Chicago Bears 33, Washington Redskins 31 – RGIII looked more like a rookie in this one but he didn’t look horrible. He’s just having a few growing pains. QB Kirk Cousins threw 3 TD passes with the second team. Bears WR Alshon Jeffery looks like the player “they THOUGHT they were” (getting, that is – hat tip to Denny Green). The biggest concern was when Redskins OLB and Pro-Bowler Brian Orakpo injured his right pectoral muscle on a tackle – the same one he injured last year. Hopefully it’s just a strain, but a tear would keep him out possibly the entire season. It’s too early to know yet but listen for news as it develops. Redskins starting safety Brandon Meriweather hurt his knee, was helped off the field, and didn’t return in the game. I wonder if the GEICO caveman is gloating?

Houston Texans 20, San Francisco 49′ers 9 – Matt Schaub looked sharp once again and Andre Johnson looked horse-healthy on a 43 yard completion as the Texans’ first teams looked impressive once again. 9′ers RB Brandon Jacobs left the game after a tackler speared his right thigh/knee area on a tackle. It looked quite painful to be sure, but probably will wind up being a deep bruise. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter are still the top two backs and that shouldn’t change. Jim Harbaugh seems to be interweaving his new receiving bodies into his run-based offense nicely and they’ll be a force in the NFC. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me all that much if this game is a Super Bowl Preview.

St. Louis Rams 31, Kansas City Chiefs 17 – Rams’ QB Sam Bradford looked sharp, throwing 2 TD passes on 6 of 9 passing and appears to be healthy again after an ankle injury hampered his sophomore season. Rookie WR Brian Quick had 3 catches and he was considered a talent who needs a little seasoning but seems to be developing nicely so far. Danny Amendola had 3 catches for 58 yards and a TD. Matt Cassel of the Chiefs had a nice outing as well while RBs Peyton Hillis and Jamaal Charles, both injured much of last season, got a little work and looked nice on a few runs. If that duo can get going, they could possibly be the best “Thunder (Hillis) and Lightning (Charles)” combo in the NFL if they live up to their talent…and if Hillis doesn’t get Strep Throat again. Rookie NT Dontari Poe’s struggles continue as he recorded a single tackle on the contest.

Seattle Seahawks 30, Denver Broncos 10 – 38 year-old WR Terrell Owens dropped a sure 48 yard TD pass from QB Matt Flynn, but the Seahawks won anyway. Peyton Manning had a good day other than a couple of interceptions – one on a tipped pass and the other on a throw that drifted on him a bit when he had to make a perfect pass. Don’t worry about Manning; he’s Manning and will be fine. Fantasy owners should take notice that Brandon Stokley and Manning seem to be getting familiar with each other again. Keep tabs on the pair; Stokley might be worth a late-round pick as a bit of a sleeper that some owners will pass over due to his age and injury history, but might see some production in this offense.

San Diego Chargers 28, Dallas Cowboys 20 – Dallas loses their second preseason game but their starting defense is really looking good. All of the Chargers’ points came in the second half. Lots going on in this game. First, Chargers’ apparent #1 receiver Vincent Brown broke his ankle and will miss at least 8 weeks. The Chargers WR group as a whole isn’t the most durable even while they have depth. QB Philip Rivers continued throwing picks like last year. It’s not all his fault, however, as his line is giving up ground so he can’t step into some of his throws. That Cowboy first-team looks pretty good on both sides but especially on defense as they have yet to allow a score in two games. Undrafted rookie free agent Cole Beasley from SMU had 7 catches and 104 yards as he stated his case for the #3 WR behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Bryant made a would-be spectacular one-handed catch in the back of the endzone, leaping high to snag it out of the air. He came down JUST out of bounds and there was a holding penalty anyway, but the spectacle clearly demonstrated his talent and ability. They don’t make many like him.

Apr 28, 2011; New York, NY, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks before the 2011 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

If you had a look at last week’s initial installment of NFL Draft History you no doubt saw some great players come off the board in the late part of the First round. This week it’s time to look at the REAL steals.

2001: (7-204) Cincinnati Bengals: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, Oregon State. “Hoosh” was never the biggest guy (6’1″ 210 lbs.), nor was he the fastest guy (4.61 40-yard dash), but at his peak he was one of the toughest possession receivers in the league. From 2004-2009, he’s had consecutive 900-yard reveiving seasons with 2 in the middle (2006, 2007) eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark. He’s still active and enters his 12th NFL season with 627 receptions, 7,237 yards, and 44 TDs. Not too shabby for someone chosen 196 picks after David Terrell, the 1st WR chosen in that season’s draft.

2002: (5-156) Green Bay Packers: Aaron Kampman, DT/DE, Iowa. Kampman spent the ’00′s (always have wanted to type that) with the Packers and the ’10′s so far with the Jaguars. The versatile player increased his sack total every year from a mere half a sack as a rookie in ’02 to 15.5 in ’06. He has 58 sacks in his 10 NFL seasons but injuries in each of the last 3 seasons has limited his action.

2003: (5-138) Indianapolis Colts: Robert Mathis, DE, Alabama A and M. The slightly less-famous of the Colts’ dynamic pass-rushing duo with Dwight Freeney has actually survived the Great Colt Housekeeping of 2012, signing a 4-yr $36 million contract in early March. With opposing teams having Freeney to deal with on the opposite side, Mathis has been able to consistently pressure the QB with 83.5 career sacks in his 9 seasons. Coming from tiny Alabama A&M, he had only 3.5 sacks as a rookie. However, except for a 7-sack 2007 season, he’s had 9.5-11.5 sacks in each of the other 7 seasons. Consistency is his hallmark.

2004: (6-179) Green Bay Packers: Corey Williams, DT, Arkansas State. Here we have another small-school DL. Defensive tackles rarely see much of the limelight and Williams is no exception. While he had the only 3-sack game by a Defensive Tackle in Packers’ history in 2006 against Buffalo, he has “only” had 25.5 sacks in his 8 year career. However, he’s a player who is in that category who does everything well, nothing “great.” Today, he’s the “good cop” DT in Detroit to Ndamukong Suh’s stomping bad cop.

(5-154) San Diego Chargers: Michael Turner, RB, Northern Illinois. Turner has now split his career evenly between San Diego and Atlanta, spending 4 seasons with each squad. His first 4 seasons were overshadowed by LaDanian Tomlinson and he went to become the Falcons’ feature back in 2008. He’s made the most of it in those 4 seasons, topping 1,300 yards in 3 of the 4 and has scored double-digit touchdowns in each year as a Falcon.

2005: (7-250) St. Louis Rams: Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Harvard. Okay, he’s the first REAL borderline “steal” so far, but let’s face it – the guy went to Harvard and played football well enough to be drafted. That’s an accomplishment in itself, as “Hah-vahd” never has exactly been a launching pad for NFL careers….unless you become an owner of one. He’s been with horrible teams his entire career (2 in St. Louis, 2 in Cincy, and the last 3 in Buffalo) and has persevered as the starter in upstate New York since his arrival there despite apparent challengers each preseason. Or, look at things this way: would you rather spend a #1 overall for Alex Smith or a #250 overall for Fitzpatrick? Anytime you get a solid starter out of a 7th round pick it means he’s exceeding expectations.

2006: (7-252) New Orleans Saints: Marques Colston, WR, Hofstra. ANOTHER small-school guy, but then again one would think that’s where these guys generally get drafted as NFL teams are always a little skittish about a player who did not face top competition in college like players from, say, the SEC do. The Steelers got a good WR this year in OSU’s Santonio Holmes, but spent a #25 overall to get him. The Saints picked up Colston with the 4th to last pick in the entire draft, and all Marques has done with Drew Brees at the helm is set up a Hall of Fame pace with his statistics: 6 seasons, 449 rec 6,248 yds with 48 TDs.

2007: (5-162) Philadelphia Eagles: Brent Celek, TE, Cincinnati. Celek had a bit of a slow start to his career with just under 500 yards receiving in his first two seasons but has made up for it in his next 3. He had a breakout 2009 campaign wtih 76 rec 971 yds and 8 TDs.

(7-250) New York Giants: Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, Marshall Marshall MARSHALL! Bradshaw has been in a backfield-by-committee role his entire career, but he has also proven to be the most versatile RB in the Giants’ system. With that in mind, he still has 700 carries for 3,217 yards and 26 TDs in his 5 years. Add in 109 rec 842 yds and 3 TDs receiving, and he’s got over 4,000 yards from scrimmage in 5 years splitting time and averages a very healthy 4.6 yds/attempt and he has played in at least 12 games in each of his seasons. Not shabby at all!

2008: (7-227) Denver Broncos: Peyton Hillis, RB, Arkansas. Peyton (the Hillis one, not the one everyone’s been following around the country lately) spent his first two seasons as a reserve in Denver, then broke out his first season in Cleveland with 1,177 yards and 11 TDs rushing and added 61 rec for 477 yds and 2 additional TDs. Alas, the Madden Cover Curse hit, and he spent much of last season injured and/or sitting out games with Strep Throat and skipping children’s charity events. However, this is not a Rorshach Test, and a 7th-round pick performing at the level Hillis has demonstrated an ability to do qualifies as great value. It was also the same season Matt Flynn was picked in round 7 and will likely get a nice fat contract someplace, but he hasn’t done enough on the field YET to qualify as a steal.

2009: Getting a bit late to see any bona-fide steals here, but there are several names taken in rounds 5, 6, and/or 7 that have shown flashes of ability. Names like Johnny Knox, Austin Collie, and Louis Murphy at WR and there’s T.J. Lang, an OT who started all 16 games in Green Bay last season. It’s QUITE rare for a late-rounder to come in and set the world on fire as they usually need a few years to hit their stride.

Also remember that Arian Foster was an Undrafted Free Agent, which makes him about the biggest steal of the last 5 years at least…but that’s why he didn’t make the list. He wasn’t drafted.