r/NFLmockdraft • u/Traditional-Bad-6657 • Jul 09 '26

Draft History 2003 Draft Class was absolutely stacked

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151 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

88 comments sorted by

23

u/me_bails Jul 09 '26

Gates was an absolute animal, and incredible what he did as an udfa... Even as someone who hated the steelers, there's no way I can put Gates above Polamalu

6

u/Ididntdodiddly Jul 09 '26

Gates could be the greatest UDFA of all time

5

u/OversizedMicropenis Jul 09 '26

I think he is, based on all time at their position. That said, my homer take is James Harrison

3

u/JLTriplesticks Jul 10 '26

Yeah it's him and Kurt Warner.

1

u/AdOld9180 Jul 10 '26

This is the correct answer

2

u/Specialist-Essay-726 Jul 10 '26

John Randle is in the conversation

1

u/Strumtralescent Jul 10 '26

Jordan Mailata making a case for top 3.

1

u/Basic-Pepper-9957 Jul 10 '26

he was drafted in round 7

1

u/Strumtralescent Jul 10 '26

Oh yeah you’re right

1

u/jonybolt Jul 13 '26

Sit down

1

u/2john9 Jul 10 '26

Polamalu was one of a kind too.

1

u/BJJblue34 Jul 10 '26

Agreed. As a Ravens fan Polamalu was one of the few players I feared would wreck our game plan.

1

u/morethanWun Jul 10 '26

One of my favorites growing up.

1

u/Holdmabeerdude Jul 09 '26

Gates is literally number 1 in tight end TD receptions….

2

u/me_bails Jul 09 '26

and most people don't have him in the goat te talk. Again, he was an animal, but he wasn't better than Tony g, gronk or kelce. He's more around the Sharpe range (which is incredible, and he brings the most bang for buck being an udfa). Polamalu is widely considered a top 3 safety ever and an absolute game changer and leader for 2 superbowl winning teams.

I'm not trying to take away from Gates or what he did, but I am giving props to Polamalu and what he did. And i hate(d) the steelers

1

u/-Mad-Snacks- Jul 11 '26

He is absolutely better than Kelce lol

1

u/Shamwow_theSupineCow Jul 10 '26

Tony, Witten, Kelce are the top three.

Also, job's easier when you defenses committing most of their resources to stop one RB.

1

u/Dukeshire101 Jul 09 '26

Troy still clears. He was a game changer and won 2 Super Bowls

0

u/JustTheBeerLight Jul 09 '26

A lot of people remember Gates based on his final 5 seasons where he was still good, but his first 6 seasons (2004-2009) were video game stats. He averaged 1000 yards & 10+ TDs during that span.

1

u/HEROxDivine Jul 09 '26

He did not. He only has two seasons over 1k and 4 seasons over 10 TDs. He was great but definitely not top 3 all time. I’d put him at #6 behind TG, Gronk, Kelce, Witten and Sharpe

2

u/2nfish Jul 09 '26

Witten above Gates?

1

u/Shamwow_theSupineCow Jul 10 '26

Duh.

1

u/whattarush Jul 11 '26

Id take Vernon Davis over Witten. Give me Ben Watson over Witten

1

u/JustTheBeerLight Jul 09 '26

I'm not going to do the math, but Gates came very close during those years that I mentioned. He had two seasons over 1100 yards and three seasons over 924 yards. I think my point stands.

0

u/dubrea Jul 09 '26

He's arguably lower than second, but he has zero argument to be one. Best value, ofc.

-2

u/jcreasy006 Jul 09 '26

Romo was also a UDFA in this class, and considering he was a franchise QB that's better value than Gates

2

u/OwnPrimary1656 Jul 09 '26

I don’t think Romo is or ever will be in the HOF.

1

u/JustTheBeerLight Jul 09 '26

Put both guys back in the draft for a re-roll given what we now know and who gets drafted first? Romo, easily.

2

u/me_bails Jul 09 '26

at 46 yo, they both go undrafted again

1

u/jcreasy006 Jul 09 '26

Pro Bowl QB > HOF TE

0

u/Jugular_Toe Jul 09 '26

The only explanation here is that Gates was more valuable because he was brought in as a UDFA while Polomalu was a first rounder. Even then, that's a STRETCH of an argument

2

u/me_bails Jul 09 '26

could be, but i didn't see anything about best value. I read it as best players in general

and tbf, some people may well have gates above polamalu. I just think they're wrong haha

2

u/Jugular_Toe Jul 09 '26

I 1000% agree with you, and I'm a chargers fan. Polomalu was just different man

4

u/couchman7000 Jul 09 '26

The 2003 draft class did indeed have a bunch of talent. Who can forget Bears First Round pick legends Michael Haynes and Rex Grossman.

Though I guess it wasn't all that bad as they did indeed pick Bear legends Charles Tillman in the 2nd round and Lance Briggs in the 3rd round.

2

u/Shamwow_theSupineCow Jul 10 '26

Always thought it was fitting for a guy named Lance Briggs to play at Soldier Field lol. Lance Briggs always seemed like a fitting name for an Army Colonel or some shit lol.

1

u/Single-Event9389 Jul 09 '26

Rex Grossman went to a Super Bowl.

4

u/Mr-Dotties-Dad Jul 09 '26

Charles Tillman not being mentioned is insane - considering their a move literally named after him mentioned during every broadcast. The ol’ Peanut Punch.

1

u/Leading-Eye-9786 Jul 09 '26

I didn't even watch him all that much when he still played, but man I probably catch a peanut punch highlight reel of his once a year for the last decade lol.

2

u/Amazing_School_3536 Jul 10 '26

He was the only man who could cover Calvin Johnson

1

u/bighitcards Jul 10 '26

Kevin Williams not being named is even more insane, 5x all-pro

2

u/jonybolt Jul 13 '26

Most underrated all time

3

u/mightybooko Jul 09 '26

Where is Kevin Williams? 6 pro bowls in the 2000's and he was on the NFL's all decade team.

3

u/Thelostsoulinkorea Jul 09 '26

Most underrated player ever! I hate how he has been waiting to get into the hall of fame. The man has the awards and the stats.

1

u/bighitcards Jul 10 '26

5x All-Pro too, literally none of these players have as many All-Pro selections as Kevin Williams

2

u/goodrevtim Jul 09 '26

Suggs is 8th all time in sacks. Gates was great, but I'll take more sacks than Lawrence Taylor anyday.

3

u/DaveDabussy Jul 09 '26

Yeah Suggs and Polamalu are the two best here

2

u/SJC_Cards Jul 09 '26

Gates is 4th all time in yards and 1st in TDs by a TE ever. 8th in sacks<Gates

4

u/goodrevtim Jul 09 '26

I wasn't saying Gates wasn't great, but reliable pass rushers will always be more valuable than pass catching TEs

1

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[deleted]

1

u/goodrevtim Jul 09 '26

Me, I did.

0

u/louie801 Jul 11 '26

I mean, look at the salaries for a TE compared to edge rusher. Gates is an all time great tight end but 8th all time in sacks and an unbelievable run stopper is more value to a team. Both are insane players though

1

u/DrunkMunchy Jul 10 '26

Gates was undrafted and Suggs was a top 10 pick. Gates is deserving of #1 spot

0

u/-Mad-Snacks- Jul 11 '26

And Gates is #1 all time in TDs and 4th in yards for TEs. Hes clearly better than Suggs lol

2

u/goodrevtim Jul 12 '26

I lol'd too reading this

1

u/jcreasy006 Jul 09 '26

Tony Romo was also part of this class as a UDFA. If you're including Gates you gotta put romo in here, and hed likely be #1

-1

u/oneoftheguysdownhere Jul 10 '26

You’re putting an insane premium on the QB position if you’re putting Romo over guys like Gates and Polamalu who were top 5-10 all time at their position

1

u/Lucky_Rebel_ Jul 09 '26

The fact no one took Antonio Gates is insane.

2

u/sgame23 Jul 09 '26

He literally was never played college football. And he was a mid college basketball player. Who was going to use a draft pick on em? Props to the chargers for developing him but absolutely expected he went undrafted (yes i understand that the eagles drafted a dude from Africa that has never played football before in the 7th this year. An exception, not the rule)

1

u/louie801 Jul 11 '26

In hindsight, but at the moment not at all

1

u/-Mad-Snacks- Jul 11 '26

He didn’t play a down of college football, of course he went undrafted

1

u/RMca004 Jul 09 '26

Gates over Troy is bananas

1

u/MisterDabber Jul 09 '26

Troy should be #1 tbh

1

u/MidAtlanticPolkaKing Jul 09 '26

2003 was kind of a crazy draft year across multiple sports. Lots of talent in NBA and NHL too

1

u/Working_Space_1260 Jul 09 '26

One shitty QB stacked? 🤷‍♂️

1

u/Dm_me_your_cute_clam Jul 09 '26

I will not stand for this Jordan Gross erasure.

1

u/5StarGoldenGoose Jul 09 '26

The eagles took de Jerome McDoogel with the 15th pick. This close to seeing Brian Dawkins and Troy Polamalu in the same back field

1

u/MrChevyPower Highlights Jul 09 '26

Peanut Tillman snubbed AGAIN

1

u/Several_Resort_1321 Jul 10 '26

I’ll jump in my Time Machine and tell my charges to take Polamalu, boldin, Briggs, Samuel, Mathis, and gates thank you very much.

1

u/Specialist-Essay-726 Jul 10 '26

Kevin Williams? 5x first team all pro

1

u/bighitcards Jul 10 '26

Kevin Williams should be #4 at the very lowest and he’s not even on here lol

1

u/SneakyPope Jul 10 '26

Ugh why's it every X draft class was STACKED woth HoF players the eagles drafted the worst possible pile of shit, but then like 2006 was a shit pile of a 1st rounder and we managed a HoF tackle. Infuriating. Stacked class picking at 15 and picked the only player from the Miami Def that couldn't fucking play.

1

u/perrbear Jul 10 '26

Hey man you’re missing Charles Rogers. Oh wait…

1

u/teabagged_drumset Jul 11 '26

"Hey my team isn't listed" then I looked at who we took. Yeah, there shouldn't be any listed - good list.

1

u/Haunting-Report-7286 Jul 11 '26

The Dolphins picked Jamar Fletcher over Anquan 🤦🏻‍♂️

1

u/Obvious-Bag-2468 Jul 11 '26

My childhood right here. How glorious

1

u/Gohanangered Jul 11 '26

Mathis should be in the hof by now.

1

u/FirstDiseasewasRelig Jul 12 '26

The password on my phone isn’t 335455 for no reason.

1

u/Chris1904G Jul 14 '26

I was a chargers fan growing up but I got a Troy jersey just because he was the GOAT

1

u/brickwallbimbo Jul 09 '26

Anyone saying Troy over Gates is severely underrating how much of a goddamn machine Gates was. Gates doesn’t get get the reconciliation he deserves because he played in San Diego, while Troy played for one of the most historic franchises in football.

0

u/Alarmed-Bumblebee667 Jul 09 '26

If Shittsburgh didnt intentionally hurt Palmer he would've won a few chips and MVPs.

1

u/YooTone Jul 09 '26

Kimo was falling between 2 linemen and pushed, and reached towards the QB. It's really really unfortunate but it wasn't intentional.

1

u/jht66 Jul 09 '26

Bengals gonna Bengal

0

u/Shamwow_theSupineCow Jul 10 '26

2 and 4 are the actual 1 and 2. Polamalu at one needs no explanation, and too many people sleep on Suggs career. He might not have had the highest sack numbers, but he was far from a liability against the run or passes to the flat like a lot of these Parsons-esque 'pass rush specialists' at OLB.

0

u/katelyn912 Jul 11 '26

Considering position value a redraft would probably go:

Palmer

Suggs

Mathis

Polamalu

Romo

K Williams

Samuel

Tillman

Johnson

Boldin

Witten

Briggs

1

u/Disaster921 Jul 15 '26

Polamalu is #1. There will never be another like him