Saints 2001 NFL Draft in Review

by Jon Banks on Feb 14, 2011 6:00 AM CST

DEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCEEE!!!

With the Super Bowl over and the possibility of no free agency, there is only one thing left to talk about this off-season: the draft!

After the jump you'll find each of the Saints picks in every round of the 2001 draft as well as the next few picks after the Saints. I have then listed the career stats of those players so that you can decide, in retrospect, if you would take a different player than the one the Saints actually drafted. Forget about needs of the time and just choose the player with the most talent.

Make the jump to see the Saints 2001 draft.

2001 NFL Draft

1st Round

23rd	New Orleans Saints	Deuce McAllister*	RB	Mississippi
24th	Denver Broncos	Willie Middlebrooks	DB	Minnesota
25th	Philadelphia Eagles	Freddie Mitchell	WR	UCLA
26th	Miami Dolphins	Jamar Fletcher	DB	Wisconsin
27th	Minnesota Vikings	Micheal Bennett*	RB	Wisconsin
28th	Oakland Raiders	Derrick Gibson	DB	Florida St.
29th	St. Louis Rams	Ryan Pickett	DT	Ohio State
30th	Indianapolis Colts	Reggie Wayne*	WR	Miami U

(* denotes Pro Bowl)

Deuce McAllister - 1,429 rushing attempts, 6,096 yards rushing, 49 rushing TD, 234 receptions, 1,720 receiving yards, reception TD, 20 fumbles, 13 lost. 9 seasons

Willie Middlebrooks - 62 tackles, 7 passes defended, 1 sack. 5 seasons

Freddie Mitchell - 90 receptions, 1,263 receiving yards, 5 TD, 1 fumble. 4 seasons

Jamar Fletcher - 193 tackles, 26 passes defended, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 7 INT. 9 seasons

Micheal Bennett - 842 rushing attempts, 3703 rushing yards, 13 rushing TD, 159 receptions, 1,294 receiving yards, 6 receiving TD, 15 fumbles, 9 lost. Currently 10th season.

Derrick Gibson - 194 tackles, 11 passes defended, 2 sacks, 3 INT, 1 forced fumble. 6 seasons.

Ryan Pickett - 454 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 24 passes defended, 1 forced fumble. Currently 10th season.

Reggie Wayne - 787 receptions, 10,748 reception yards, 69 receiving TD, 8 fumbles, 5 lost. Currently 10th season

3rd Round

70th	New Orleans Saints	Sedrick Hodge	OLB	UNC
71st	Green Bay Packers	Bhawoh Jue	FS	Penn State
72nd	Green Bay Packers	Torrance Marshall	ILB	Oklahoma
73rd	Jacksonville Jaguars	Westmoreland, Eric Eric Westmoreland	OLB	Tennessee
74th	Carolina Panthers	Smith, Steve Steve Smith*	WR	Utah
75th	Kansas City Chiefs	Eric Downing	DT	Syracuse
76th	Buffalo Bills	Ron Edwards	DT	Texas A&M
77th	Kansas City Chiefs	Marvin Minnis	WR	Florida State

81st	New Orleans Saints	Kenny Smith	DT	Alabama
82nd	Seattle Seahawks	Heath Evans	FB	Auburn
83rd	St. Louis Rams	Brian Allen	OLB	Florida St.
84th	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Smith, Dwight Dwight Smith	FS	Akron
85th	Miami Dolphins	Travis Minor	RB	Florida St.

Sedrick Hodge - 161 tackles, 1 sack, 10 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles. 5 seasons

Bhawoh Jue- 181 tackles, 1.5 sack, 19 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles. 7 seasons

Torrance Marshall- 76 tackles, 1 sack, 2 passes defended, 1 forced fumble. 4 seasons

Eric Westmoreland - 78 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles. 4 seasons

Steve Smith - 620 receptions, 8884 receiving yards, 52 receiving TD, 28 fumbles, 10 lost. Currently 10th season

Eric Downing - 44 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 passes defended. 4 seasons

Ron Edwards - 192 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 6 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles. Currently 10th season

Marvin Minnis - 34 receptions, 515 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD. 5 seasons

Kenny Smith - 71 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 2 passes defended. 7 seasons

Heath Evans - 164 rushing attempts, 579 rushing yards, 4 rushing TD, 57 receptions, 439 receiving yards, 4 receiving TD, 3 fumbles, 1 lost. Currently 10th season.

Brian Allen- None

Dwight Smith - 465 tackles, 2 sacks 40 passes defended, 22 INT, 10 forced fumbles. 8 seasons

Travis Minor - 307 rushing attempts, 1230 rushing yards, 8 rushing TD, 67 receptions, 474 receiving yards,1 TD, 1 fumble. 8 seasons.

4th Round

115th	New Orleans Saints	Moran Norris	FB	Kansas
116th	St. Louis Rams	Milton Wynn	WR	Washington State
117th	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	John Howell	SS	Colorado State
118th	Indianapolis Colts	Ryan Diem	OT	Northern Illinois
119th	New England Patriots	Jabari Holloway	TE	Notre Dame

Moran Norris - 28 rushing attempts, 67 yards, 1 rushing TD, 38 receptions, 198 receiving yards, 3 receiving TD, one fumble. Currently in 10th season.

Milton Wynn - 4 receptions, 69 yards. 4 games

John Howell - 100 tackles, 3 passes defended. 5 seasons.

Ryan Diem - 10 seasons as RT for Colts. Currently starting.

Jabari Holloway - 15 receptions, 157 receiving yards. 3 seasons

5th Round

153rd	New Orleans Saints	Ojo, Onome Onome Ojo	WR	California-Davis
154th	Washington Redskins	Darnerien McCants	WR	Delaware St.
155th	Philadelphia Eagles	Feeley, A.J. A. J. Feeley	QB	Oregon
156th	Miami Dolphins	Draper, Shawn Shawn Draper	TE	Alabama
157th	Minnesota Vikings	Patrick Chukwurah	OLB	Wyoming

Onome Ojo - None

Darnerien McCants - 58 receptions, 774 receiving yards, 8 receiving TD, 1 fumble lost. 5 seasons. Currently in CFL.

A.J. Feely - 372 completions, 665 attempts, 4070 passing yards, 27 TD, 29 INT, 34 sacks. Currently 10th season.

Shawn Draper - None

Patrick Chukwurah - 81 tackles, 9 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 3 passes defended. 7 seasons.

6th Round

185th	New Orleans Saints	Mitch White	OT	Oregon State
186th	Washington Redskins	Mario Monds	DT	Cincinnati
187th	Miami Dolphins	Otis Leverette	DE	UAB
188th	Miami Dolphins	Rick Crowell	LB	Colorado St.
189th	Minnesota Vikings	Carey Scott	CB	Kentucky St.

Mitch White - None

Mario Monds - 6 tackles. 3 seasons.

Otis Leverette - 31 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT. 4 seasons

Rick Crowell - None

Carey Scott - 2 tackle. 3 seasons.

7th Round

221st	New Orleans Saints	Ennis Davis	DT	USC
222nd	Seattle Seahawks	Dennis Norman	C	Princeton
223rd	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Than Merrill	SS	Yale
224th	San Francisco 49ers	Eric Johnson	TE	Yale
225th	Minnesota Vikings	Brian Crawford	OT	Western Oregon

Ennis Davis - None

Dennis Norman - Journeyman center. 9 seasons.

Than Merrill - 7 tackles. 2 seasons

Eric Johnson - 240 receptions, 2178 receiving yards, 9 receiving TD, 3 fumbles, 2 lost. 5 seasons.

Brian Crawford - None

My thoughts

Taking into consideration as to where the Saints drafted, they didn't do half bad. Most of the guys around them were either special teamers or back ups. The only real impact player that the Saints could of had was wide receiver Steve Smith. The Saints could have kept Smith out of the hands of Carolina and they would have had a veteran No. 1 receiver to go alongside Marques Colston right now. Otherwise, the draft was pretty meh.

What do you think? Could this draft have been improved? Any thoughts to add or change to mine?

Poll

How would you grade the Saints 2001 draft ten years later?

A

10 votes

B

49 votes

C

64 votes

D

21 votes

F

1 votes

145 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 23 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Colston has a bunch of top notch receivers with him now. We didn’t hurt any by not drafting Smith.

by tommy v on Feb 14, 2011 8:50 AM CST reply actions

Even if that was remotely true, Horn + Smith + Stallworth = Colston probably doesn’t get drafted.

"I was not on the boat in question" -Darren Sharper

by coldpizza on Feb 14, 2011 1:05 PM CST up reply actions

why not?

wasnt he a 7th rounder? we wouldnt take a chance on a guy like that but we’d draft meachum whe we have a strong group of receiviers?

by jray2000 on Feb 14, 2011 4:29 PM CST up reply actions

By the time Meachem was drafted, both Stallworth and Horn were gone.

"I was not on the boat in question" -Darren Sharper

by coldpizza on Feb 14, 2011 11:53 PM CST up reply actions

Actually, Colston was projected to transition to a TE when he came into the NFL. He didn’t have blazing speed, so everyone said to make it to the next level he’d have to start using his size and learn to block. And also, lets not forget that in 2006 the Saints drafted Mike Hass 1 round before taking Colston. So I don’t think they were really drafting on need at that point.

"I want to hand this trophy to the MVP of the Super Bowl -- and the MVP of the entire league.''
-- Saints coach Sean Payton, handing the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Drew Brees after Super Bowl 44.

by VAsaintsfan on Feb 14, 2011 8:51 PM CST up reply actions

You’re right, he may have still been drafted as a TE. Still, he’s a whole lot less likely to make the team, if Smith is on the roster.

"I was not on the boat in question" -Darren Sharper

by coldpizza on Feb 14, 2011 11:56 PM CST up reply actions

I think you're underestimating how much Payton loves his WRs

How many chances is Adrian Arrington going to get to find his place on a team stacked with WRs?

"I want to hand this trophy to the MVP of the Super Bowl -- and the MVP of the entire league.''
-- Saints coach Sean Payton, handing the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Drew Brees after Super Bowl 44.

by VAsaintsfan on Feb 15, 2011 10:25 AM CST up reply actions

You’re talking about a totally different situation. Horn and Smith were Pro Bowl talents coming into 2006. Stallworth was coming off his best year. None of the guys we have now have ever been to a Pro Bowl. On top of which, you just mentioned Mike Hass. That so-called “WR love” didn’t save his a**. Or Jamal Jones’s for that matter, who would have been running 4th or 5th at the time, ahead of Henderson and Copper, who Payton already knew well from Dallas. Granted, the Stallworth trade may have still gone down, but it’s still a bump down in the numbers game, no matter how you slice it.

"I was not on the boat in question" -Darren Sharper

by coldpizza on Feb 15, 2011 1:32 PM CST up reply actions

Mike Hass and Jamal Jones had no talent.

I’m saying that if Sean Payton sees potential in a WR, he will keep them around regardless of need. And once Colston got to training camp he had the chance to prove himself to be better than anyone else on the roster, which would have happened in any scenario we have here.

And Horn was pushing 35 going into the 2006 season. I know the 2005 season wasn’t exactly great for anyone’s stats, but by that 2004 pro bowl season was just a distant memory for Hollywood by the time the 2006 season started.

"I want to hand this trophy to the MVP of the Super Bowl -- and the MVP of the entire league.''
-- Saints coach Sean Payton, handing the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Drew Brees after Super Bowl 44.

by VAsaintsfan on Feb 15, 2011 4:39 PM CST up reply actions

Would have been pretty sweet to draft Matt Lehr, Floyd Womack or Justin McCareins with that 4th round pick. Looking back, 2001 really didn’t have any late round stars, with the exception of Houshmandzadeh in the 7th round, but there were a decent amount of players that churned out good long careers. Deuce was a good 1st round pick, but looking at the first 2 round of the 01 draft, it was loaded with pro bowlers. And Haslett traded out of the 2nd round in a draft that ended up being top heavy. I know its usually the smart thing to trade back, and I know Dallas used our pick on Quincy Carter, but still, Haslett traded out of a pick that could have been used on Derrick Burgess, Shaun Rogers or Adrian Wilson. Overall, I’d say that draft was a miss.

"I want to hand this trophy to the MVP of the Super Bowl -- and the MVP of the entire league.''
-- Saints coach Sean Payton, handing the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Drew Brees after Super Bowl 44.

by VAsaintsfan on Feb 14, 2011 8:53 AM CST reply actions

Gave it a C

Only gave it a C grade because of our beloved Duece!!!

When I say WHO DAT U say TWO DAT!!!

by cajuncommando58 on Feb 14, 2011 9:49 AM CST reply actions

who was scouting then ???

I don’t know, but I imagine that every head coach has their own scout teams for both college and pros – please weigh in if you know for sure. Assuming scout teams role with head coaches, I think the current scout crews have been above average and certainly better than in 2001. With the exception of Duce there were no other “impact” players and it looks like 2 draft picks never played. I’ve not looked at prior drafts through 7 rounds, but does anyone know if the talent/productivity routinely drops off this precipitously at rounds 5-7??

by tstuart77 on Feb 14, 2011 11:10 AM CST reply actions

This Draft was very mediocre but I have a soft spot for it because I absolutely nailed the Deuce pick. Pretty much my only good draft preview ever. In the third round when their pick came up instead of taking Hodge Saints should have just yelled, “PASS!”

by Malbrough on Feb 14, 2011 11:16 AM CST reply actions

I'd hate to be honest with you guys

But I’m not sure that Drew Brees rookie will really pan out in the NFL.

by were gonna need a bigger boat on Feb 14, 2011 3:09 PM CST reply actions

He is way to short

To be an effective QB.

I like Hamburgers!

by Grumps on Feb 14, 2011 3:21 PM CST up reply actions

I gave it a C for Deuce as well

but that was a huge number of garbage picks. Sedrick Hodge was a HORRIBLE nfl starter. Onome Ojo was a complete joke. The guy couldn’t even run a pattern or catch a football. Most of our grandmothers understood the game better. Without Deuce that draft is a solid F-

by Andrew Juge on Feb 14, 2011 4:58 PM CST reply actions

Ditto @C. Extremely poor draft overall. We were fortunate that no other team needed a RB, though it could probably be argued that we didn’t either. One great value pick in hindsight … and not much else.

"I was not on the boat in question" -Darren Sharper

by coldpizza on Feb 14, 2011 11:59 PM CST up reply actions

Actually, Moran Norris is still playing, so I can’t really knock that pick too much.

"I was not on the boat in question" -Darren Sharper

by coldpizza on Feb 15, 2011 12:01 AM CST up reply actions

Always liked Bhawoh Jue. That guy had a serious vertical leap. Maybe moreso than Brent Grimes. He and Sammy Knight would have made an entertaining safety tandem, at least for a few years. Not that Jay Bellamy was horrific.

"I was not on the boat in question" -Darren Sharper

by coldpizza on Feb 15, 2011 12:05 AM CST up reply actions

The only real impact player that the Saints could of had was wide receiver Steve Smith

We also missed out on Reggie Wayne

"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we kick the Vikings from the Dome to the foot of Canal Street!" - MtnExile

by Alex Swift on Feb 15, 2011 3:54 PM CST reply actions

Would you have been willing to give up Deuce for Wayne?

I guess I did phrase that incorrectly though. I meant that the only impact player we missed without giving up an impact player.

Offseason Motto: Burn the damn black pants.
Canal Street Chronicles-you know you want to

by Jon Banks on Feb 15, 2011 6:40 PM CST up reply actions

Players missed out on

- Kevan Barlow RB – picked 80th overall. (could have had him at 70) – gained 4000 yards in his career before it eventually ended due to injuries.

- Ryan Diem – Guard, picked at 118.

- Correl Buckhalter picked at 121

- Justin McCareins, picked at 124

- AJ Feeley, quality backup QB picked at 155.

- The Housh – picked 204.

There were some quality players that the Saints obviously missed out on. However, you can also look through the complete list of players in that draft and have a hard time hand picking more than 1 – 2 players from rounds three on that still play in the NFL. Overall our draft was a C at best. We got one quality player in Deuce and nothing else. But looking at who was truly available after the second round….it was hard pressed for the front office to do much better than that. Overall, it was simply a weak draft class. To illustrate my point…below are the standouts by round from round 3 and on.

Round 3 – Derrick Burgess, Adrian Wilson, Steve Smith, Kevan Barlow, Heath Evans.

Round 4 -Rudi Johnson, Sage Rosenfels, Ryan Diem, Correll Buckhalter, Justin McCareins.

Round 5 – AJ Feeley.

Round 6 -Cedrick Wilson

Round 7 – Housh, Eric Johnson.

As you can see….not exactly a lot of talent. More of you may be more knowledgeable on special teams standouts for other squads…but 15 impact players in all the NFL from rounds 3 on….that’s kinda scary for lack of depth. Usually there’s at least 4-5 guys per later round that hang on and have quality careers as backups etc. I just didn’t see it from 2001.

"Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not 'every man for himself.' And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked 'em up."

by jeff.l.b on Feb 15, 2011 4:24 PM CST reply actions