The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on

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and

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, with additional coverage offered by

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

and, for the first time, by NFL Network. Having signed a contract with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

on the evening before the draft, Mario Williams, a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

from North Carolina State, became the draft's first pick. The selection surprised many commentators, who predicted that the Texans would draft

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Reggie Bush or

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Vince Young. Ohio State produced the most first round selections (five), while

produced the most overall selections (eleven). Twenty-seven compensatory and supplemental compensatory selections were distributed amongst seventeen teams; Tampa Bay,

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, and

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each held three compensatory picks. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. The 255 players chosen in the draft were composed of: * 33

Wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

s * 31

Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

s * 26 Safeties * 23

Defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

s * 23

Cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

s * 22

Defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

s * 22 Offensive tackles * 20

Offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

s * 16

Tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s * 14

Running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

s * 13

Quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

s * 9 Centers * 3 Fullbacks * 2 Kickers * 2 Punters

Player selections

Mario Williams Texans 2006-09-24-1541912

Supplemental draft selections

For each player selected in the Supplemental Draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season.

Notable undrafted players

Hall of Famers

* Devin Hester, wide receiver from Miami (FL), taken 2nd round 57th overall by the Chicago Bears. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Trades

In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2006 draft. ;Round one ;Round two ;Round three ;Round four ;Round five ;Round six ;Round seven

Miscellaneous

* This would be the final draft that Paul Tagliabue would preside over as Commissioner of the National Football League, as he retired on September 1. * Two individuals declared for the draft never having played college football: Jai Lewis, a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

for the George Mason

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team that reached the semifinals of the 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament; and Ed Nelson, a power forward for the

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

basketball team. Lewis signed after the draft as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the New York Giants to play offensive tackle but subsequently pursued a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

basketball career, while Nelson signed with the St. Louis Rams to be a tight end. Nelson later turned to professional basketball himself. * Having been banned in 2004 from playing college football at Colorado for having accepted endorsements while a member of the United States Ski Team, wide receiver and kick returner Jeremy Bloom was drafted in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles. *

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

quarterback Marcus Vick, who was dismissed from the Hokies team in January 2006 for repeatedly violating team rules, was undrafted; Vick, the younger brother of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...

, later accepted an invitation to attend a Miami Dolphins minicamp and ultimately signed a contract with the team as a wide receiver. He was then released the following season. * Running back John David Washington, son of actor

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

, went undrafted out of the Division II school Morehouse College, where he rushed for 1,198 yards in his senior season, setting a school record; Washington was signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Rams. * As of 2023, Marcedes Lewis, who was drafted 28th overall in the 1st round, is currently the sole active player remaining from the draft.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{2006 NFL season by team NFL draft

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

2000s in Manhattan American football in New York City

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