Knowing what we know about this draft class today, the top 10 would have gone quite differently.
| Pick | Team | Player | Position | CarAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | Tom Brady | QB | 164 |
| 2 | Washington Redskins | Brian Urlacher | LB | 118 |
| 3 | Washington Redskins | John Abraham | DE | 90 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Bengals | Shaun Ellis | DE | 75 |
| 5 | Baltimore Ravens | Julian Peterson | LB | 75 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | Keith Bulluck | LB | 73 |
| 7 | Arizona Cardinals | Chad Clifton | T | 72 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Brad Meester | C | 72 |
| 9 | Chicago Bears | Jamal Lewis | RB | 71 |
| 10 | Baltimore Ravens | Shaun Alexander | RB | 70 |
Drafted 199th overall, Tom Brady has proved everyone that he's not even close to that. If teams had to choose today, Brady would be the number-one selection. If the Browns had the chance I'm positive that they would take the surefire Hall of Famer. Maybe the franchise wouldn't be in shambles today. After all, the man has thrown for 61,582 yards and 456 touchdowns over the course of his 17-year career. Brady's 17 seasons are a testament to his health maintenance, which has allowed him to be the only player (outside of punters and kickers) left from this draft class.
Of course, perhaps Brady never became the player he was in the Browns' organization, but that's not what we're concerned about in this exercise.
Urlacher would still slot in the top 10, but this time he's number two. We probably wouldn't have gotten the great Bears defenses of the early 2000's, but maybe another team would've taken on that identity.
At number three, John Abraham, if coupled with Urlacher at the pick before, would provide the Redskins with two Hall of Fame defenders. Abraham, in 15 seasons, tallied 133.5 sacks and 47 forced fumbles on his way to five Pro Bowls and two First Team All-Pro squads.
There's a noticeable drop-off between the elite three and the rest of the top 10. All the same, Shaun Ellis, Julian Peterson and Keith Bulluck were all respectable defenders in their own rights. Each of them played at least 11 seasons and combined for eight Pro Bowls.
Chad Clifton and Brad Meester are the only two offensive linemen to qualify -- and rightfully so. Clifton played 12 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and was voted to the Pro Bowl twice. Meester was never voted to a Pro Bowl, but he lasted two more years with the Jacksonville Jaguars before hanging the cleats up in 2013.
As previously mentioned, Jamal Lewis proved his draft spot right. He was the best running back of the class and would've made a difference on any team, including the Urlacher-less Bears.
Shaun Alexander isn't far behind Lewis, though. As such, things probably wouldn't have been too different for the Ravens without Lewis. Alexander, in eight-plus seasons, ran for 9,453 yards and 100 touchdowns, including 27 in his 2005 MVP season.