In 2002 and 2003, we broke down the draft's top prospects into three groups with the notion that each man on the list had a chance of being a first-round pick (some more than others). At the very least, the goal was to populate our list with only first- and second-round picks.
The draft is a culmination of many months of work. Scouts make their living going across the country and evaluating players for this very day. And one of the most unique things is that every team has a different opinion of who the best players in the draft are. Like I've always said, some people like strawberry ice cream, some people like vanilla.
There are probably 15 to 20 more guys we can add to this list, but we decided to cut it off at 45 players. FYI: Mike Williams was taken off this list after the April 19 court ruling. And eligible or not, Maurice Clarett is not among the top 45.
Each list is in alphabetical order.
Group 1-a
Lee Evans, wide receiver, Wisconsin
Larry Fitzgerald, wide receiver, Pittsburgh
Robert Gallery, offensive tackle, Iowa
DeAngelo Hall, cornerback, Virginia Tech
Tommie Harris, defensive tackle, Oklahoma
Eli Manning, quarterback, Mississippi
Philip Rivers, quarterback, North Carolina State
Dunta Robinson, cornerback, South Carolina
Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback, Miami (Ohio)
Will Smith, defensive end, Ohio State
Sean Taylor, safety, Miami (Fla.)
Kenechi Udeze, defensive end, Southern California
Reggie Williams, wide receiver, Washington
Roy Williams, wide receiver, Texas
Kellen Winslow, tight end, Miami (Fla.)
Group 1-b
Shawn Andrews, offensive tackle, Arkansas
Jason Babin, defensive end, Western Michigan
Vernon Carey, offensive tackle, Miami (Fla.)
Michael Clayton, wide receiver, Louisiana State
Darnell Dockett, defensive tackle, Florida State
Chris Gamble, cornerback, Ohio State
Steven Jackson, running back, Oregon State
Kevin Jones, running back, Virginia Tech
Antwan Odom, defensive end, Alabama
Justin Smiley, guard, Alabama
Ben Troupe, tight end, Florida
Marcus Tubbs, defensive tackle, Texas
Jonathan Vilma, linebacker, Miami (Fla.)
Vince Wilfork, defensive tackle, Miami (Fla.)
D.J. Williams, linebacker, Miami (Fla.)
Group 1-c
Ahmad Carroll, cornerback, Arkansas
Dwan Edwards, defensive tackle,Oregon State
Jake Grove, center, Virginia Tech
Michael Jenkins, wide receiver, Ohio State
Greg Jones, running back, Florida State
Sean Jones, free safety, Georgia
Teddy Lehman, linebacker, Oklahoma
J.P. Losman, quarterback, Tulane
Igor Olshansky, defensive tackle, Oregon
Chris Perry, running back, Michigan
Matt Schaub, quarterback, Virginia
Cody Spencer, linebacker, North Texas
Randy Starks, defensive tackle, Maryland
Kris Wilson, tight end, Pittsburgh
Rashaun Woods, wide receiver, Oklahoma State
Gil Brandt position analysis columns:
Gil Brandt was vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960-89. He is now in his eighth year as NFL.com's chief personnel guru. (Brandt is of no relation to Packers VP of Player Finance Andrew Brandt.)
