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Once again, the draft took place at the famed Tritz household in Custer, Wisconsin. Sean Nimm, last year’s champion, graciously provided the adult beverages for the usual consumption, and I believe it is safe to say that a good time was had by all.
The draft commenced with Jeff Kleman on the clock at precisely 6:30 pm, August 31, 2001. After an initial offer to trade his pick, there was little interest in the move, so Kleman proceeded to nab Edgerrin James, and the night began. Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more running backs taken in the first round, another one went. Amazingly, James, Marshall Faulk, Eddie George, Fred Taylor, Stephen Davis, Curtis Martin, Corey Dillon, Ricky Williams, and Duce Staley were all deemed worthy of first round picks. Count ‘em, folks… that’s nine running backs!
The first ten rounds went a little more swiftly than usual, it seemed. But in total, the 20 rounds took 4 hours. The draft itself was preceded by an intense, but shortened, game of horseshoes between the commish and newcomer Jason Schillling. Schilling proved superior, in a tight match all the way. The final score was 10-8.
Here is where the “firsts” of the draft occurred: First Running Back was the #1 overall pick, to Jeff Kleman, in Edgerrin James; the first Quarterback taken was the #2 overall pick by Dan Merk – Daunte Culpepper; the first Wide Receiver taken was the #7 overall pick by Joe Tritz – Randy Moss; the first Tight End was the #26 overall pick to Sean Nimm – Tony Gonzalez; the first Turnover Defense also went to Nimm at #87 over – Tampa Bay; the first Kicker went to Cathi Neufeld, #92 over, Mike Vanderjagt; the first Sack Defense went to Bruce Georgenson at #107 over – Tampa Bay; the first Scoring defense went at #132 overall to Ron Tippel – Denver.
Mister irrelevant was Lennox Gordon, running back for Indianapolis.
Overall, I don’t have a good read on the draft. The few people I have talked to have agreed with me that the teams seem pretty even. Everyone is weak somewhere, but each team also has its strengths. It could be an interesting year. To get an initial viewpoint from the commish on how the teams stack up against each other, check out the power rankings.
Go to the draft page to see a list of the entire draft.