The 2006 NFL Draft had quite a few big names in it, including former Heisman Trophy winners Reggie Bush and Vince Young. It also had some intriguing big-name defensive pieces like AJ Hawk, Mario Williams and Haloti Ngata.
Within that draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves sitting at N0. 32 overall, coming off a win in Super Bowl XL over the Seattle Seahawks. The Steelers could have gone in a number of directions with that pick. Instead, they decided to trade up to No. 25 overall with the New York Giants, landing wide receiver Santonio Holmes out of Ohio State.
That move ultimately paid off down the line for the Steelers as Holmes was spectacular in Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals, winning Super Bowl MVP due to his game-winning catch from Ben Roethlisberger. He finished the game with nine receptions for 131 yards and the touchdown.
Holmes went on to spend four seasons with the Steelers before off-field troubles caused the Steelers to cut ties and trade him to the New York Jets. That Super Bowl MVP remains, though.
In Pro Football Focus’ 2006 re-draft, the Steelers wouldn’t have landed that eventual Super Bowl MVP. Instead, they would have addressed defense and sat tight at No. 32 overall, rather than moving up for Holmes. In the re-draft, Holmes came off the board in the top 10, and the Steelers landed a journeyman cornerback who went undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft.
That would be former Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals cornerback Tramon Williams. PFF’s Trevor Sikkema, Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick paired Williams with the Steelers in the re-draft exercise.
“Pittsburgh adds a player from its Super Bowl 45 counterpart, the Green Bay Packers, by selecting cornerback Tramon Williams, who went undrafted out of Louisiana Tech,” PFF writes regarding the selection of Williams for the Steelers in the re-draft exercise. “He racked up 38 interceptions and 111 pass breakups across 14 seasons, including the playoffs.”
Though Williams went undrafted, he had quite the career with multiple teams. He even went to the Pro Bowl in 2010, as the Packers defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, 31-25. That season, Williams had a career-high six interceptions and 20 passes defensed.
In Super Bowl XLV, Williams had six tackles for the Packers.
If he would have been the Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, he would have stepped into a secondary with Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark and Bryant McFadden. In fact, McFadden was the Steelers’ second-round pick a year prior, holding down a starting role for the Super Bowl champions. The Steelers would have been making a strength all that much stronger.
As for Holmes, in the PFF re-draft exercise, he went No. 8 overall to the Buffalo Bills, who originally took safety Donte Whitner in the 2006 NFL Draft. The Steelers would have also lost out on offensive tackle Willie Colon if the re-draft exercise were real, as Colon went No. 24 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals within the AFC North. In reality, the Steelers landed Colon at No. 131 overall in the fourth round of the draft and saw him go on to start 62 games for Pittsburgh across six seasons.
Fortunately, the Steelers nailed some picks in the 2006 NFL Draft – like Holmes and Colon – and went on to win another Super Bowl just a few years later. Pittsburgh also appeared in another Super Bowl two years later. That was one heck of a time for the Steelers under GM Kevin Colbert, who was nailing drafts left and right before tailing off late in his tenure.
