Bleacher Report recently did a redo of the 2002 NFL Draft from way back when. The selection process that year was an important one in Bills history.
That year, the Bills had the No. 4 overall pick, and things didn’t turn out so well with that selection. Offensive lineman Mike Williams was the pick and he only lasted a couple of seasons with the team.
After getting a year to try it with the Redskins, Williams was left out of the NFL.
So in the re-draft process by B/R, the Bills go with a long-term answer at pass rusher, Dwight Freeney:
With Reed, Peppers and Harrison off the board, Freeney becomes a no-brainer re-draft selection for a Buffalo Bills team that got only 48 starts out of the disappointing Williams.
The Syracuse product ranks 18th on the all-time sack list, and only Peppers and former teammate Robert Mathis have forced more fumbles since the turn of the century. He and Peppers both earned three first-team All-Pro nods, and his seven Pro Bowl honors ranked third in the class.
The Bills also would have appreciated Freeney’s longevity. He had nine seasons with at least eight sacks over the course of a 14-year span that concluded when he was a member of the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, and Peppers was the only member of this class with more campaigns as a regular starter.
The Bills would have cherished him opposite solid pass-rusher Aaron Schobel.
Over the course of Freeney’s long career, he would’ve altered many moves in Bills history. Do the Bills ever sign Mario Williams? Is Jerry Hughes currently the longest-tenured member of the team? There’s a distinct chance that those are among a couple of decisions made by the team that could be different had the Bills actually selected Freeney.
As the 2002 draft went, Freeney, a Syracuse product, came off the board to the Colts at No. 11 overall. He went on to win a Super Bowl with the Colts, was named an All-Pro three times and Freeney led the Colts in sacks in 2004.
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