Division rivals bulking up to take run at Bucs

Saints take Georgia lineman for each side of the ball, and Panthers pick up pair of offensive linemen and a tight end.

TAMPA - Maybe it is a football cliche about winning games at the line of scrimmage, but the Saints apparently figure the shortest distance between themselves and their NFC South rival Tampa Bay is a line.

Make that two - the defensive and offensive kind.

The Saints pulled off one of Saturday's biggest trades to move up 11 spots in the opening round to grab Georgia defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan. They then used the second-round pick obtained in the same deal to land another Bulldog, offensive tackle Jonathan Stinchcomb.

"Our coaches and scouts did a great job really evaluating talent and, based on our needs, felt Johnathan was a great pickup for us," coach Jim Haslett told ESPN. "First of all, he's a junior with a lot of upside. He's extremely explosive. The guy's powerful. The guy can rush the passer. We're going to play him at the nose. ... He's going to get better and better as he goes."

The Saints, who beat Tampa Bay in both regular-season meetings, spent the offseason addressing their defense. Continuing that by picking Sullivan did not shock their division rivals.

"New Orleans is looking to revamp their defensive front a little bit, and picking Sullivan is a pretty good start," Bucs general manager Rich McKay said. "He's a strong dude. He's not just a fast guy, he's a strong guy at the point of attack. ... Coach Haslett has been a defensive coach, that's been his focus, so it does not surprise me he's going to focus on that side of the ball. It doesn't surprise me at all."

The Saints did surprise some folks with the pick, however.

After the first five picks went predictably enough, the Saints boldly dealt their back-to-back first-round picks (17th and 18th) and their second-rounder (54th) to Arizona for the Cardinals' first- (sixth), second- (37th) and fourth-round (102nd) choices.

In an uncommonly rich draft for defensive linemen, some figured the Saints were eying tackles such as Penn State's Jimmy Kennedy, Texas A&M's Ty Warren or Miami's William Joseph. But Haslett has had good fortune with former Georgia players.

The Saints drafted defensive end Charles Grant last year in the first round, and he began to emerge late in the season, finishing with seven sacks. Haslett said Sullivan is "exactly like him." Perhaps it was coincidence, but Sullivan and Stinchcomb's final collegiate game was against Florida State in the Sugar Bowl in the Superdome, the Saints homefield. More karma? Hmm.

But the Saints were not the only division team looking to close the talent divide with the Super Bowl-champion Bucs.

Carolina got finer, too, with the addition of Utah offensive tackle Jordan Gross. That move continued the Panthers offensive makeover. They had signed Washington free-agent running back Stephen Davis, Tennessee receiver Kevin Dyson, St. Louis receiver Ricky Proehl (the star of the 1999 NFC Championship Game win over the Bucs) and former Saints backup quarterback Jake Delhomme.

"We were very, very happy he was available," Carolina coach John Fox said on ESPN. "He was a guy we had targeted. He not only, we think, is a very clean player in all aspects, but he also meets a very big need for us."

The Panthers, slated to pick ninth, owe an assist to former Bucs division rival Minnesota. The Vikings had the seventh pick but bungled clock management - for the second straight year - and failed to consummate a trade with Baltimore in the allotted 15 minutes and had to pass. The Jaguars pounced on Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich, and the Panthers raced their card to the commissioner to grab Gross with the eighth pick before Minnesota completed its first selection.

"He's the highest rated tackle, so that's a good fit for need and a value pick," McKay said of Gross.

The Panthers, moving down five spots (to 50th) in the second round in a trade with New England that also netted a fourth-round pick (120th), continued to strengthen their offensive line by adding Iowa center Bruce Nelson. They picked up UCLA tight end Mike Seidman in the third round (76th).

Meanwhile, the Falcons, the other NFC South playoff team, had to wait seven hours before picking up Penn State cornerback/safety Bryan Scott in the second round (No. 55). They sent their first-round pick (No.23) to Buffalo for Peerless Price in the offseason to give Michael Vick a big-play receiver.

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