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Saints 2002 NFL Draft in Review

Because of the current NFL lockout there is only one thing left to talk about this off:season: the draft! After the jump are each of the rounds from the 2002 draft. The entire draft is not listed however, only the Saints pick in each round and the next few picks. I'm going to list the career stats of those players in the first round and let you decide if you would have taken a different player other than the one the Saints took. Forget about needs of the time and just choose the player with the most talent.

Make the jump to revisit the 2002 draft!

2002 Draft

1st Round

13 New Orleans Saints Donté Stallworth Wide Receiver Tennessee
14 New York Giants (from Tennessee) Jeremy Shockey Tight End Miami (FL)
15 Tennessee Titans (from N.Y. Giants) Albert Haynesworth Defensive Tackle Tennessee
16 Cleveland Browns [I] William Green Running Back Boston College
17 Oakland Raiders (from Atlanta) Phillip Buchanon Cornerback Miami (FL)
18 Atlanta Falcons (from Washington through Oakland) T. J. Duckett Running Back Michigan State
19 Denver Broncos Ashley Lelie Wide Receiver Hawaii
20 Green Bay Packers (from Seattle) Javon Walker Wide Receiver Florida State
21 New England Patriots (from Tampa Bay through Oakland and Washington) Daniel Graham Tight End Colorado
22 New York Jets Bryan Thomas Defensive End UAB
23 Oakland Raiders Napoleon Harris Linebacker Northwestern
24 Baltimore Ravens Ed Reed Free Safety Miami (FL)
25 New Orleans Saints (from Miami) Charles Grant Defensive End Georgia
26 Philadelphia Eagles Lito Sheppard Cornerback Florida

(yellow denotes Pro Bowl)

Donte Stallworth- 298 receptions, 4,465 receiving yards, 32 TD, 97 rushing yards, 5 fumbles, 3 lost. Currently 8th season.

Jeremy Shockey- 510 receptions, 5,688 receiving yards, 33 TD, 7 fumbles, 5 lost. Currently 9th season.

Albert Haynesworth- 309 tackles, 28 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 2 passes deflected. Currently 9th season. Serious Character issues.

William Green- 568 attempts for ,2109 yards, 9 TD, 45 receptions for 277 yards, 12 fumbles 6 yards. 4 seasons.

Phillip Buchanon- 388 tackles, 1 sack, 8 forced fumbles, 20 INT, 73 passes deflected. Currently 9th season.

T.J. Duckett- 717 attempts for 2,814 yards, 44 TD, 35 receptions for 303 yards, 9 fumbles, 6 lost. 7 seasons

Ashley Lelie- 217 receptions for 3,749 yards, 15 TD, 1 fumble. 8 seasons

Javon Walker- 267 receptions for 4011 yards, 31 TD, 14 attempts for 132 yards and 1 rushing TD, 5 fumbles, 4 lost. 8 seasons

Daniel Grahm- 222 receptions for 2,465 yards, 24 TD, 3 fumbles 1 lost. Currently 9th season.

Bryan Thomas- 366 tackles, 25 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 8 passes deflected. Currently 9th season

Napoleon Harris- 481 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 12 passes deflected, 4 INT, 5 forced fumbles. 8 seasons

Ed Reed- 492 tackles, 5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, 54 INT, 112 passes deflected. Currently 9th season.

Charles Grant- 431 tackles, 47 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 1 INT, 31 passes deflected. 8 seasons

Lito Shepard- 295 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 19 INT, 82 passes deflected. Currently 9th season.


2nd Round

44 New Orleans Saints LeCharles Bentley Center Ohio State
45 Tennessee Titans Tank Williams Strong Safety Stanford
46 New York Giants Tim Carter Wide Receiver Auburn
47 Cleveland Browns André Davis Wide Receiver Virginia Tech
48 San Diego Chargers Reche Caldwell Wide Receiver Florida
49 Arizona Cardinals Levar Fisher Linebacker NC State
50 Houston Texans Chester Pitts Guard San Diego State
51 Denver Broncos Clinton Portis Running Back Miami (FL)

3rd Round

82 New Orleans Saints James Allen Linebacker Oregon State
83 Houston Texans Charles Hill Nose Tackle Maryland
84 St. Louis Rams Lamar Gordon Fullback North Dakota State
85 Seattle Seahawks Kris Richard Cornerback USC
86 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquise Walker Wide Receiver Michigan
87 Washington Redskins (from Baltimore) Cliff Russell Wide Receiver Utah
88 New York Jets Chris Baker Tight End Michigan State

4th Round

125 New Orleans Saints (from Miami) Keyuo Craver Cornerback Nebraska
126 New England Patriots Jarvis Green Defensive End LSU
127 San Francisco 49ers Kevin Curtis Defensive Back Texas Tech
128 Pittsburgh Steelers Larry Foote Linebacker Michigan
129 Dallas Cowboys (from Chicago) Jamar Martin Fullback Ohio State

5th Round

150 New Orleans Saints Mel Mitchell Safety Western Kentucky
151 Tennessee Titans Jake Schifino Wide Receiver Akron
152 New York Giants Nick Greisen Linebacker Wisconsin
153 Houston Texans Ramon Walker Safety Pittsburgh
154 New York Jets Jonathan Goodwin Guard Michigan
155 Baltimore Ravens (from Denver) Terry Jones Tight End Alabama
156 Green Bay Packers (from Seattle) Aaron Kampman Defensive End Iowa

6th Round

186 New Orleans Saints J. T. O'Sullivan Quarterback UC Davis
187 Tennessee Titans Justin Hartwig Center Kansas
188 New York Giants Wesly Mallard Linebacker Oregon
189 Oakland Raiders (from Cleveland) Keyon Nash Defensive Back Albany State
190 Houston Texans Howard Green Defensive Tackle LSU
191 Denver Broncos Jeb Putzier Tight End Boise State
192 Washington Redskins Reggie Coleman Tackle Tennessee
193 Tampa Bay Buccaneers John Stamper Defensive End South Carolina
194 Seattle Seahawks Craig Jarrett Punter Michigan State
195 Baltimore Ravens Lamont Brightful Cornerback Eastern Washington
196 New Orleans Saints John Gilmore Tight End Penn State
197 Oakland Raiders Larry Ned Running Back San Diego State
198 Philadelphia Eagles Tyreo Harrison Linebacker Notre Dame
199 Chicago Bears Adrian Peterson Running Back Georgia Southern

7th Round

224 New Orleans Saints Derrius Monroe Defensive End Virginia Tech
225 Tennessee Titans Darrell Hill Wide Receiver Northern Illinois
226 New York Giants Daryl Jones Wide Receiver Miami (FL)
227 Cleveland Browns Joaquin Gonzalez Tackle Miami (FL)
242 Pittsburgh Steelers Brett Keisel Defensive End Brigham Young


Undrafted Notables

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ryan Nece Linebacker UCLA
Baltimore Ravens Will Demps Free Safety San Diego State
New York Jets Brandon Moore Guard Illinois
San Francisco 49ers Antonio Chatman Wide Receiver Cincinnati
Baltimore Ravens Bart Scott Linebacker Southern Illinois
Jacksonville Jaguars Quinn Gray Quarterback Florida A&M
Pittsburgh Steelers James Harrison Linebacker Kent State
New Orleans Saints Jeff Reed Kicker North Carolina
Seattle Seahawks D. D. Lewis Linebacker University of Texas
Baltimore Ravens Ma'ake Kemoeatu Defensive Tackle Utah
Minnesota Vikings Shaun Hill Quarterback Maryland
New York Giants Ryan Clark Safety Louisiana State University

My Thoughts

One word: Eeesh! Looking back nine years later, this draft wasn't very friendly to the Saints in terms of long term players (Although they did eventually get the No. 14 overall pick years later). So, I guess the Saints could have done worse.

But they definitely could have done better. First, they could have taken Ed Reed if they had traded down or wanted to take him before he was supposed to go (I realize at the time, the Saints front offive would have been skewered). In the 5th round, the Saints could have grabbed Aaron Kampman, who has been a good DE for the Jaguars.

In my opinion, this draft grade is a high D or a low C. The Saints got a starter or two, but could have done better.

So, what would you guys have done differently in this draft? Would you have grabbed someone else with the No. 13 pick? How would you grade this draft?