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Saints 2003 NFL Draft in Review

The Browns game was less of a cluster---- then the 2003 draft.
The Browns game was less of a cluster---- then the 2003 draft.

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

6 New Orleans Saints (from Cardinals) Johnathan Sullivan Defensive Tackle Georgia
7 Jacksonville Jaguars [6] Byron Leftwich Quarterback Marshall
8 Carolina Panthers [6] Jordan Gross Tackle Utah
9 Minnesota Vikings [6] Kevin Williams Defensive Tackle Oklahoma State
10 Baltimore Ravens Terrell Suggs Defensive End/Linebacker Arizona State
11 Seattle Seahawks Marcus Trufant Cornerback Washington State
12 St. Louis Rams Jimmy Kennedy Defensive Tackle Penn State
13 New England Patriots (from Washington through NY Jets and Chicago) Ty Warren Defensive End Texas A&M
14 Chicago Bears (from Buffalo through New England) Michael Haynes Defensive End Penn State
15 Philadelphia Eagles (from San Diego) Jerome McDougle Defensive End Miami (FL)
16 Pittsburgh Steelers (from Kansas City) Troy Polamalu Safety USC
17 Arizona Cardinals (from Miami through New Orleans) Bryant Johnson Wide Receiver Penn State
18 Arizona Cardinals (from New Orleans) Calvin Pace Defensive End Wake Forest
19 Baltimore Ravens (from New England) Kyle Boller Quarterback California
20 Denver Broncos George Foster Offensive Tackle Georgia
21 Cleveland Browns Jeff Faine Center Notre Dame
22 Chicago Bears (from NY Jets) Rex Grossman Quarterback Florida
23 Buffalo Bills (from Atlanta) Willis McGahee Running Back Miami (FL)
24 Indianapolis Colts Dallas Clark Tight End Iowa
25 New York Giants William Joseph Defensive Tackle Miami (FL)
26 San Francisco 49ers Kwame Harris Offensive Tackle Stanford
27 Kansas City Chiefs (from Pittsburgh) Larry Johnson Running Back Penn State
28 Tennessee Titans Andre Woolfolk Cornerback Oklahoma
29 Green Bay Packers Nick Barnett Linebacker Oregon State
30 San Diego Chargers (from Philadelphia) Sammy Davis Cornerback Texas A&M
31 Oakland Raiders Nnamdi Asomugha Cornerback California
32 Oakland Raiders (from Tampa Bay) [7] Tyler Brayton Defensive End Colorado

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.