2003 NFL Draft
Encyclopedia
The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League
(NFL) teams selected amateur college football
players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936
. The draft
was held April 26–27, 2003
at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
The draft was broadcast on ESPN
and ESPN2
beginning at noon on Saturday, April 26 and beginning at 11:00 am on Sunday, April 27. The draft consisted of seven rounds, with teams selecting in the reverse order of the finish the previous season
. There were 32 compensatory picks distributed among 15 teams, with five teams each receiving four additional selections. In addition, the Houston Texans
, who started play as an expansion franchise
in 2002
, were granted an extra selection in the middle of each of the final four rounds.
There was little drama when the draft began with the Cincinnati Bengals
selecting Carson Palmer
, as Palmer had agreed to contract terms with the Bengals the previous day. He became the first Heisman Trophy
winner selected first overall in the draft since Vinny Testaverde
in 1987
. The event ended nearly 30 hours later with Ryan Hoag
being chosen by the Oakland Raiders with the final pick and thus gaining the distinction of "Mr. Irrelevant
".
The draft took an odd turn with the Minnesota Vikings' pick in the first round. The Vikings were apparently attempting to consummate a trade when their fifteen minute time allowance elapsed. The Jaguars
who selected next were quick to pounce, turning in their card to select QB Byron Leftwich
immediately after the Vikings' time elapsed. The Panthers
also took advantage of the gaffe, selecting OT Jordan Gross
before the Vikings recovered and selected DT Kevin Williams
.
The colleges with the most players selected in the draft were Florida
, Miami
and Tennessee
which each had eight players chosen. Meanwhile, Penn State
and Miami each had four student-athletes selected in the first round. Eleven defensive linemen were selected in round one, eclipsing the previous record of nine, set in 2001
. Ten underclassmen were taken in the first round, including three of the first four overall selections. The first round lasted nearly five hours. The Buffalo Bills
selection of Miami's Willis McGahee
as the first running back off the board was notable because he was recovering from a career-threatening injury he suffered in the Fiesta Bowl
which it was believed could have caused him to miss the upcoming season.
The 262 players chosen in the draft were in the following positions:
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) teams selected amateur college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936
1936 NFL Draft
The 1936 National Football League Draft was the first draft of the National Football League. It took place on February 8, 1936 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has taken place every year since. The draft was instituted in an effort to equalize strength amongst the...
. The draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
was held April 26–27, 2003
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
The draft was broadcast on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
beginning at noon on Saturday, April 26 and beginning at 11:00 am on Sunday, April 27. The draft consisted of seven rounds, with teams selecting in the reverse order of the finish the previous season
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
. There were 32 compensatory picks distributed among 15 teams, with five teams each receiving four additional selections. In addition, the Houston Texans
2003 Houston Texans season
The 2003 Houston Texans season was the second season in franchise history and saw the expansion club make a one-game improvement on its previous season record.-2003 NFL Draft:-Staff:-Preseason:-Schedule:-Standings:...
, who started play as an expansion franchise
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
in 2002
2002 Houston Texans season
The 2002 Houston Texans season was the franchise's first-ever season and the city of Houston's first NFL season since the Houston Oilers left in 1997 to move to Tennessee to become the Titans....
, were granted an extra selection in the middle of each of the final four rounds.
There was little drama when the draft began with the Cincinnati Bengals
2003 Cincinnati Bengals season
The 2003 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 36th year in professional football and its 34th with the National Football League. The Bengals are now under first year Head Coach Marvin Lewis, who replaced Dick LeBeau who was fired following the 2002 season for the worst season in Bengals history...
selecting Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer is an American professional football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals first overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy in 2002...
, as Palmer had agreed to contract terms with the Bengals the previous day. He became the first Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner selected first overall in the draft since Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
in 1987
1987 NFL Draft
The 1987 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987...
. The event ended nearly 30 hours later with Ryan Hoag
Ryan Hoag
Ryan Hoag is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the final pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, earning him the title of Mr. Irrelevant...
being chosen by the Oakland Raiders with the final pick and thus gaining the distinction of "Mr. Irrelevant
Mr. Irrelevant
"Mr. Irrelevant" is the title bestowed each year upon the last pick of the annual National Football League draft.- Irrelevant Week :The name arose in 1976, when former Southern California and NFL receiver Paul Salata founded "Irrelevant Week" in Newport Beach, California. He announced the final...
".
The draft took an odd turn with the Minnesota Vikings' pick in the first round. The Vikings were apparently attempting to consummate a trade when their fifteen minute time allowance elapsed. The Jaguars
2003 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2003 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the ninth season for the team in the National Football League. The Jaguars failed to improve upon their 6–10 regular season record in 2002 and did not make the playoffs....
who selected next were quick to pounce, turning in their card to select QB Byron Leftwich
Byron Leftwich
Byron Antron Leftwich is an American football quarterback in the National Football League who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars seventh overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall University.Leftwich has also played...
immediately after the Vikings' time elapsed. The Panthers
2003 Carolina Panthers season
-Regular season:-Postseason:-NFC Wild Card playoff:The Cowboys' turnaround season under coach Bill Parcells came to a crashing halt. The Panthers outgained the Cowboys in total yards 380-204 and held the ball for 34:23. Dallas Quarterback Quincy Carter threw for only 154 yards and an...
also took advantage of the gaffe, selecting OT Jordan Gross
Jordan Gross
Jordan Alan Gross is an American football offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Panthers eighth overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah.-Early years:...
before the Vikings recovered and selected DT Kevin Williams
Kevin Williams
Kevin Williams may refer to:*Kevin Williams *Kevin Williams *Kevin Williams *Kevin Williams *Kevin Williams...
.
The colleges with the most players selected in the draft were Florida
2002 Florida Gators football team
The 2002 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2002 college football season...
, Miami
2002 Miami Hurricanes football team
The 2002 Miami Hurricanes football team sought to defend the school's 1-A national championship. They were coached by second year head coach Larry Coker, and competed in the Big East Conference- Pre Season :...
and Tennessee
2002 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 2002 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2002 college football season. The team was coached by Phillip Fulmer. The Vols played their home games in Neyland Stadium and competed in the Eastern Division of the SEC...
which each had eight players chosen. Meanwhile, Penn State
2002 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2002 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2002–2003 college football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania....
and Miami each had four student-athletes selected in the first round. Eleven defensive linemen were selected in round one, eclipsing the previous record of nine, set in 2001
2001 NFL Draft
The 2001 NFL Draft took place on April 21–22, 2001 at the theater at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. This was the 66th National Football League draft in league history. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2. No teams elected to claim any players in the...
. Ten underclassmen were taken in the first round, including three of the first four overall selections. The first round lasted nearly five hours. The Buffalo Bills
2003 Buffalo Bills season
The 2003 Buffalo Bills season was their 44th in the league. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 8–8, instead finishing 6–10...
selection of Miami's Willis McGahee
Willis McGahee
Willis Andrew McGahee III is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
as the first running back off the board was notable because he was recovering from a career-threatening injury he suffered in the Fiesta Bowl
2002 Fiesta Bowl
The 2002 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 1, 2002, was the 31st edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game was played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona between the and the Oregon Ducks...
which it was believed could have caused him to miss the upcoming season.
The 262 players chosen in the draft were in the following positions:
|
Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... s Guard (American football) In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team.... s Tight end The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be... s Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... s |
Center (American football) Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense... s Punter (football position) A punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a... s Placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points... |
Player selections
|
Supplemental draft selections
For each player selected in the Supplemental Draft, the team forfeited its pick in that round in the draft of the following season.Notable undrafted players
| † | = Pro Bowl Pro Bowl In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those... er |