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Selected ahead of: DT Kevin Williams (No. 9, Vikings); DE/LB Terrell Suggs (No. 10, Ravens); CB Marcus Trufant (No. 11, Seahawks); S Troy Polamalu (No. 16, Steelers).
Why it failed: The Saints brain trust entered the 2003 draft with a pair of first round picks and a dilemma.
The good wholesale nfl jerseys news was they felt they were one or two impact defensive players away from making a strong playoff run.
The bad news was the cheap nhl jerseys 2003 draft lacked depth at the two positions where the Saints needed the most help: defensive tackle and cornerback.
The Saints desperately wanted to find a lockdown cornerback or a playmaking interior defensive lineman that would complement ends Darren Howard and Charles Grant. The three top ranked players at those positions Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman, Washington State cornerback Marcus Trufant and Kentucky defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson were considered Top 10 picks.
To get any of the three would require a trade and the Saints were heavily involved in talks with the Bears and Cardinals for their picks at No. 4 and No. 7, respectively. The Jets also were interested in Robertson and beat the Saints to him by completing a draft eve trade with the Bears for the No. 4 pick, where they selected him the next day.
The next day, the Saints dealt a pair of first round selections (Nos. 17 and cheap jerseys 1 to the Arizona Cardinals, where it was assumed they would take Trufant. Instead, they shocked everyone by selecting Sullivan, an athletic playmaker from Georgia who had enjoyed a dominant junior season with the Bulldogs.
Sullivan was a polarizing player among NFL personnel executives that year. In many ways he was similar to a similar boom or bust prospect in this year's draft: Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley. In fact, many scouts have compared Fairley to Sullivan in their evaluations.
Sullivan's ability was undeniable. Playing alongside All American end David Pollack, Sullivan terrorized opponents with 18 tackles for loss and 30 quarterback pressures. His line coach, Rodney Garner, called him a combination of former Bulldogs linemates Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud, both Pro Bowlers.
Most teams considered Sullivan and Robertson the most athletic tackles in the draft. The New England Patriots, among others, had him rated just below Robertson. Other teams, though, felt he might be a one year wonder and consequently slotted him behind fellow tackles Robertson, Jimmy Kennedy, Kevin Williams and Ty Warren on their draft boards.
The Saints, though, loved his playmaking ability and rated him as the sixth best overall talent on their draft board and third best defensive player behind only Robertson and Newman.
"He's a Pro Bowl caliber player," Garner said on the day of the draft. "He's a combination of Seymour and Stroud. He's got the athletic ability of Richard Seymour and the power of Marcus Stroud. He has no limitations."
He also appeared to have no motivation.
From Day One, Sullivan showed little desire to be a great player. He started 16 games during his first two seasons and was banished to the bench in 2005. Saints coach and teammates futilely prodded him for three years but nothing seemed to light a fire under the quiet, easy going kid from Griffin, Ga. His three year totals: 57 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble.
In 2006, first year coach Sean Payton dealt Sullivan to New England for return man Bethel Johnson. Sullivan never appeared in a game for the Patriots and was cut in early October, never to be heard from again.
Funny how the draft works out. In 2003, the Seahawks and Vikings, reportedly, were eyeing Sullivan with their picks at Nos. 9 and 11, respectively, only to see the Saints vault ahead of them with their bold draft day trade. The Seahawks and Vikings settled for Trufant and Williams, both of whom became multi year starters and Pro Bowlers. |
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