Two things were guaranteed prior to the start of the 2002 NFL draft: 1) The Houston Texans would select David Carr with the first overall pick, and 2) the Cincinnati Bengals would continue their years of draft-day futility and discover some new way to squander their (always) high picks.
The rest of the draft, with the possible exception of Carolina selecting UNC DE Julius Peppers with the second pick, was a crapshoot. As with any draft, clear-cut winners and losers emerged by the time the selections came to a close Sunday evening. Here they are.
Winner: Joey Harrington
Possibly the biggest winner in the whole draft. The former Oregon QB decided not to attend the draft after hearing rumors that he might slip into the second round. Harrington assumed the Lions, who have been impressed with the development of QB Mike McMahon, would select Texas CB Quentin Jammer with the third overall pick. Then Harrington got a phone call from Detroit execs telling him he was going to be the third-richest rookie in the league next season. A proven winner with 10 fourth-quarter comebacks at Oregon, the Lions hope Harrington, who is already better than former QB Charlie Batch, will be able to start within a year.
Loser: Atlanta Falcons
After adding Warrick Dunn to a backfield that returns a healthy Jamal Anderson, the Falcons inexplicably used their first-round pick (18th overall) on Michigan State powerback T.J. Duckett. Throw in scrambling QB Michael Vick, and you have four top-flight runners fighting over carries. To make matters worse, Atlanta didn’t have another pick until the middle of the third round, when most of the top talent was gone. The pickup of Iowa WR Kahlil Hill will help, but he is neither the security blanket nor the deep threat Vick needs. And why on earth did Atlanta draft weak-armed Illinois QB Kurt Kittner after betting the franchise on Vick last season? Draft day is all about securing talent, but taking care of specific needs should factor in somewhere.
Winner: Buffalo Bills
Buffalo got former New England QB Drew Bledsoe Sunday for a 2003 first-round draft pick, and the Bills’ Saturday draft included a number of welcoming gifts for the Pro Bowl QB. With the fourth overall pick, Buffalo got OT Mike Williams from Texas, a 375-pounder who should provide some serious protection for Bledsoe, who is not exactly the most nimble afoot. Bledsoe should also have plenty of targets to throw to, as 2001 Biletnikoff winner Josh Reed slipped out of the first round and fell right into Buffalo’s lap at the 36th overall pick. Reed should step right in and give Bledsoe a possession-type receiver to complement burners Eric Moulds and Peerless Price. Buffalo filled many holes in the two days, selecting players from nine different positions.
Loser: Cincinnati Bengals:
The Bungles continued the string of draft-day debacles that has plagued the franchise for years. Maybe Arizona State OT Levi Jones will be a great one, but the pick would have made more sense if the Bengals had a quarterback to protect. Their second-round pick, Washington State safety Lamont Thompson, has NFL size and speed, but also comes with a history of neck injuries. Their best pick, Purdue K/P Travis Dorsch, a fourth-round selection, has a tremendous upside but missed too many short kicks and had two punts blocked in his senior year at West Lafayette. One of these years, the Bengals will draft a player that actually makes an impact. Maybe.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys
They say those damn Cowboys get away with whatever they want, and it seems the same holds true on draft day. In a rare happening, Jerry Jones and his war-room cronies let the 15-minute clock run out on their first-round selection (sixth overall), but somehow managed to orchestrate a trade with Kansas City for their pick (eighth overall) while new Minnesota head coach Mike Tice, who held the seventh pick, tried to quickly turn in the Vikings’ selection of UNC DT Ryan Sims. Tice was foiled, and Dallas got its man at No. 8, Oklahoma safety Roy Williams.
Williams, the so-called “second coming of Ronnie Lott,” will help take away the “soft” label that has been stuck on Dallas’ secondary. The Cowboys’ second round was even better, as they filled a need by picking nimble Colorado center Andre Gurode with the 37th pick and snatched up Pittsburgh WR Antonio Bryant with the 63rd pick. Bryant, who at one time was considered the top receiver available, may be the biggest sleeper of this year’s draft, and gives Dallas its biggest playmaker at wideout since Michael Irvin in his prime.
Loser: Green Bay Packers:
Trading up from the 28th to the 20th pick got the Packers their man, Florida State WR Javon Walker. The question: Why? In a draft stocked with wide receiver talent, the Packers gave up their second-round pick to select, just as they did last season with Robert Ferguson, a wideout with great potential but who may never pan out. Walker’s score on the NFL’s Wunderlich intelligence test was among the lowest at his position, and his on-field work ethic has been questioned. With proven wideouts like Jabar Gaffney, Josh Reed and Antonio Bryant staying on the board until the second round, one must ask what exactly Mike Sherman was thinking. And, sure Brett Favre is from Kiln, Miss., but don’t expect Northwestern State (LA) QB Craig Nall, the Pack’s fifth-round pick, to succeed Favre as the next great Packer QB from the Deep South.
Split: QB Converts
The futures of standout QBs Antwaan Randle El, Woody Dantzler and Heisman winner Eric Crouch were all up in the air on draft day. All three possess exceptional athletic ability but all three would have to make a position change to succeed in the NFL. Randle El made out the best of the bunch, as Pittsburgh selected him in the second round with the 62nd overall pick, hoping to revitalize the “slash” position and use him at KR/WR/sometime QB.
St. Louis added even more wheels to a team already overflowing with speed when it drafted Crouch in the third round (95th overall). Picking Crouch this early may have been a stretch, but Mike Martz hopes to use him to replace Az Hakim, the departed fumble-prone WR/KR.
Dantzler found himself on the other end of the spectrum this weekend when he was not selected in the seven-round draft. Dantzler, who possesses NFL-back thickness and toughness and owns the best pure-running skills of the trio, discouraged scouts by displaying a reluctance to switch to running back, which he played, without enthusiasm, at the Senior Bowl. Looks like the CFL will be a stop-gap solution for Dantzler, who firmly believes he can play QB in the NFL.