There’s a very cool and dangerous tool out there right now to help you pass time when bored called the Fanspeak On the Clock Mock NFL Draft Simulator. I could spend all day doing this and clearly the Saints shouldn’t be using my advice on drafting because of my propensity to take LSU players. Or maybe they should. Even in a mock situation I’m incapable of dismissing my homer tendencies. Below are the draft choices I made in a 7 round exercise for the Saints only.
***TRADE DOWN***
The Jets in this draft offered me their 1st round pick (20th overall), their 2nd and 3rd for my 12th overall pick. I accepted the trade, but will be picking 8 spots down in the 1st round.
1st Round, 20th overall: A’Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama
Defense, defense, defense. I couldn’t believe he dropped this low. The other DT available was Adolphus Washington, who I like, but his character concerns came into play. Robinson was the Best Player Available (BPA), so a no brainer for me. Honestly, I’d consider Robinson at 12, so I’m thrilled he dropped here. The guy is stout, solid, serious and totally committed to football. He’ll be a good fit.
In case you were curious, the 1st round played out like this prior to my pick:
2nd Round, 47th overall: Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
Jaylon Smith and Noah Spence were picked just before me. So gutted by that. WR Corey Coleman of Baylor was the BPA and I seriously considered G Vadal Alexander of LSU. In the end I gave more boost to the defensive line.
***TRADE DOWN***
I’m in the Kevin Held school of trading down in this mock. This time I dropped 4 spots from 20th in the 2nd round (from the Jets trade) to 24th, and picked up another 4th rounder
2nd Round, 55th overall: Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas
He’s the best tight end in the draft and I’ll be shocked if he falls this far in real life. Thrilled to land him at this point. BPA was Jarran Reed of Alabama. If I had known he’d be available this far, I would have maybe passed on Robinson at 20.
3rd Round, 78th overall: Deion Jones, OLB, LSU
I don’t care if he’s light in the pads. Dude can seriously play. I saw it over and over again this year. He’ll make an impact on special teams immediately and maybe start. BPA was WR Will Fuller of Notre Dame.
3rd Round, 83rd overall: Joshua Garnett, G, Stanford
The BPA is still Will Fuller. I am partial to Braxton Miller and De’Runnya Wilson at receiver, personally, and I strongly considered those two. Ultimately, I went for the O-line help.
4th Round, 109th overall: De’Runnya Wilson, WR, Mississippi State
I know I’m drafting a lot of SEC but so be it. Wilson is a huge target at 6’5″ and tore up one of the best secondaries in LSU. Move over, Colston. He was the BPA, no brainer.
***TRADE DOWN***
The 49ers offered me a 6th round pick, which the Saints don’t have, and a 5th round pick (3rd in that round) to drop about 10 spots from my second 4th round pick. More players, more picks! Of course I took it.
5th round, 130th overall: Roberto Aguayo, K, Florida State
WR Pharoh Cooper of South Carolina is the BPA. Personally, I traded down because I wanted Aguayo with my next pick all along and I had a feeling he’d fall to this slot. Kicker issues solved.
5th round, 140th overall: James Bradberry, CB, Samford
BPA is OLB Kamalei Correa of Boise State. I know what you’re thinking “not another corner from Samford, please!”. That’s where Corey White went. The Saints love bigger corners, though, and at 6’1″ and 209lbs, Bradberry is that. A good physical guy to put in the mix when you hopefully replace Brandon Browner.
6th round, 188th overall: Joe Schobert, OLB, Wisconsin
BPAs are a lot of receivers. This draft seems deep with them. I went with defense again, though. Schobert will have a shot at making this team as a special teamer at first. He’s been productive in that area. Besides that, he’s a linebacker that can cover and he has a long history of finding the ball and making plays. Great instincts.
7th round, 205th overall: Avery Young, T, Auburn
At this point it’s about drafting guys that can develop and actually have a shot at contributing to the team down the round. Young has played pretty much every o-line position at Auburn. He’s also cousins with Thomas Davis of the Panthers, so he has the gene pool. He has nice size at 6’6″ and a little over 300lbs, and a year in the weight room could pay off nicely. BPA was RB Dwayne Washington of… Washington.
Your thoughts on this draft? Personally, if the Saints walked away with all these players I’d be jumping for joy.
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