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?