Looking back to 2002 Draft

[ABQCOWBOY]

Knowing what you know now, would you still have taken Roy 8th overall?

Here is who got drafted and where.

Round Pick Player Name Team Position College
1 1 1 David Carr Texans QB Fresno State
2 2 Julius Peppers Panthers DE North Carolina
3 3 Joey Harrington Lions QB Oregon
4 4 Mike Williams Bills T Texas
5 5 Quentin Jammer Chargers DB Texas
6 6 Ryan Sims Chiefs DT North Carolina
7 7 Bryant McKinnie Vikings T Miami (FL)
8 8 Roy Williams Cowboys DB Oklahoma
9 9 John Henderson Jaguars DT Tennessee
10 10 Levi Jones Bengals T Arizona State
11 11 Dwight Freeney Colts DE Syracuse
12 12 Wendell Bryant Cardinals DT Wisconsin
13 13 Donte Stallworth Saints WR Tennessee
14 14 Jeremy Shockey Giants TE Miami (FL)
15 15 Albert Haynesworth Titans DT Tennessee
16 16 William Green Browns RB Boston College
17 17 Phillip Buchanon Raiders DB Miami (FL)
18 18 T.J. Duckett Falcons RB Michigan State
19 19 Ashley Lelie Broncos WR Hawaii
20 20 Javon Walker Packers WR Florida State
21 21 Dan Graham Patriots TE Colorado
22 22 Bryan Thomas Jets DE Alabama-Birmingham
23 23 Napoleon Harris Raiders LB Northwestern
24 24 Edward Reed Ravens DB Miami (FL)
25 25 Charles Grant Saints DE Georgia
26 26 Lito Sheppard Eagles DB Florida
27 27 Mike Rumph 49ers DB Miami (FL)
28 28 Jerramy Stevens Seahawks TE Washington
29 29 Marc Colombo Bears T Boston College
30 30 Kendall Simmons Steelers G Auburn
31 31 Robert Thomas Rams LB UCLA
32 32 Patrick Ramsey Redskins QB Tulane

[Eddie]

Dwight Freeney !!!

[dougonthebench]

yes,I still would have taken Roy Williams.

[parchy]

That was one of the weakest 1st rounds in awhile to that point. Lito Shepherd would have been the only guy I would have even considered over Roy, but I think we came out just fine. It was the rest of the draft that worried me...

[Paniolo22]

Ed Reed, Levi Jones, Dwight Freeney, Javon Walker. Man, the first round is a freakin' crap shoot. Lito would have been a good 2nd rounder, but not a first. At least we got one of the good players in this particular draft.

[Paniolo22]

Oh yeah, Charles Grant and John Henderson are pretty good too.

[DallasInDC]

That was one of the weakest 1st rounds in awhile to that point. Lito Shepherd would have been the only guy I would have even considered over Roy, but I think we came out just fine. It was the rest of the draft that worried me...

If you're looking at hindsight, you would have to considered Ed Reed and Dwight Freeney and Javon Walker as well.

[Hiero]

to me freeney vs roy williams is a no brainer, if we knew how great freeney would turn out, no way we pass on him. Javon Walker actually is another guy I would have taken, because I love big time wr's. other than that, only ed reed stands out as a possible guy I would take over him.

[Gordon]

That was one of the weakest 1st rounds in awhile to that point. Lito Shepherd would have been the only guy I would have even considered over Roy, but I think we came out just fine. It was the rest of the draft that worried me...

That 1st round was stacked man.. The top 10 produced a lot of busts but a lot of these guys are at the top of their positions right now, especially in picks 8-26.

[dragon_mikal]

Ed Reed
Dwight Freeney
Javon Walker

I love Roy but if we are going to keep using him wrong why have him? YOU DON'T USE HIM IN COVERAGE!

I have to say that Roy was a good pick, especially considering how well he did his rookie year when he was allowed to do what he does best.

Oh well...can't go back in time.

[mullet]

Dwight Freeney is the only player I would take over Roy.

[irishwaste]

I would have taken Reed, Freeny, and Walker over Roy.

Imagine having to worry about Ware and Freeny and Ellis and Glover at once?

[dougonthebench]

I would have taken Reed, Freeny, and Walker over Roy.

Imagine having to worry about Ware and Freeny and Ellis and Glover at once?


then imagine having to worry about#31 coming at ya HARD!!!

[dragon_mikal]

Dwight Freeney is the only player I would take over Roy.

What about Ed Reed?

[dougonthebench]

woulda,coulda,shoulda!!!Be glad Roy has been the player he has been for us!!!Roy COULD have been a bust!!!

[Derinyar]

Its hard to judge players in a vacuum. Is Ed Reed the reason the Baltimore defense is great, or is he helped by the fact the defense is great? How much of Ed Reed is Ed Reed and how much is the Ravens as a unit?

Hes definately better in coverage than Roy. Roy in his rookie year looked like he was a great choice. I think we have to get a good FS and then Roy will look better.

[ABQCOWBOY]

I recall the RLWs debate back on the old board. There were a few that wanted to go another direction but there is no doubt, Roy was a very popular pick back then.

There's an old theory that say you don't take a safety in the top 10.

I don't know. Roy still has a lot of years to go. We will see if things change or not.

[dragon_mikal]

Its hard to judge players in a vacuum. Is Ed Reed the reason the Baltimore defense is great, or is he helped by the fact the defense is great? How much of Ed Reed is Ed Reed and how much is the Ravens as a unit?

Hes definately better in coverage than Roy. Roy in his rookie year looked like he was a great choice. I think we have to get a good FS and then Roy will look better.

Like that will ever happen. :rolleyes:

The Dallas Cowboys don't like true free safeties. For some reason, they are poisonous to everything Blue and Silver.

[Hiero]

Its hard to judge players in a vacuum. Is Ed Reed the reason the Baltimore defense is great, or is he helped by the fact the defense is great? How much of Ed Reed is Ed Reed and how much is the Ravens as a unit?

Hes definately better in coverage than Roy. Roy in his rookie year looked like he was a great choice. I think we have to get a good FS and then Roy will look better.
yep, they bring different stuff to the table. if the dallas d had been as good as the ravens d was the past few years, and roy was truely able to freelance his stats would also be overinflated.

[dboyz]

We could have done a little better with a few guys, but we could have also done worse.

[Hiero]

Like that will ever happen. :rolleyes:

The Dallas Cowboys don't like true free safeties. For some reason, they are poisonous to everything Blue and Silver.
seriously, whats the deal with BP or zimmer trying to make all these SS into a FS, when we specifically put Roy at SS so he wouldnt have to worry about deep coverage. then we put a scrub next to Roy which puts even more responsibility on him. big mistake not getting a real FS who can take the deep cover responsibilities from Roy and truely let him roam free finally.

[kingwhicker]

Only ones would be Ed Reed or Dwight Freeney. At the time, the only one I would have considered would have been Reed but not at 6 or 8 where we were picking, or John Henderson.

[Hostile]

The only player I wanted more than Roy Williams in that Draft was Julius Peppers. Yes, I still would take him.

[Rack Bauer]

Wouldn't really matter since Zimmer is our DCOord.


Who's to say Roy wouldn't be 5X as good if we had a DCoord that knew how to use him?

So it's hard to say. It would be hard to pass on Freeney either way. Freeney could help turn an average secondary into a good secondary, or good to great.


I also wouldn't of been against trading down more and taking Reed. He would of been a better fit at the time anyway (with Woodson at SS, Reed would of been a nice compliment as a FS).


That said, I love Roy. I think despite Zimmer, he's still a solid safety. If we had a Dick Lebeau he'd probably easily be considered the best Safety in the NFL.

[jem88]

That was one of the weakest 1st rounds in awhile to that point. Lito Shepherd would have been the only guy I would have even considered over Roy, but I think we came out just fine. It was the rest of the draft that worried me... Uh what about Freeney? And what's this "the rest of the draft that worried me"? Are you trying to tell us that at the time of the draft you thought Gurode, Bryant and Ross were bad picks? I don't buy it.