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Texan two step

Henderson should be Houston's choice to open 2002 draft

John Henderson claimed the 2000 Outland Trophy as the nation's outstanding lineman after his junior season at Tennessee. AP

By Jon A. Dolezar, CNNSI.com

The ink is barely dry on the 2001 NFL Draft, but it's never too early to look ahead at what the first round may look like next April.

The expansion Houston Texans will pick the flotsam and jetsam from NFL rosters in the Feb. 18, 2002, expansion draft. But the real memorable moment that will signify the start of the NFL's 32nd franchise will come when the Texans have the first pick in the 2002 draft.

Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson is among the players who likely will tempt the Texans with the top pick. If the Texans still want to go with a quarterback, Texas' Chris Simms, USC's Carson Palmer, Oregon's Joey Harrington, Miami's Ken Dorsey and Illinois' Kurt Kittner all will be available.

But before we get to our list of next year's likely first-rounders, let's review how we projected the 2001 draft to look like at this time last year. We nailed Michael Vick with the top pick and predicted 14 first rounders correctly, with nine of those 14 getting selected within 10 picks of where we had them projected. Eight other players went in the second or third round, two went in the fourth through seventh rounds, four players we projected to come out early returned for their senior season and three of the players went undrafted.

2002 NFL Mock Draft
Pick	Player	Pos.	College	Comment
1.	John Henderson	DT	Tennessee	Would be a mammoth anchor for Houston to build its defense around.
2.	Bryant McKinnie	OT	Miami (Fla.)	Enormous tackle (6-foot-9, 340 pounds) can look down at Leonard Davis.
3.	Wendell Bryant	DT	Wisconsin	Possible 2001 first-rounder opted to return for senior year in Madison.
4.	* Julius Peppers	DE	North Carolina	Speedy rush end has 21 sacks, 34 tackles for loss in two seasons.
5.	Quentin Jammer	CB	Texas	Big corner (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) early favorite for Jim Thorpe award.
6.	Ron Johnson	WR	Minnesota	Tall, speedy target offers hope for Gophers to surprise in Big Ten.
7.	Larry Tripplett	DT	Washington	Tripplet the most talented Huskies defensive lineman since Steve Emtman.
8.	* Lito Sheppard	CB	Florida	Lockdown cornerback doubles as gamebreaking return man.
9.	* Chris Simms	QB	Texas	Pedigree is unmatched, but will he leave Austin early?
10.	* Mike Pearson	OT	Florida	There is a good reason that Kenyatta Walker was playing right tackle.
11.	Alex Brown	DE	Florida	Pass-rush specialist needs to bulk up from 255 pounds to play the run.
12.	DeShaun Foster	RB	UCLA	Looks like the next great West Coast-offense running back.
13.	Najeh Davenport	RB	Miami (Fla.)	Bruising size (6-foot-2, 250 pounds), breakaway speed equal lots of money.
14.	* Saleem Rasheed	LB	Alabama	Will continue the tradition of great linebackers coming out of Tuscaloosa.
15.	Kalimba Edwards	DE	South Carolina	Gamecocks' defensive leader should improve on his seven sacks.
16.	Ed Reed	S	Miami (Fla.)	Big hitter has 12 INTs, five forced fumbles in stellar Hurricanes career.
17.	* Antonio Bryant	WR	Pittsburgh	May actually improve on his 68-catch, 1,300-yard sophomore season.
18.	Kelly Campbell	WR	Georgia Tech	Speedy gamebreaker will highlight Tech's always potent offense.
19.	Marquise Walker	WR	Michigan	With Terrell and Henson gone, Walker will make John Navarre look good.
20.	Jarvis Green	DE	LSU	Undersized (6-foot-3, 260 pounds) rush specialist in the Andre Carter mold.
21.	* T.J. Duckett	RB	Michigan St.	Could equal career totals of 2,022 yards and 17 TDs this season alone.
22.	* Carson Palmer	QB	USC	Needs a big season under new coordinator Norm Chow to make first round.
23.	Rocky Calmus	LB	Oklahoma	Stoops' defensive leader could be this year's Brian Urlacher/Dan Morgan.
24.	Jashon Sykes	LB	Colorado	Following in the footsteps of Brown, Biekert, Johnson and Russell.
25.	Andre Davis	WR	Virginia Tech	Vick's former top target may be fastest player in draft class.
26.	Joaquin Gonzalez	OT	Miami (Fla.)	Gonzalez and McKinnie are this year's version of Backus/Williams.
27.	Damien Anderson	RB	Northwestern	Better runner and actor than former Wildcat Darnell Autry.
28.	Maurice Morris	RB	Oregon	Will contend with Foster, Paul Arnold, Ken Simonton for Pac-10 rushing title.
29.	# Jabar Gaffney	WR	Florida	Among early favorites to lead nation in receiving in 2001.
30.	* William Joseph	DT	Miami (Fla.)	If you are on Miami's roster, you are automatically an NFL prospect.
31.	* Roy Williams	S	Oklahoma	Leader of Sooners' secondary plays run better than pass.
32.	Joey Harrington	QB	Oregon	Big (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) pocket passer will keep Ducks in Pac-10 title hunt.
# -- Third-year sophomore * -- Junior eligible

Other possible first-round picks

Akin Ayodele, LB, Purdue; * Kevin Breedlove, G, Georgia; * Cedric Cobbs, RB, Arkansas; Keyou Craver, CB, Nebraska; Dorsett Davis, DE, Mississippi St.; * Ken Dorsey, QB, Miami; * Trev Faulk, LB, LSU; Levar Fisher, LB, N.C. State; * Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee; Chris Hope, S, Florida St.; Bradley Jennings, LB, Florida St.; * Dennis Johnson, DE, Kentucky; Levi Jones, OT, Arizona St.; * Kareem Kelly, WR, USC; Kurt Kittner, QB, Illinois; Andre Lott, CB, Tennessee; Lee Mays, WR, UTEP; Freddie Milons, WR, Alabama; Terrance Metcalf, G, Mississippi; David Neill, QB, Nevada; Will Overstreet, DE, Tennessee; Adrian Peterson, RB, Georgia Southern; Brian Poli-Dixon, WR, UCLA; Antwaan Randle El, WR/QB, Indiana; Robert Royal, TE, LSU; Mike Rumph, CB, Miami; * Jerramy Stevens, TE, Washington; Tim Stratton, TE, Purdue; * Lee Suggs, RB, Virginia Tech; Jason Thomas, QB, UNLV; Robert Thomas, LB, UCLA; Josh Thornhill, LB, Michigan St.; Javon Walker, WR, Florida St.; Fred Weary, C, Tennessee; * Dennis Weathersby, CB, Oregon St.

Mock Draft conducted by NFL producers B. Duane Cross and Jon A. Dolezar, college sports producers Stewart Mandel and Marc Lancaster, senior producer Ryan Hunt, Statitudes producer Jacob Luft and fantasy sports producer James Quintong.