I am operating under the assumption that Danny Shelton is off the board at 13 (if he isn’t we should take him so 3 of these guys would be redundant). Watching the Saints defense play last year left us with many questions, but to me one of the biggest was where’s the beef?! The Saints were absolutely demolished up front on both sides of the ball at times, but the way the Saints got dominated up front was positively embarrassing. The only defensive lineman who I gave a positive grade to was Cam Jordan; Hicks and Jenkins had moments but neither was consistent. The Saints need a player who can play the middle and give them a legit push up front that prevents Quarterbacks from stepping up as easily as they did all year last year. They also need someone with the power to plug up offensive lineman and give their linebackers a chance to make tackles near the line of scrimmage… instead of 7 yards down field (FAR too many of Lofton’s came in that form sadly).
With that in mind I am going to take a look at three guys who I think the Saints might take a shot at within the first couple of rounds to fill the need of a DT who can bring the beef. I am also including one linebacker in McKinney because the man is a mobile fortress and fits today’s theme of a ‘large land mammal’. Without further ado let’s look at Bernardrick McKinney, Eddie Goldman, Michael Bennet, and Malcom Brown.
Bernardrick McKinney: 6’4″, 246 LBS. ILB, Miss. St.
McKinney is one of the more polished defenders in this draft and also one of the biggest ‘physical specimen’ at the linebacker position in this draft. He isn’t necessarily an astonishing athlete, however he plays with great intelligence, strength, leverage, and has more than adequate instincts for the position. There are some questions on whether or not he can be a true ‘star’ on the next level, however there is almost no question that he will be a productive player. McKinney is decent in coverage, but no spectacular, but his real value is in his ability to play the box and dominate within it (you know…the things that basically define the position). He didn’t blow anyone away at the combine, but his leadership (high marks) and ability to make plays consistently on the field are of far greater importance. I wouldn’t take him at 31, but if the Saints haven’t filled the need by the 44th pick and he is on the board I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on him.
Eddie Goldman: 6’4″, 336 LBs. DT, Florida State.
You want beef? Goldman is a small Pepsi machine with legs (I don’t drink coke). He has a demonstrated ability to shed blockers and make plays while also absorbing blocks to free up teammates. There are some concerns about the consistency about his pass rush, but he is rarely if ever taken out of plays by linemen and has a high motor. Goldman was one of the keys to FL St. winning a national championship two years ago and his ceiling might actually be just as high as Shelton’s is as a 3-4 Nose tackle. The difference is that Shelton is a dominant player who is a known commodity while Goldman still needs to develop his skill set. With that said he is a mammoth of a human being with a solid ‘floor’ as a player, a good solid work ethic, consistent production, and enormous upside (part of which comes from the fact that he is..well…enormous). If the Saints take him at either 31 or 44 it could very well mean they just acquired a key piece for this defense going into the future. A rotation at Nose that features Goldman and Jenkins ,who is looking more like a rotational guy anyway, could prove to be fundamentally transformative to the Saints defense as a whole. The old football adage about games being won up front isn’t a lie or an exaggeration, Goldman has the potential to have the Saints doing a lot more winning in that regard.
Michael Bennett: 6’2″, 293 LBS. DT, Ohio St.
From one College champ to another. Bennet isn’t a ‘mammoth’ like Goldman is, however he is a tremendous athlete for a man so large. Bennet is more of a pass rusher and a playmaker than a gap plugger. He is a pretty solid rusher for an interior guy and he demonstrates above average hand technique. I don’t personally think the Saints will be looking at him as he strikes me as a rotational player, at least right now. Taking Bennet in the first or the second is a bit of a risk to me, however if he is taken with one of our third round picks he still has the potential to develop into a very good player and his upside would make his value at that draft position almost too good to pass on. If Bennet can add about 20-30 pounds to his frame, and especially in his lower body, he can become a flat out animal on the line. I can’t think of too many places better to gain twenty pounds than New Orleans .
Malcom Brown: 6’2″, 319 LBS. DT, Texas.
Brown is kind of a halfway point between Bennet and Goldman. He has ideal size and strength for an interior lineman like Goldman and he has shown real flashes of brilliance on the field. However, he is also still a player in development. What is so promising about Brown is that he seemed to get better as the season went on and he has consistently improved throughout his college career. Brown can get into the backfield in a hurry and when his motor is running he can be an absolute menace in the backfield. Brown possesses rare feet and instincts for such a massive human being, still a little raw, but a young player who could rotate in his first year and be a starter by year two. I would prefer him in the third, but depending on what our first two selections are, Brown in the second could still be a really good get for the Saints. At the end of the day talent usually wins in the NFL and Brown has that, combine that with a player who seems to be willing to put in the time to improve and Brown could be a guy we are raving about come next december.
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