Pro Football Weekly and Riddell present ...
2002 NFL draft
Buchsbaum's player printout
Draft rankings by position
By Joel Buchsbaum, Contributing editor
Updated April 13, 2002
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What follows are Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Joel
Buchsbaum’s draft rankings as of April 13. These rankings are not meant to coincide
with the actual selection of players. Instead, they are intended to predict the relative
success of those players in their NFL careers.
Key to symbols in player
printout |
Age — Player is overaged.
BB — Pro baseball player who is entering the draft.
Com. — Additional comments about this player.
DNP — Did not play football in 2001.
e — Estimated height, weight or 40-time, whichever number the
"e" is next to.
est. — Height, weight and 40-time are all estimated.
Elig. — There is some question about this player’s draft
eligibility.
Gr. — Grade (see grade scale below).
H — Likely will be drafted higher than his ranking.
L — Likely will be drafted lower than his ranking.
MI — More information needed to accurately grade player.
OS — Player’s listed speed is from an older timing session. The
player’s current speed may have been affected since that timing by an injury, weight
gain, etc.
RB — Can also play running back (S for safety, OB for outside
linebacker, IB for inside linebacker, LS for long snapper, P for punter, RS for return
specialist, ST for special-teamer, etc.).
RS-5.0 — Player has separate grade as a return specialist, in this
case 5.0 (applies to other position abbreviations too).
X — Past or current injury could have an impact on where this player
is drafted, according to at least one source. Due to the confidentiality of medical
records, we cannot confirm nor deny whether the injury problem is still a concern, but
we’re working to find out if it is.
XX — More serious injury concern.
6017 — Example of player’s height. First digit applies to feet;
second and third to inches; fourth to fractions of an inch in eighths. This example is 6-1
7/8.
* — Player should run faster when he is retested than is indicated
by the 40-time that is listed. |
Grade scale for NFL prospects |
9.00 — A once-in-a-lifetime
player (e.g., John Elway, Jim Brown or Lawrence Taylor).
8.00 - 8.99 — Perennial All-Pro (e.g., Bruce Matthews).
7.00 - 7.99 — Should reach All-Pro status.
6.50 - 6.99 — Sure-fire first-round pick who, aside from a
quarterback, should contribute as a rookie.
6.00 - 6.49 — Has a good chance to go in the first round and be a
starter by his second season.
5.60 - 5.99 — A legitimate second-round pick.
5.50 - 5.59 — Depending on the depth of the draft, player will go in
the late second-round or the third round.
5.40 - 5.49 — A third-round pick, taking into account the selections
the NFL adds at the end of the rounds.
5.30 - 5.39 — A fourth-round pick.
5.21 - 5.29 — A fourth- or fifth-round pick.
5.20 — A fifth- or sixth-round pick.
5.11 - 5.19 — A sixth-round pick.
5.10 — A seventh-round pick.
5.01 - 5.09 — Top-priority free agents who could end up being
drafted.
4.95 - 5.00 — Priority free agents who could end up being drafted.
4.50 - 4.94 — Solid free agents who have an outside chance to make
the right NFL team.
4.00 - 4.49 — A player who could be in an NFL training camp. |
About the player printout: Players are ranked according to the grades we have given
them, but not necessarily in the order we believe they will be drafted. Factors such as a
drafting club’s needs and the abundance or scarcity of available talent at a given
position can cause a player to be drafted higher or lower than his grade would indicate.
All grades are based on information available to us as of April 13. Late workouts and
other information can change grades, sometimes dramatically. The printout includes
underclassmen who have been declared eligible for the draft by the NFL. Grade-to-round
conversion scale is curved with each printout to try to get the correct number of players
into each round.
To player printouts by position ...
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