The 2001 draft was the first for Andy Reid and company when coming off of a winning seasons. Like I said before, it’s difficult to improve winning teams because there is simply less room to do so.
And coming off of a playoff season also means drafting lower in the selection order. This draft produced a few players and overall was relatively successful. I think it’s easy for fans to look at drafts and want home runs with every pick. Just doesn’t happen for anyone. So let’s take a look at how they did:
-1st Round, pick #25: Freddie Mitchell, wide receiver UCLA: I’ll probably take heat for this one, because everyone will be expecting me to label this pick an unmitigated bust. I never saw it that way. Most people feel that he talked a lot more than he played, and that would be true. The book on Mitchell was that he wasn’t the best route runner and wasn’t where Donovan McNabb thought he would be. That’s certainly a problem. But, he did catch a few balls for the Eagles (4th and 26, the 14 seconds in Dallas), yet never lived up to first-round status. My point is that he didn’t flat out stink as many claim. Either way, the city never really warmed to Mitchell and his loquacious ways. He was the third receiver on a Super Bowl team before being released. His stint in Kansas City didn’t last past training camp as a meniscus injury sidelined him. He’s been out of football since and the last I heard, he got fired as a high school substitute teacher for getting girls phone numbers. Hey, I read it on the internet so it must be true. (http://deadspin.com/sports/nfl/in-case-you-were-wondering-what-freddie-mitchell-has-been-up-to-lately-217314.php)
-2nd Round, pick #55: Quinton Caver, linebacker Arkansas: Big, rangy, oozes physical ability….should have been a great pick, right? He stunk so bad that I can smell my computer monitor when I type his name. They did everything they could to try to get this guy on the field. He played some special teams (anyone remember the ensuing kickoff after the Eagles tied the 2001 opener 17-17 against the Rams following Cecil Martin’s second touchdown? Aveion Cason put the ball on the carpet and…..”Fall on it, Quinton! Just fall on it! Fall on it! Or….try to pick it up. That’s an option too.”), but that was about it. Kansas City apparently likes the Eagles cast-offs because they signed him. You know your defense is terrible when you are adding Caver.
-3rd Round, pick #63: Derrick Burgess, defensive end Mississippi: Great pick and worthless pick all in one. He spent most of his time in Philly on the injury report and gave Eagles fans just three sacks from 2001-2006. He showed flashes of his ability in the 2004 march to the Super Bowl. This guy can flat out play as he’s shown in Oakland. I can’t blame the Eagles for not resigning him considering the money that the Raiders offered. He was just too much of an injury risk to put up that kind of dough. 16 sacks in 2005 and another 11.5 in 2006. That one stings.
-4th Round, pick #121: Correll Buckhalter, running back Nebraska: How good could this guy have been if he didn’t keep getting hurt? I’m not talking about constantly being nicked up. When Buck get hurt, he gets hurt. As in, “shred my whole knee” hurt. He went down for the season three different times. But, you have to give him credit, he’s one tough nut. This guy keeps coming back and has someone how regained enough of his previous form to still be productive at the NFL level. He’s an extremely valuable player for the Eagles, especially when you consider the fragility of Brian Westbrook. The Birds could have had the fortune to lose to the Patriots in the 2001 Super Bowl if Buckhalter doesn’t get hurt in the NFC Championship game against the Rams. He had 50 yards on six carries and was gashing them in the first half. Buckhalter was also a productive member of the 2003 three-headed monster with Duce Staley and Westbrook. He’s been a very nice player for the Eagles when healthy.
-5th Round, pick #147: Tony Stewart, tight end Penn St.: Pretty much a waste of a pick for the Eagles. He played three games his rookie year and then it was off to the Bengals where he played until last year. He’s now with the Raiders, and while it’s not easy to play for that long in the NFL, I wouldn’t exactly call him productive.
-5th Round, pick #155: AJ Feeley, quarterback Oregon: Have the Eagles ever gotten so much mileage out of a fifth-round pick? We all know the story of 2002, when McNabb went down with a cracked ankle and then Koy Detmer lit up San Francisco on that Monday Night before writhing in pain with a bum elbow. Enter Feeley. Those that follow the team closely know that Andy Reid and the defense were more a reason for his 4-1 record as a starter than Feeley. Reid put the handcuffs on him and wouldn’t allow him to do anything stupid. It was a very boring offense. But, he got the job done and kept the seat warm for McNabb. Then, oh look here, the stupid Dolphins (and I’m sorry, they’ve done some really stupid things in the post-Marino era) will give the Eagles a second-round pick for the guy. They used that pick to get wide receiver Reggie Brown. After Feeley continued to stink it up in Miami and then San Diego, the Eagles got him back in 2006.
micahw@feverpitchmedia.com
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