackers, who was on his way to a
scoring title last year before an injury interrupted his season. After
Rackers, there was a significant drop-off, with Jason Elam, Shayne
Graham, and Mike Vanderjagt finishing third through fifth,
respectively. Last year’s leading scorer, Jay Feely, finished
seventh behind David Akers, who should rebound nicely from an
injury-plagued 2005 campaign.
The
boldest selections at kicker came from Curtright (Nate Kaeding 2nd)
and Krueger (Mike Nugent 10th).
|
Rank |
Name |
Tm |
CB |
JC |
BC |
BH |
RH |
GK |
MK |
MP |
SS |
KS |
TS |
CW |
Total |
|
1 |
Adam Vinatieri |
Ind |
|
1 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
99 |
|
2 |
Neil Rackers |
Ari |
9 |
2 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
89 |
|
3 |
Jason Elam |
Den |
1 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
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