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Who
Went
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How the Draft
Should've Gone |
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1. Cleveland
Browns
Courtney Brown, DE Penn State
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QB Tom Brady
(6th), Michigan
New England Patriots
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The Browns
needed defense and just drafted Tim Couch, but it's
impossible to argue against taking Joe Montana.
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2. Washington
Redskins
LaVar Arrington, LB Penn State
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LB Brian
Urlacher (1st), New Mexico
Chicago Bears
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The Redskins
needed some consistency at quarterback and could've used Tom
Brady. Boo hoo. Urlacher is hardly a second prize.
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3. Washington
Redskins
Chris Samuels, OT Alabama
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RB Shaun
Alexander (1st), Alabama
Seattle Seahawks
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There are a ton
of great pass rushers on the board, and Samuels has worked
out well for Washington. He wasn't Shaun Alexander, who
would've allowed the Redskins to later on keep Champ Bailey
and not trade for Clinton Portis.
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4. Cincinnati
Bengals
Peter Warrick, WR Florida State
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OT Chris Samuels
(1st), Alabama
Washington Redskins
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Let's assume the
Akili Smith experience isn't going to work out. The Bengals
needed more building blocks and could've used Samuels, even
if this is a bit too high.
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5. Baltimore
Ravens
Jamal Lewis, RB Tennessee
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RB Jamal Lewis
(1st), Tennessee
Baltimore Ravens
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A 2,000-yard
season, several Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl, a blown out knee
and a jail sentence. Baltimore got a little bit of
everything out of the pick.
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6. Philadelphia
Eagles
Corey Simon, DT Florida State
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DT Corey Simon
(1st), Florida State
Philadelphia Eagles
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Call this a
short term solution since it helped the Eagles get to a
Super Bowl. Simon turned
into one of the best defensive tackles in football and a
rock of the Philadelphia defense for a little while. There's no reason to
change a thing even though he left for Indianapolis.
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7. Arizona
Cardinals
Thomas Jones, RB Virginia
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LB Julian
Peterson (1st), Michigan State
San Francisco 49ers
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Peterson has
become a steady defender grew into a top pass rusher. Seven
might be a bit high, but it's hardly a bad pick.
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8. Pittsburgh
Steelers
Plaxico Burress, WR Michigan State
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OG Brian Waters (Undrafted),
North Texas
Kansas City Chiefs
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Burress would
have to be considered again, but Waters turned into a Pro
Bowl lineman who'd be a regular up front. Is eight way too
high? We're talking about an all-star here.
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9. Chicago Bears
Brian Urlacher, LB New Mexico
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WR Plaxico
Burress (1st), Michigan State
Pittsburgh Steelers
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Burress started
his career looking like a flaky bust. Things turned around
and he turned into, at times, one of the better receivers in the
league. The Bears needed a number one target.
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10. Baltimore
Ravens
Travis Taylor, WR Florida
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QB Marc Bulger
(6th), West Virginia
New Orleans Saints
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Taylor held out
and was a mega-bust for the Ravens at the ten. Can you imagine how frightening
the sensational Raven defense would become after mixing in a
pass rusher like KGB?
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11. New York
Giants
Ron Dayne, RB Wisconsin
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TE Bubba Franks
(1st), Miami
Green Bay Packers
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New York was
seemingly always looking for a tight end before getting
Jeremy Shockey. Franks would've
solved all the problems (at least for a little while).
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12. New York
Jets
Shaun Ellis, DE Tennessee
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LB/DE John
Abraham (1st), South Carolina
New York Jets
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Flip-flop the
picks. Abraham and Ellis turned into mainstays and great
pass rushers for the Jet defense so there's no reason to
mess with what worked.
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13. New York
Jets
John Abraham, LB South Carolina
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DE Shaun Ellis
(1st), Tennessee
New York Jets
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The temptation
is there to take Darren Howard or Laveraneues Coles ahead of
Ellis, but the Jets should stick with the original pick.
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14. Green Bay
Packers
Bubba Franks, TE Miami
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DE Kabeer
Gbaja-Biamila (5th), San Diego State
Green Bay Packers
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The Packers
wouldn't get KGB in the fifth round again.
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15. Denver
Broncos
Deltha O'Neal, DB California
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DB Deltha O'Neal
(1st), California
Denver Broncos
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Ahmed Plummer,
Deon Grant and Mike Brown would be tempting, but O'Neal
became a nice all-around player for the Broncos before
taking off to Cincinnati.
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16. San
Francisco 49ers
Julian Peterson, LB Michigan State
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DE Darren Howard
(2nd), Kansas State
New Orleans Saints
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Once Peterson
got his feet wet, he became a decent linebacker for the
Niners. Howard wouldn't have been a bad second option. |
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17. Oakland
Raiders
Sebastian Janikowski, K Florida State
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QB Chad
Pennington (1st), Marshall
New York Jets
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The Janikowski
pick, even though he's a solid kicker, was one of the dumber selections in draft history.
Pennington would've been a great fit to be groomed behind Rich
Gannon and wouldn't have gotten hurt right away.
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18. New York
Jets
Chad Pennington, QB Marshall
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LB Keith Bulluck
(1st), Syracuse
Tennessee Titans
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The Jets went
defense with the first two picks and there's no reason not to
beef it up further with a steady linebacker like Bulluck.
Laveranues Coles might be the pick if the Jets could be assured he
wouldn't leave for free agency.
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19. Seattle
Seahawks
Shaun Alexander, RB Alabama
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WR Darrell
Jackson (3rd), Florida
Seattle Seahawks
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Seattle got one
of its better receivers later on in the draft, but Jackson
won't be there in the third round in the redraft.
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20. Detroit
Lions
Stockar McDougle, OT Oklahoma
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WR Laveranues
Coles (3rd), Florida State
New York Jets
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Coles can't
slide any further. The Lions need immediate receiving help even though
he wouldn't turn into an NFL superstar and will leave for free agency.
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21. Kansas City
Chiefs
Sylvester Morris, WR Jackson State
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S Mike Brown
(2nd), Nebraska
Chicago Bears
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The Kansas City
draft room is breaking stuff after Jackson and Coles went
off the board. A
ball-hawking safety like Brown, even an oft-injured one, would work extremely well in
the Chief secondary.
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22. Seattle
Seahawks
Chris McIntosh, OT Wisconsin
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RB Thomas Jones
(1st), Virginia
Arizona Cardinals
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A mega-bust for
the Cardinals, Jones worked out well once he moved on. The
hope is for him to grow into the job in Seattle and be the
player he turned into for Chicago. |
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23. Carolina
Panthers
Rashard Anderson, DB Jackson State
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LB Marcus
Washington (2nd), Auburn
Washington Redskins
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Washington
probably should've gone far higher. While not spectacular,
he's a great tackler.
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24. San
Francisco 49ers
Ahmed Plummer, DB Ohio State
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DB Deon Grant
(2nd), Tennessee
Carolina Panthers
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Plummer was fine
for a while, but Grant would've been better for a longer
time. No argument if you think he should've gone in the top
20.
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25. Minnesota
Vikings
Chris Hovan, DT Boston College
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RB Mike Anderson
(6th), Utah
Denver Broncos
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Hovan hasn't
been all that bad, but Anderson would've been a power runner
the Vikings could've plugged in for several years.
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26. Buffalo
Bills
Erik Flowers, DE Arizona State
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OT Marvel Smith
(2nd), Arizona State
Pittsburgh Steelers
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Smith wouldn't
be an exciting pick like a Jerry Porter would be on drafted, but he'd
be a rock on the line.
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27. New York
Jets
Anthony Becht, TE West Virginia
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OG Todd Wade
(2nd), Mississippi
Miami Dolphins
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Injuries would
potentially become a problem, but Wade would be a stalwart
of the Jet line for five years.
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28. Indianapolis
Colts
Rob Morris, LB BYU
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LB LaVar
Arrington (1st), Penn State
Washington Redskins
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Morris was never
the right fit for the Colt defense. Needing
defense, the better pick, as least for a while, would've
been Arrington.
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29. Jacksonville
Jaguars
R. Jay Soward, WR USC
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RB Dante Hall
(5th), Texas A&M
Kansas City Chiefs
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Soward was a
dumb pick, the Jaguars admitted at the time it was a dumb
pick, and then they did it anyway. Hall might not have done
much as a runner, but he would've been a premier weapon for
the return game.
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30. Tennessee
Titans
Keith Bulluck, LB Syracuse
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OG Cosey Coleman
(2nd), Tennessee
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Bulluck was a
nice pick for the Titans and wouldn't be a bad pick up here.
Coleman is too good and too steady to let slide any
further.
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31. St. Louis
Rams
Trung Canidate, RB Arizona
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RB Reuben
Droughns (3rd), Oregon
Detroit Lions
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The Rams wanted
a running back to complement Marshall Faulk. Droughns would
eventually take over the starting job.
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