02 rooks vs. 03 prospects – OFFENSE

Using Great Blue North’s 2002 top 100 list I put together this list so anyone who’s bored can take a position or two and compare last years crop with the class of 2003. I am curious to know how the regulars here would evaluate each 2003 position based on the talent and first year production of the 2002 rookie class.


GBN rating /player/position/college/ ht.wt.40/team/drafted
4 David Carr QB Fresno State 6-3, 225 4.79 Hou #1
11 Joey Harrington QB Oregon 6-4, 220 4.85 Det #3
36 Patrick Ramsey QB Tulane 6-2, 225 5.12 Was #32
99 Kurt Kittner QB Illinois 6-2, 220 5.05 Atlanta #158
NI Josh McCown QB Sam Houston State __ Ari #81
NI David Garrard QB East Carolina ______ Jac #108
>NI Randy Fasani QB Stanford __________ Car #137

9 Donte' Stallworth WR Tennessee 6-0, 195 4.28 NO #13
19 Ashley Lelie WR Hawaii 6-3, 190 4.35 Den #19
20 Josh Reed WR LSU 5-11, 200 4.50 Buffalo #36
30 Jabar Gaffney WR Florida 6-1, 193 4.50 Hou #33
31 Javon Walker WR Florida State 6-2, 210 4.42 GB #20
32 Antonio Bryant WR Pittsburgh 6-1, 190 4.55 Dallas #63
35 Reche Caldwell WR Florida 5-11, 195 4.48 SD #48
38 Andre Davis WR Virginia Tech 6-1, 195 4.42 Cle #47
NI Antwaan Randle / El Indiana __________ Pit #62
NI Deion Branch WR Louisville _________ NE #65

21 William Green RB Boston College 6-0, 220 4.62 Cle #16
17 T.J. Duckett RB Michigan State 6-0, 255 4.45 Atlanta #18
37 Clinton Portis RB Miami 5-11, 205 4.44 Den Fuckin’ #51
66 Lamar Gordon RB North Dakota State 6-1, 210 4.52 StL #84
91 Maurice Morris RB Oregon 6-0, 200 4.48 Seattle #54
100 Ladell Betts RB Iowa 5-10, 220 4.56 Was #56
NI Brian Westbrook RB Villanova ______ Phi #91

94 Najeh Davenport FB Miami 6-0, 245 4.58 GB #135
NI Omar Easy FB Penn State __________ KC #107
NI Jamar Martin FB Ohio State ________ Dal #129
NI Jarrod Baxter FB New Mexico _____ Hou #136

12 Jeremy Shockey TE Miami 6-4, 255 4.65 NYG #14
22 Dan Graham TE Colorado 6-3, 245 4.72 NE #21
57 Matt Schobel TE TCU 6-4, 265 4.75 Cin #67
60 Doug Jolley TE BYU 6-4, 255 4.65 Oak #55
64 Jerramy Stevens TE Washington 6-6, 265 4.82 Sea #28
92 Randy McMichael TE Georgia 6-3, 245 4.70 Mia #114
>NI Keith Heinrich TE Sam Houston State _____ Car #174

3 Mike Williams OT Texas 6-6, 375 5.38 Buf #4
6 Bryant McKinnie OT Miami 6-8, 343 5.35 Min #7
16 Levi Jones OT Arizona State 6-5, 305 5.15 Cin #10
39 Mike Pearson OT Florida 6-6, 305 5.08 Jac #40
44 Marc Colombo OT Boston College 6-8, 315 5.25 Chi #29

18 Toniu Fonoti OG Nebraska 6-4, 350 5.45 SD #39
25 Andre Gurode OG Colorado 6-4, 315 5.34 Dallas #37
29 Kendall Simmons OG Auburn 6-3, 310 5.25 Pittsburgh #30
56 Terrence Metcalf OG Mississippi 6-3, 320 5.25 Chicago #93
62 Fred Weary OG Tennessee 6-4, 310 5.35 Hou #66

47 LeCharles Bentley C Ohio State 6-2, 300 5.12 NO #44
73 Seth McKinney C Texas A&M 6-3, 300 4.98 Mia #90
NI Melvin Fowler C Maryland _______ Cle #76



NI = Not in GBNs Top 100

BTW - I didn't think it would be appropriate to include Foster. It's pretty damn depressing to realize that we could very well end up with a big goose egg from what appears to have been a talented O class.

 

Here’s a simplistic example of what I had in mind, just copy/paste from above post and whale away! ---



4 David Carr QB Fresno State 6-3, 225 4.79 Hou #1 vs. B Leftwich (healthy and in better shape)
Carr is more mobile but Lefty wins. He’s bigger stronger and probably more accurate

11 Joey Harrington QB Oregon 6-4, 220 4.85 Det #3 vs. C Palmer
Palmer wins for similar reasons

36 Patrick Ramsey QB Tulane 6-2, 225 5.12 Was #32 vs. E Manning
Manning wins because his Daddy and big brother are better QBs than Ramseys Dad and bro

99 Kurt Kittner QB Illinois 6-2, 220 5.05 Atlanta #158 vs. D Ragone
Ragone would body slam Kurt and steal his fuckin’ lunch money

NI Josh McCown QB Sam Houston State __ Ari #81 vs. K Boller
It’s a draw because I’m a moron about both of them

NI David Garrard QB East Carolina ______ Jac #108 vs. Kingsbury
Garrard would body slam Kliffy and steal HIS lunch money

>NI Randy Fasani QB Stanford __________ Car #137 vs. ANY of the above
Fasani wins because he is the sleeper pick of the century and all he needs is a little coaching and game time experience and he’ll be the second coming of Brett Favre!!!
I remember saying something to that effect last May. Meat, you might remember that. You busted on me just a little but I actually deserved a hammering for being such an unrealistic delirious Homerfied dreamer! I can laugh at myself now but I really thought that Weinke would tutor Fasani for a year and then Fasani would bust out of a phone booth kickin’ all kinds of serious ass!

Anyway, I hope some of you who actually know what you’re talking about will have fun with this concept. I thought this idea might be an interesting tool to try and figure out just how talented and deep each position is with the help of comparison. Give it a shot. I know none of you can match the insightful analysis that I MYSELF pen with such ethereal aplomb (see example above) but superior intellects like Collin and myself will be most amused by the efforts of the peasants.

 

I'll admit, I'm a little befuddled as to what you're looking for. I get the idea - compare last year's players to this year's, but I'm lacking a good starting point.

 

My goofy example must have sucked pretty hard huh?

It’s a simple concept and I thought it might be a decent way to get a feel for what kind of talent will be in this years '03 draft as compared to the top '02 rooks of last year. What do you guys think about the talent level of each position as a group and/or individuals? If you can get into any specifics great . . . if you just want to give a ballpark opinion on what positions are weaker or stronger than last year that’s fine too. However, I was hoping to get into some specific pros and cons of at least the top 3 guys in each position but no pressure to go there if you don't want to.

FOR INSTANCE - - -
Are there any 2003 DE’s that figure to be as good as Peppers, Freeney, or even super-sleeper Carlos Hall? How do prospects like McDougle, Suggs, and White hold up in comparison? What does one guy have that another does not that could give him the edge as a pro? You can get into as much or as little detail as you want. If you want to you can copy/paste a few '02 rook players from a position (see initial post for list) then type in a few of THIS years potential equivalent top prospects next to each one with a brief comment or two and a rating of “better / worse / or equal”. OR - You can just type in the “better / worse / or equal” and leave it at that. Whatever.)

Example -
94 Najeh Davenport FB Miami 6-0, 245 4.58 GB #135
VS. B J Askew (Mich) Equal runner but less likely to develop as a blocker. Worse overall

NI Omar Easy FB Penn State __________ KC #107
VS. A Pinnock (SC) Decent runner but needs work as a blocker. Equal

NI Jamar Martin FB Ohio State ________ Dal #129
VS. J Johnson (W. Kentucky) Better potential blocker with good size but not much of a runner and has bad work ethic. Worse overall

NI Jarrod Baxter FB New Mexico _____ Hou #136
VS. K Moore (Stanford) No speed as a runner but a classic blocking FB with excellent work ethic. Might be the safest pick of this group for us. Equal to or better than any of last years blocking FBs.

The 2002 FB class seems to have a few decent all-round FB's and the 2003 prospects seem to rate as weaker.


Does this exercise seem like a good way to determine which '03 positions are weaker or stronger than '02 or is it an exercise in futility?

BTW - Though I have looked into a couple of reports on those four FBs I wasn't very aware of this years rook FB contributions and my comparisons were based in large part on last years pre draft evaluations of the ’02 FBs. I don't mind if YOU do that too but some of you might have a little more in-depth insight and opinions based on following some of this years ’02 rooks more closely. Any of your comments from raw gut feelings to thoroughly researched data is “all good” to me. BRING IT!