In 2001 a pair of second-round draft choices, Chicago tailback Anthony Thomas and Pittsburgh linebacker Kendrell Bell, captured the offensive and defensive rookie of the year awards. One year earlier a sixth-round afterthought, Denver running back Mike Anderson, took home offensive rookie of the year honors after posting the fifth-best numbers of any first-year players in NFL history.

The lesson here, class, is that you don't have to be first-round to be first-rate. And that's demonstrated in our five impact rookies, a list that includes a pair of second-round selections:

	Gaffney

Houston Texans wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, the first player taken in the second round, figures to earn a starting job faster than any of the three wideouts selected before him. Donte Stallworth of New Orleans, Ashley Lelie of Denver and Green Bay's Javon Walker will all have to ward off veteran challengers. But the expansion Texans are thin at receiver and offensive skill-position spots, and Gaffney had a superb spring in creating instant synergy with rookie quarterback David Carr.

	Shockey

Just once in the past seven seasons have the New York Giants featured a tight end who caught more than 50 passes. The drought will end in 2002 with the arrival of former Miami star Jeremy Shockey, a polished receiver who many scouts felt was among the best players at his position in the last 15 years. He should provide Kerry Collins with the effective middle-range pass catcher New York has lacked. He posted a 40-yard time faster than most of the wideouts at the combine workouts before the draft.

	Green

Take a look at all those 325-pound offensive lineman Butch Davis has assembled and you know the Cleveland Browns coach is intent on fashioning a power running game. Now take a look at the guy who will be running behind one of the NFL's largest blocking units: tailback William Green. The former Boston College star disappointed some scouts by running sluggish 40-yard times before the draft, but Davis wanted a real workhorse and he got one in Green, who averaged 26½ carries in 2001.

	Williams

It isn't often a safety is chosen among the top 10 players in the first round. Then again, it's not often a safety like Roy Williams comes around. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tabbed the former Oklahoma star as the man he wanted weeks before the draft, and Williams did everything in spring minicamps to justify his lofty No. 8 status. A super athlete, Williams will flip-flop with perennial Pro Bowl performer Darren Woodson at the free safety and strong safety spots, depending on the situation. At his most disruptive when playing close to the line of scrimmage, Williams is built more like a linebacker -- and he hits like one, too.