Pro Football Weekly and Riddell present ...
2002 NFL Draft Day coverage

Pulse of the draft, pick by pick

Go to round recap: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7

Top of page

Impressions of the sixth round

While we won’t know how successful this draft will be for some time, it’s obvious the Vikings made an effort to address their weaknesses as a team. Getting a talent like Bryant McKinnie with the seventh pick was a luxury, and the OLT position was a major void. Then they went defensive with LB Raonall Smith in the second round before reaching a bit for S Willie Offord out of South Carolina in the third. The selection of North Carolina State S Brian Williams, who could also play corner, was a good value pick in the fourth round, along with OG Ed Ta’amu from Utah with a compensatory choice as the round wound to a close. In this round, they snagged another linebacker, Nick Rogers, from Georgia Tech, whose greatest strength is rushing the passer. The Vikings’ entire LB corps from only two years ago is gone, so plenty of help and bodies were needed. A shaky offensive line was addressed, as was the safety position, which could use some youth and depth.

The Falcons snared a player with a lot of upside potential in WR Kahlil Hill from Iowa. He is an excellent route-runner and superb athlete who adjusts to the ball well and can contribute in a big way in the return game. If he can improve his work habits, he should prove to be a nice find for the Falcons, who really needed a big receiver who could stretch the field. Hill joins a Falcons offense that could be one of the most exciting in the league with RBs Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett and QB Michael Vick.

While the A-Train is not expected to be in any competition for the starting job, the Bears did add another tough, determined runner who almost never gets caught behind the line of scrimmage in Adrian Peterson. The Division I-AA’s all-time leading rusher didn’t just do it against smaller schools. He gained 152 yards against Georgia and 178 against Oregon State during his career at Georgia Southern.

The Ravens, who lost Qadry Ismail to free agency and have only a pair of wideouts under contract — Travis Taylor and Brandon Stokley — grabbed two more wide receivers for their roster in the sixth round in Lamont Brightful out of Eastern Washington and Javin Hunter out of Notre Dame. The need was also addressed in Round Four, when they selected former Minnesota Golden Gopher Ron Johnson.

The expansion Texans, who went heavy on offense right from the get-go (six of their top seven picks were offensive players), have switched the emphasis over to defense in the latter rounds. Joining DT Charles Hill (third round) and DB Ramon Walker (fifth) are CB DeMarcus Faggins out of Kansas State and DT Howard Green from Louisiana State in the sixth round. Faggins has some size and speed limitations, but he showed some promise in press coverage in college.

Top of page

Back to Draft Day index page

The Archives
2001 - 2002 Season