2002 NFL Draft
Descriptive results for how the 2002 class added value over time. Class totals as of 2025: 4,317 career AV, 64 Pro Bowls, 19 AP1 All-Pros, 3 HOF.
DESCRIPTIVE → ADJUSTED
Follow the class result into model evidence
The totals on this page describe what happened. Player profiles show pick-level support adjusted for slot, position, era, and observed career window; GM profiles connect those picks to the maturity-adjusted headline estimate.
Class value over time
Descriptive cumulative "value units" across all 261 picks, summed year-by-year. Value = games started + 5×Pro Bowl + 10×AP1 + 3×AP2 per player-season, then summed across the class. Earlier draft classes sit behind the highlighted 2002 line on the same seasons-since-draft axis, so the slope shows whether a class matured fast or needed time.
Top 10 picks by career AV
Ordered by PFR weighted Approximate Value across the player's full career (any team).
| Pick | Player | Pos | Team | GM | Career AV | Team GP | Career PB | Career AP1 | HOF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Julius Peppers | DE | CAR | Marty Hurney | 130 | 154 | 9 | 3 | ★ |
| 1.24 | Ed Reed | DB | BAL | Ozzie Newsome | 102 | 160 | 9 | 5 | ★ |
| 1.11 | Dwight Freeney | DE | IND | Bill Polian | 81 | 163 | 7 | 3 | ★ |
| 2.51 | Clinton Portis | RB | DEN | Mike Shanahan | 72 | 29 | 2 | ||
| 3.91 | Brian Westbrook | RB | PHI | Andy Reid | 69 | 107 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2.37 | Andre Gurode | G | DAL | Jerry Jones | 65 | 138 | 5 | ||
| 1.7 | Bryant McKinnie | T | MIN | Mike Tice / Brzezinski | 64 | 132 | 1 | ||
| 1.9 | John Henderson | DT | JAX | Tom Coughlin | 64 | 124 | 2 | ||
| 4.108 | David Garrard | QB | JAX | Tom Coughlin | 62 | 86 | 1 | ||
| 4.128 | Larry Foote | LB | PIT | Kevin Colbert | 62 | 158 |
Lower-AV early-round picks (rounds 1–2, AV < 15)
A descriptive filter for first- and second-round picks with full-career weighted AV below 15. It does not account for the expectation at each draft slot and is not a model verdict on the pick.
| Pick | Player | Pos | Team | GM | AV | YoT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.43 | Eddie Freeman | DE | KC | Carl Peterson | 1 | 2 |
| 1.12 | Wendell Bryant | DT | ARI | Bob Ferguson | 4 | 3 |
| 2.60 | Anton Palepoi | DE | SEA | Mike Holmgren | 4 | 4 |
| 2.38 | Raonall Smith | LB | MIN | Mike Tice / Brzezinski | 6 | 6 |
| 2.49 | Levar Fisher | LB | ARI | Bob Ferguson | 6 | 2 |
| 1.27 | Mike Rumph | DB | SF | Terry Donahue | 8 | 5 |
| 2.46 | Tim Carter | WR | NYG | Ernie Accorsi | 10 | 8 |
| 2.55 | Doug Jolley | TE | LV | Al Davis era | 11 | 5 |
| 1.16 | William Green | RB | CLE | Butch Davis | 14 | 4 |
| 1.32 | Patrick Ramsey | QB | WAS | Vinny Cerrato | 14 | 7 |
All picks (261) · sortable below
Each player name links to their year-by-year career page. Each team links to its GM history page.
How to read this
- "Value units" on the chart is a deliberately simple proxy: per player-season, games-started + 5×PB + 10×AP1 + 3×AP2. It's not a dollar value or θ; it's a single growth-curve number that lets us watch the class mature.
- Pre-2013 picks have no per-game snap data → their games-started is approximated from career_games / years-on-team. Their on-chart contribution is dominated by honors.
- Career AV is PFR's weighted Approximate Value (full-career, any team).
- "On-team" honors only: PB/AP1/AP2 counts above are restricted to seasons on the drafting team. A player traded after Year 4 only gets credit for honors earned in years 1-4.
- Active careers still accreting value: this year's chart endpoint isn't the final answer for any class with active players.