:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/1363709/26-Oct-10_98597085CG066_Cleveland_Bro.jpg)
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 see the Saints 2003 draft.
Warning: Saints fan discretion advised.
2003 NFL Draft
First round
Just a quick word on this round: I included the entire round (minus the first 5 picks) just to show how much talent was available. And who did the Saints pick? Johnathan Sullivan. Where is Mr. 6th overall pick today? Starting with the Saints and earning his draft status? Currently, he's...nowhere. He hasn't played since 2005 for the Saints.
Now, go through and look just at the next seven picks and see who the Saints could have gotten. Then continue going down to see the stats for all of these players.
Johnathan Sullivan- 77 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 3 passes defended, 1 forced fumble. 3 seasons of play.
Byron Leftwich- 1,552 attempts, 58.3 completion %, 10,260 yards passing, 58 TD, 41 INT, 79.7 QB rating, 136 rushing attempts, 384 rushing yards. 34 fumbles, 12 lost. Currently 8th season.
Jordan Gross- Starting left tackle for the Panthers for 8 seasons. Played 120/128 games.
Kevin Williams- 270 tackles, 49.5 sacks, 50 passes defended, 4 INT, 2 defensive TD, 6 Forced fumbles. Currently 8th season.
Terrell Suggs- 495 tackles, 68.5 sacks, 35 passes defended, 5 INT, 2 defensive TD, 20 forced fumbles. Currently 8th season.
Marcus Trufant- 587 tackles, 2 sacks, 97 passes defended, 20 INT, 2 defensive TD, 4 forced fumbles. Currently 8th season.
Jimmy Kennedy- 93 tackles, 9 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 5 passes defended. Currently 8th season.
Michael Haynes- 61 tackles, 3 passes defended, 1 INT, 1 defensive TD, 2 forced fumbles. 3 seasons of play.
Jerome McDougle- 30 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles. 6 seasons.
Troy Polamalu- 515 tackles, 8 sacks, 71 passes defended, 27 INT, 2 defensive TD, 8 forced fumbles. Currently 8th season.
Bryant Johnson- 308 receptions, 3,848 receiving yards, 15 TD, 3 fumbles, 2 lost. Currently 8th season.
Calvin Pace- 368 tackles, 34.5 sacks, 18 passes defended, 2 INT, 14 forced fumbles. Currently 8th season.
Kyle Boller- 846 completions, 1,491 passing attempts, 56.7 completion, 8770 passing yards, 48 TD, 51 INT, 167 rushing attempts, 534 rushing yards, 39 fumbles, 21 lost. Currently 8th season.
George Foster- 68 games, 57 started. Journeyman tackle. 6 seasons.
Jeff Faine- 102 games, 102 started. Pro Bowler. Journeyman tackle. Currently 8th season.
Rex Grossman- 598 completions, 1104 attempts, 54.2 completion %, 7081 passing yards, 40 TD, 40 INT, 24 fumbles, 14 lost. Currently 8th season.
Willis MaGahee- 1,541 rushing attempts, 6167 rushing yards, 55 TD, 164 receptions, 1047 receiving yards, 4 TD, 19 fumbles, 14 lost. Currently 8th season.
Dallas Clark- 393 receptions, 4,535 receiving yards, 44 TD, 4 rushing attempts, 40 yards rushing, 5 fumbles, 2 lost. Currently 8th season.
William Joseph- 88 tackles, 7 sacks, 7 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles. 7 seasons.
Kwame Harris- 86 games, 55 started. 6 seasons.
Larry Johnson- 1,426 rushing attempts, 6,221 rushing yards, 55 rushing TD, 154 receptions, 1,373 receiving yards, 6 receiving TD. 15 fumbles, 9 fumbles lost. Currently 8th season.
Andre Woolfolk- 131 tackles, 17 passes defended, 3 INT, 1 forced fumble. 4 seasons.
Nick Barnett- 787 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 30 passes defended, 9 INT, 1 defensive TD, 2 forced fumbles. Currently 8th season.
Sammy Davis- 141 tackles, 1 sack, 3 INT, 1 forced fumble, 31 passes defended. 5 seasons.
Nnamdi Asomugha- 310 tackles, 2 sacks, 54 passes defended, 11 INT, 1 defensive TD, 2 forced fumbles. Shut Down Corner. Currently 8th season.
Tyler Brayton- 282 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 15 passes defended, 1 INT, 5 forced fumbles. Currently 8th season.
2nd Round
| 37 | New Orleans Saints | Jon Stinchcomb | Offensive Tackle | Georgia |
| 38 | Dallas Cowboys | Al Johnson | Center | Wisconsin |
| 39 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Rashean Mathis | Cornerback | Bethune-Cookman |
| 40 | Minnesota Vikings | E.J. Henderson | Linebacker | Maryland |
| 41 | Houston Texans | Bennie Joppru | Tight End | Michigan |
| 42 | Seattle Seahawks | Ken Hamlin | Safety | Arkansas |
3rd Round
| 86 | New Orleans Saints | Cie Grant | Linebacker | Ohio State |
| 87 | Miami Dolphins | Taylor Whitley | Guard | Texas A&M |
| 88 | Houston Texans | Dave Ragone | Quarterback | Louisville |
| 89 | San Francisco 49ers | Andrew Williams | Defensive End | Miami (FL) |
| 90 | Indianapolis Colts | Donald Strickland | Cornerback | Colorado |
| 91 | New York Giants | Visanthe Shiancoe | Tight End | Morgan State |
4th Round
| 102 | New Orleans Saints | Montrae Holland | Guard | Florida State |
| 103 | Dallas Cowboys | Bradie James | Linebacker | LSU |
| 104 | Jacksonville Jaguars | George Wrighster | Tight End | Oregon |
| 105 | Minnesota Vikings | Onterrio Smith | Running Back | Oregon |
| 106 | St. Louis Rams | Shaun McDonald | Wide Receiver | Arizona State |
| 107 | St. Louis Rams | DeJuan Groce | Cornerback | Nebraska |
| 108 | Denver Broncos | Quentin Griffin | Running Back | Oklahoma |
| 109 | Baltimore Ravens | Jarret Johnson | Defensive End | Alabama |
| 110 | Seattle Seahawks | Seneca Wallace | Quarterback | Iowa State |
| 111 | Buffalo Bills | Terrence McGee | Cornerback | Northwestern State |
| 112 | San Diego Chargers | Matt Wilhelm | Linebacker | Ohio State |
| 113 | Kansas City Chiefs | Brett Williams | Tackle | Florida State |
| 114 | Denver Broncos | Nick Eason | Defensive Tackle | Clemson |
| 115 | Cleveland Browns | Lee Suggs | Running Back | Virginia Tech |
| 116 | Chicago Bears | Ian Scott | Defensive Tackle | Florida |
| 117 | New England Patriots | Dan Klecko | Linebacker | Temple |
| 118 | Cincinnati Bengals | Jeremi Johnson | Fullback | Western Kentucky |
| 119 | Carolina Panthers | Colin Branch | Safety | Stanford |
| 120 | New England Patriots | Asante Samuel | Cornerback | Central Florida |
5th round
| 155 | New Orleans Saints | Melvin Williams | Defensive End | Kansas State |
| 156 | Miami Dolphins | Donald Lee | Tight End | Mississippi State |
| 157 | Denver Broncos | Ben Claxton | Center | Mississippi |
| 158 | Denver Broncos | Adrian Madise | Wide Receiver | Texas Christian |
| 159 | Atlanta Falcons | Jon Olinger | Wide Receiver | Cincinnati |
| 160 | New York Giants | David Diehl | Tackle | Illinois |
| 161 | San Francisco 49ers | Aaron Walker | Tight End | Florida |
| 162 | Indianapolis Colts | Keyon Whiteside | Linebacker | Tennessee |
| 163 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Brian St. Pierre | Quarterback | Boston College |
| 164 | New England Patriots | Dan Koppen | Center | Boston College |
6th Round
| 203 | New Orleans Saints | Kareem Kelly | Wide Receiver | USC |
| 204 | Oakland Raiders | Dustin Rykert | Tackle | Brigham Young |
| 205 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Torrie Cox | Cornerback | Pittsburgh |
| 206 | Chicago Bears | Brock Forsey | Running Back | Boise State |
| 207 | New York Giants | Frank Walker | Cornerback | Tuskegee |
| 208 | Indianapolis Colts | Makoa Freitas | Tackle | Arizona |
| 209 | Miami Dolphins | Tim Provost | Tackle | San José State |
| 210 | Arizona Cardinals | Tony Gilbert | Linebacker | Georgia |
| 211 | New York Giants | David Tyree | Wide Receiver | Syracuse |
| 212 | Green Bay Packers | Brennan Curtin | Tackle | Notre Dame |
| 213 | Miami Dolphins | Yeremiah Bell | Safety | Eastern Kentucky |
(The blue means the picks were compensatory picks)
7th Round
| 231 | New Orleans Saints | Talman Gardner | Wide Receiver | Florida State |
| 232 | Washington Redskins | Gibran Hamdan | Quarterback | Indiana |
| 233 | Houston Texans | Chance Pearce | Center | Texas A&M |
| 234 | New England Patriots | Spencer Nead | Fullback | Brigham Young |
| 235 | Denver Broncos | Ahmaad Galloway | Running Back | Alabama |
Undrafted Notables
| Atlanta Falcons | Brendon Ayanbadejo | Linebacker | UCLA |
| Buffalo Bills | Jon Dorenbos | Long Snapper | UTEP |
| Buffalo Bills | Fred Jackson | Running back | Coe College |
| Carolina Panthers | Vinny Ciurciu | Linebacker | Boston |
| Cleveland Browns | Leigh Bodden | Cornerback | Duquesne |
| Dallas Cowboys | Keith Davis | Safety | Sam Houston |
| Dallas Cowboys | Tony Romo | Quarterback | Eastern Illinois |
| Indianapolis Colts | Gary Brackett | Linebacker | Rutgers |
| Indianapolis Colts | Brad Pyatt | Wide Receiver | Northern Colorado |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Lawrence Tynes | Placekicker | Troy |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Greg Lewis | Wide Receiver | Illinois |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Roderick Hood | Cornerback | Auburn |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Jamaal Jackson | Center | Delaware State |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Quintin Mikell | Safety | Boise State |
| San Diego Chargers | Kris Dielman | Offensive Guard | Indiana |
| San Diego Chargers | Antonio Gates | Tight End | Kent State |
| San Diego Chargers | Jacques Cesaire | Defensive End | Southern Connecticut State |
| San Diego Chargers | Stephen Cooper | Linebacker | Maine |
| San Diego Chargers | Kassim Osgood | Wide Receiver | San Diego State |
| Seattle Seahawks | Jerheme Urban | Wide Receiver | Trinity University |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Earnest Graham | Running Back | Florida |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Anthony Davis | Offensive Tackle | Virginia Tech |
| Green Bay Packers | Cullen Jenkins | Defensive End | Central Michigan |
My Thoughts
By definition, if a team gets just one starter from a draft then the grade is usually a D. So please excuse me as I give this draft an F. Just look at the first round. How many all-star players do you see? How many did the Saints draft? Zero. This draft just makes me want to vomit. I don't think I can ever articulate just how much I hate this draft.
What about you? Do you disagree that this was a poor draft? Think this draft was mediocre? Explain in the comment section.