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2002 Draft Preview

Top Defensive and Special Teams Prospects

by Richard Harris
Updated April 16, 2002

The following are BTG’s top defensive and special teams prospects by position for the 2002 NFL Draft (April 20-21).  The players are highlighted in four different colors to distinguish their draft potential. 

bulletYellow – potential first-round pick
bulletGreen – potential second-round pick
bulletBlue – potential third-round pick
bulletGray – potential fourth through seventh-round pick

Check back this Thursday for our two-round mock draft.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

RANK NAME SCHOOL

HGT

WGT

40
1 Albert Haynesworth Tennessee

6-6

320

4.83
2 Ryan Sims North Carolina

6-4

311

5.05
3 Wendell Bryant Wisconsin

6-4

308

4.79
4 John Henderson Tennessee

6-7

306

5.02
5 Eddie Freeman Alabama-Birmingham

6-5

310

4.91
6 Anthony Weaver Notre Dame

6-3

296

4.95
7 Larry Tripplett Washington

6-2

305

4.93
8 Dorsett Davis Mississippi State

6-5

304

5.00
9 Nate Dwyer Kansas

6-3

313

5.10
10 Justin Bannan Colorado

6-3

300

4.95
11 Mike Collins Ohio State

6-3

298

5.03
12 Alan Harper Fresno State

6-2

295

5.27
13 Rocky Bernard Texas A & M

6-3

294

4.96
14 Charles Hill Maryland

6-2

293

5.06
15 Brandon Moore Illinois

6-3

293

5.26
16 Monsanto Pope Virginia

6-3

295

5.25
17 Chad Beasley Virginia Tech

6-5

303

5.15
18 Josh Shaw Michigan State

6-3

279

5.08
19 Jerry Slechta Nebraska

6-6

275

5.20
20 Ken Kocher UCLA

6-3

328

5.26

Notes:  There is no clear-cut number-one prospect at tackle, but what is certain is that the top four will go in the first round.  Though a bit raw, junior Albert Haynesworth appears to have the most upside due to his overall athletic ability and size.  Last season at Tennessee, he recorded 20 quarterback pressures, and his 39-inch vertical jump helped him notch seven pass deflections.  Teammate John Henderson is worthy of consideration based just on sheer size.  His 20.5 quarterback sacks rank fifth on the Volunteer’s all-time list, but an injury-plagued senior season has caused his stock to slip.  The other two first rounders are Wendell Bryant, who has the most speed and quickness, and Ryan Sims, who is the strongest.  Take your pick – they all should be good.  Eddie Freeman, Anthony Weaver, and Larry Tripplett should all be gone by the end of the second round.  The former two were touted as possible late first rounders, but disappointing senior seasons could drop them to round two.  The workmanlike Tripplett is not far behind, but he is more suited for nose guard in a 3-4 alignment.  All of these players will be hot commodities because the talent level drops off significantly after the top eight. 

DEFENSIVE ENDS

RANK NAME SCHOOL

HGT

WGT

40
1 Julius Peppers North Carolina

6-6

283

4.69
2 Dwight Freeney Syracuse

6-1

266

4.49
3 Kalimba Edwards South Carolina

6-5

265

4.70
4 Charles Grant Georgia

6-3

282

4.69
5 Bryan Thomas Alabama-Birmingham

6-4

266

4.47
6 Ryan Denney Brigham Young

6-7

276

4.86
7 Alex Brown Florida

6-3

260

4.88
8 Will Overstreet Tennessee

6-3

259

4.65
9 Kenyon Coleman UCLA

6-5

284

4.94
10 Dennis Johnson Kentucky

6-5

258

4.82
11 Akin Ayodele Purdue

6-2

257

4.87
12 Carlos Hall Arkansas

6-4

259

4.67
13 Aaron Kampman Iowa

6-4

285

4.77
14 Jarvis Green Louisiana State

6-3

272

4.87
15 Raheem Brock Temple

6-4

267

4.93
16 Grant Irons Notre Dame

6-6

267

4.96
17 Anton Palepoi UNLV

6-3

279

4.78
18 Greg White Minnesota

6-3

268

4.90
19 Greg Scott Hampton

6-4

268

4.90
20 Brett Keisel Brigham Young

6-5

279

4.89

Notes:  In terms of overall athletic ability, the defensive end class is fairly deep in talent.  However, most of these players are speed rushers who may have trouble being every-down players.  Julius Peppers, North Carolina’s second all-time sacker with 30.5 sacks for minus-209 yards and a solid contributor to the Tar Heels basketball squad as a power forward, is the undisputed top prospect among the ends.  He not only has the speed and coordination to rush the passer, but also the size to play every down.  Peppers is sure to be a top-10 pick, but any one of four players could be the next end taken.  Syracuse’s Dwight Freeney will certainly draw a lot of consideration.  Faster than most of the running backs in this year’s class, Freeney led the nation with 17.5 sacks last season. 

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

RANK NAME SCHOOL

HGT

WGT

40
1 Robert Thomas UCLA

6-0

229

4.51
2 Trev Faulk Louisiana State

6-3

235

4.68
3 Ben Taylor Virginia Tech

6-2

236

4.83
4 Josh Thornhill Michigan State

6-2

243

4.69
5 Rocky Calmus Oklahoma

6-3

243

4.75
6 Tyreo Harrison Notre Dame

6-2

238

4.87
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