on board respectively.First round busts are also much more damaging then a draft class with no first round pick and a handful of players that became nothing. First round picks usually clog up positions for three to five years before a team decides to use another pick on the position. First round picks also command high figures financially and can cripple a team if they don't pan out. Before I release the rankings, you may send any
comments to [email protected] Thank you for reading.
1 1 Courtney Brown DE Penn St.
2 32 Dennis Northcutt WR Arizona
3 63 Travis Prentice HB Miami (OH)
3 79 JaJuan Dawson WR Tulane
4 95 Lewis Sanders CB Maryland
4 110 Aaron Shea FB Michigan
5 130 Anthony Malbrough CB Texas Tech
5 146 Lamar Chapman S Kansas St.
6 183 Spergon Wynn QB SW Texas St.
6 206 Brad Bedell OG Colorado
7 207 Manuia Savea OG Arizona
7 209 Eric Chandler DE Jackson St.
7 225 Rashidi Barnes S Colorado
Highest Pick: 1st overall
Number of picks: 13
Players still on roster: 0
Original Grades: Peter King gave this class a B
New Grade: F
Analysis: The Browns were given a special package of compensatory picks by the NFL in the 2000 draft. They received two picks in every round from the third on to try to stock the cupboard of their newly born Cleveland Browns franchise. This was a make or break year for the team. While you can not really blame the Browns for Courtney Brown flaming out due to numerous injuries, you can blame the Browns brass for whiffing on the majority of their other picks. The only three productive players from this batch was WR Dennis Northcutt (32nd), S Lewis Sanders (95th), and FB/TE Aaron Shea (110th). Dennis Northcutt has started 45 games for the team, and Aaron Shea has notched himself 30 starts. But both of these mediocre players have moved on, leaving this team with no impact only seven years removed from a 13 player influx.
Influential Player: Courtney Brown showed many flashes while he was healthy, but those rare moments were few and far between. Brown only racked up 17 sacks in his career in Cleveland, and he may be one of the saddest stories in recent draft history. His knees could not withstand a NFL beating and robbed the league of potential impact player.
Final Say: The F handed to this dreadful class is more because of the eight players from this group that did nothing for the franchise as opposed to Courtney Brown going belly up in the NFL. This class could perhaps be the single biggest reason why the Browns continue to flounder.
1 6 Johnathan Sullivan NT Georgia
2 37 Jon Stinchcomb T Georgia
3 86 Cie Grant MLB Ohio State
4 102 Montrae Holland G Florida State
5 155 Melvin Williams DE Kansas State
6 203 Kareem Kelly WR Southern California
7 231 Talman Gardner WR Florida State
Highest Pick: 6th overall
Number of picks: 7
Players still on roster: 1
Original Grades: Dr. Z gave this class a C+
New Grade: F
Analysis: The New Orleans Saints and Jim Haslett made two huge blunders on this fateful April day in 2003. The Saints not only traded two first round picks to come up and get a player higher then almost anyone had him valued, they also blew it on their other Day 1 picks. In a draft that saw six defensive tackles go in round one, the Saints traded the 17th and 18th picks for the worst of the group. Jonathan Sullivan was an junior coming out early, and he turned out to be an immature, overweight player with little motivation. The Saints passed on premier players at other needs such as Utah tackle Jordan Gross and Washington State cornerback Marcus Trufant, as well as widely regarded better defensive tackle prospects Oklahoma State Kevin Williams and Penn State Jimmy Kennedy. After reaching in round one, the Saints took Jon Stinchcomb and Cie Grant to finish off the first day.Until a rebirth this past season, Stinchcomb had never started a game for the Saints. Grant totaled three tackles for the team and is now out of the league.The team also whiffed on three of their four day two picks, but that is much easier to look over.
Influential Player: Jonathan Sullivan was not only a massive bust for this franchise, he also cost the team two round draft picks. Legitamite first round prospects such as George Foster of Georgia, Kwame Harris of Stanford, Nick Barnett of Oregon State, and Eric Steinbach of Iowa have all turned out to be better pros then Sullivan. Every single one of those prospects were not only available at the Saints original pick of 17, they also would filled team needs. The team squandered two potential starters on Jonathan Sullivan.
Final Say: Jon Stinchcomb and Montrae Holland bring some respect to this class, but the highly criticized move to trade up for Sullivan is still stinging to this group and will be its everlasting legacy.
2002
1 3 Joey Harrington QB Oregon
2 35 Kalimba Edwards DE South Carolina
3 68 Andre' Goodman CB South Carolina
4 134 John Taylor DE Montana State
5 138 John Owens TE Notre Dame
6 175 Chris Cash CB Southern California
7 214 Luke Staley RB Brigham Young
7 252 Matt Murphy TE Maryland
7 259 Victor Rogers T Colorado
Highest Pick: 3rd overall
Number of picks: 9
Players still on roster: 1
Original Grades: Dr.Z gave this class a B
New Grade: F
Analysis: Flashback to NFL draft 2002.The Charlie Batch expirement was over. Erratic but flashy Mike McMahon was being mentioned as a canidate for the starting job. The secondary was clogged with past their prime Todd Lyght and Terry Fair as well as draft bust Bryant Westbrook. The preceding Texans and Panthers made the Lions decision alot easier but cutting their potential draft pick options in half by taking David Carr and Julius Peppers respectively. The decision was down to Texas CB Quientin Jammer and Oregon QB Joey Harrington. Back to the present: Joey Harrington is on his third team in as many years, while Jammer is slowly carving out a niche in the San Diego secondary. The failures of the Lions most recent savior has kept the team in a constant rebuilding mode. Thought to have been a perfect fit in the newly installed West Coast offense, Harrington never developed and is seen now as a solid backup but nothing more. Add that to an almost non-existent remainder of picks, and you have a waste of time, money, and
energy. Kalimba Edwards has seemingly been showing flashes since he became a Lion, and many of the other players never even saw an NFL field.
Influential Player: While it is hard to place all of the Lions' recent failures on Joey Harrington's shoulders, you can make a case that he has set the team back several more years. Management tried to create a potent offense in Detroit with Harrington as the centerpiece, but he never became what he could have. He simply let down Lions' fans, management, and coaches.
Final Say: For a team desperately trying to install new systems on both sides of the ball, this draft didn't produce the quaterback, pass rusher, or secondary depth that the team so heavily invested in.
2002
1 12 Wendell Bryant DT Wisconsin
2 49 Levar Fisher OLB North Carolina State
3 81 Josh McCown QB Sam Houston State
3 98 Dennis Johnson DE Kentucky
4 113 Nate Dwyer DT Kansas
5 149 Jason McAddley WR Alabama
6 185 Josh Scobey RB Kansas State
7 223 Mike Banks TE Iowa State
Highest Pick: 12th overall
Number of picks: 8
Players still on roster: 0
Original Grades: Dr.Z gave this class a B-
New Grade: F
Analysis: The blueprint of this draft looked great on paper. An established defensive tackle in round one, and up and coming pass rusher in round two, and two prospects with tremendous upsides in round three were the foundation of the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals. Unfortunately for the Cards, the NFL draft isn't an exact science and this became one of the worst draft classes in recent history. Wendell Bryant held out in training camp and ended up making little impact on a weak defensive line. NC State product Levar Fisher and Kentucky DE Dennis Johnson both had a chance to contribute to a poor Arizona defense, but neither player did much to warrant their draft positions. While Josh McCown still has starting potential in the NFL, he flamed out for the Cardinals in his one starting season and has since moved on. The remainder of the picks never became anything special.
Influential Player: The team acknowledged a need on the defensive line, and selected two lineman in day one. Wendell Bryant was seen as a sure thing after a tremendous college career. But the undeveloped skills of Dennis Johnson was the key to this class. The team hoped he could become a huge sack threat after refining his skills.Johnson never became much of anything and this class did nothing to help a poor defense.
Final Say: Arizona selected players at the right positions, but the picks never panned out. This group set the team back several years as far as development as the Cardinals still claw their way back from the NFL cellar.