nice mention of Shane in this article of each teams' pivotal draft picks over the past few years.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...nnsi&type=lgns
Pivotal picks: AFC
Don Banks, SI.com
NFL talent evaluators may spend millions of dollars and months of work poring over the available prospects, but that doesn't mean the draft will ever rise to the level of science. Now that the league's annual personnel crapshoot is again upon us, let's review one recent key draft decision for each of the NFL's 32 clubs, a pivotal move that for better or worse helped shape the teams they are today:
BALTIMORE RAVENS Ed Reed, S, Miami, first round, 2002 We're sorry to break it to Ray Lewis, but it's Reed who has been the team's preeminent playmaker on defense in recent years. Lewis still has his pregame dance ritual, but he can't take over and dominate once the whistle blows the way he did circa 2000-2001. And let's face it: Until further notice -- or until '03 No. 1 pick Kyle Boller develops into a consistent NFL quarterback -- the Ravens remain a team led by Reed and the rest of its defense.
BUFFALO BILLS Mike Williams, OT, Texas, first round, 2002 Looking for reasons the Bills are tied with Detroit for the second-longest playoff drought in the NFL, trailing only Arizona? Since Buffalo last made the postseason, in 1999, it has had far too many failures on the draft front, and Williams epitomizes that record. Selected fourth overall in 2002, the former Longhorn was never a player the Bills could count on, and his release this offseason proved once again that there are no sure things in the draft, even in the top five pick.
CINCINNATI BENGALS Carson Palmer, QB, Southern Cal, first round, 2003 The Bengals' long national nightmare finally ended in 2005, when they snapped their NFL-high 15-year streak of nonplayoff seasons and won a division title. The biggest step in their renaissance was coach Marvin Lewis' making Palmer his first draft pick in Cincinnati. It sounds silly now, but Palmer wasn't a slam dunk at the time. As late as a few weeks before the draft, Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman was still a candidate for the No. 1 overall pick. Score one for the former Bungles.
CLEVELAND BROWNS Tim Couch, QB, Kentucky, first round, 1999 We're going to bestow the distinction of tone-setter on Couch, but Cleveland's almost unfathomable record of first-round draft misses and misfortune since re-entering the league in 1999 is truly a team award that should be shared by the underachieving likes of Courtney Brown (2000), Gerard Warren (2001), William Green (2002) and, yes, we didn't forget you, Kellen Winslow Jr. (2004). New coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage may turn this thing around, but the Browns squandered a bunch of draft picks in their formative years.
DENVER BRONCOS Tatum Bell, RB, Oklahoma State, second round, 2004 The train just keeps on rolling in Denver, and it's usually led by the Broncos' numbingly consistent rushing game, which produces star running backs as though Denver owns the patent. Bell is just the latest name atop the depth chart, and he, too -- like Mike Anderson, Quentin Griffin, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns, Olandis Gary and Terrell Davis before him -- didn't come with a first-round price tag. Though the name of the ballcarrier changes, the Broncos keep running and keep winning. And no, that's not a coincidence.
HOUSTON TEXANS David Carr, QB, Fresno State, first round, 2002 We're of the belief that Carr can win in the NFL if given enough protection by his line, something the Texans haven't managed to do in the four years he's been on the job. And until Houston does, the franchise's first-ever pick will be its most critiqued. After the Texans climbed to seven wins in 2004, their bottom fell out last season. But if that 2-14 debacle brings them Reggie Bush and generates a brighter future, perhaps the pounding that Carr and the Texans absorbed won't have been for naught.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee, first round, 1998 A no-brainer, you say? Sure, it looks that way now, given that Manning has led the Colts to 80 wins and six playoff berths since arriving on the scene in 1998. But don't forget, at the time Indy drafted Manning, a lot of folks were saying that a Washington State quarterback by the name of Ryan Leaf had the bigger upside. You could also point to Dwight Freeney's selection in the first round of 2002 (Tony Dungy's first pick as Colts coach) as the first step toward what Indy hopes will be a championship-caliber defense.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS Marcus Stroud, DT, Georgia, first round, 2001 The Jaguars built the foundation for the sturdy, run-stuffing defensive team they are today under coach Jack Del Rio when they drafted Stroud in 2001 and fellow defensive tackle John Henderson in '02. The bulky and dominating duo gives Jacksonville's defense strength in the middle, and with that in place, the Jaguars have added the missing pieces around them, giving the franchise the nucleus of talent it needed to return to the playoffs last season after a six-year absence.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Larry Johnson, RB, Penn State, first round, 2003 Plenty of us wondered what the Chiefs were thinking when they drafted Johnson 27th in 2003, seemingly as nothing more than an insurance policy should Priest Holmes need a game or two off due to injury. But Johnson proved he's more than Holmes' caddy, scoring 21 touchdowns and rushing for an AFC-best 1,750 yards last season, despite starting just nine games. His emergence means the Chiefs will continue to field the NFL's most explosive attack, Priest or no Priest.
MIAMI DOLPHINS Channing Crowder, LB, Florida, third round, 2005 New coach Nick Saban's first objective last season in South Florida was to establish a tough and tenacious identity for his defense, making resiliency its mantra. In Crowder, the sixth pick of the third round, Saban found an athletic, rangy linebacker who should be a willing and productive foot soldier in Saban's army for years to come. Crowder started 14 games last season, and although he came up short in individual statistics, he helped set the tone for a defense that resolved to fight opponents all day long.
NEW ENGLAND Tom Brady, QB, Michigan, sixth round, 2000 Duh. It's not even approaching hyperbole to call Brady the greatest second-day (or latter-round, take your pick) draft choice in NFL history, given his three Super Bowl wins in the first four years of his starting tenure. Before Brady took over for the injured Drew Bledsoe in late September 2001, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was 5-13 (.278) in Foxboro. Since then, he's 68-21 (.764) with three rings. Any questions?
NEW YORK JETS Chad Pennington, QB, Marshall, first round, 2000 Pennington should wear a question mark on his jersey these days, because coming off two consecutive seasons interrupted by injuries to his throwing shoulder, that's what he is. And for now it's his status that looms over the Jets' 2006 season, and how New York stands at the game's most pivotal position. Pennington was the first passer taken in 2000, going 18th overall. After him came Giovanni Carmazzi (third round), Chris Redman (third round) and Tee Martin (fifth round). But the key that year was taking a quarterback in the sixth round. That's when both Marc Bulger (168th overall) and Tom Brady (199th) were selected.
OAKLAND RAIDERS Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Cal, first round, 2003 In their three-year slide since making the Super Bowl in January 2003, the Raiders have made four first-round picks, with nary an impact player among them. Entering his fourth NFL season, Asomugha is still waiting for his first interception. Defensive end Tyler Brayton (first round, 2003) has just six sacks in three years. Offensive tackle Robert Gallery (first round, 2004) has not been the cornerstone he was projected to be, and cornerback Fabian Washington endured a disappointing rookie season last year. That's a recipe for a team on the skids.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Miami (Ohio), first round, 2004 Ten teams passed on Roethlisberger before the Steelers nabbed him, and 10 teams were forced to admit their mistake almost immediately -- or at least by the time the rookie quarterback won his first 15 starts, losing for the first time in the AFC title game. When Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl ring in his second season, leading the Steelers to that elusive one for the thumb, it only cemented his status as one of the best first-round bargains in NFL draft history.
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS Shane Olivea, OT, Ohio State, seventh round, 2004 With Drew Brees gone, the outcome of the Eli Manning-Philip Rivers draft-day trade in 2004 figures to dictate the immediate future of the franchise. But we don't have a clue yet as to how that's going to turn out. And despite LaDainian Tomlinson's brilliance, he was still known as the game's best player on a losing team until Brees elevated his game the past two years. So for the honor of most pivotal recent draft pick we nominate Olivea, who, despite coming to the Chargers in the seventh round in 2004, has started 31 games his first two seasons. A starting tackle in the seventh round for a team with a superb running game is quite a feat. 
TENNESSEE TITANS Pacman Jones, CB, West Virginia, first round, 2005 The Titans have slumped to 9-23 in the past two seasons, and nobody has personified their troubles more than Jones, the former West Virginia cornerback who seems to have trouble for a middle name. Jones, the sixth overall pick in 2005, has accumulated more entries on his rap sheet than on the stat sheet since hitting Nashville last spring. On the field, Jones is a long way from a finished product. The hope is that a Tennessee turnaround this season might begin with him.