Admit it, you’re a trade down disciple too after seeing what my Mock Draft 1.0 produced. This time I want to see what the Saints’ actual picks can produce, so I’m going to stay put and refrain from entertaining any offers. After getting a chance to see a lot of draft prospects perform at the Senior Bowl I feel even more prepared this time around. Let’s do this:
1st round, 12th overall: DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon
I had a choice to make between Buckner and Laquon Treadwell here. I committed to defense. In case you’re curious, here’s how the first 11 picks played out:
1: R1P1
DE JOEY BOSA
TENNESSEE TITANS
2: R1P2
QB JARED GOFF
CLEVELAND BROWNS
3: R1P3
OT LAREMY TUNSIL
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
4: R1P4
DT ROBERT NKEMDICHE
DALLAS COWBOYS
5: R1P5
CB JALEN RAMSEY
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
6: R1P6
CB VERNON HARGREAVES III
BALTIMORE RAVENS
7: R1P7
QB CARSON WENTZ
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
8: R1P8
CB MACKENSIE ALEXANDER
MIAMI DOLPHINS
9: R1P9
OT RONNIE STANLEY
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
10: R1P10
OLB MYLES JACK
NEW YORK GIANTS
11: R1P11
DE EMMANUEL OGBAH
CHICAGO BEARS
I will say, like many others, that Jack remains my ideal situation if he falls. This is a situation where I would trade down, though, because Treadwell carries enormous value to someone and it’s a great way to stockpile and get more defense.
2nd round, 47th overall: Jaylon Smith, OLB, Notre Dame
Cody Whitehair is the best player available and I really really like him. That was very tempting. But improving the defense is an absolute must. And I know most of you are saying Smith won’t drop this low… Don’t blame me for him being available, blame the Fanspeak board. When you look at the guys taken ahead of him, though, nothing is crazy. It could conceivably happen. Smith is coming off a really seriously injury that could see him drop to the 2nd round.
3rd round, 79th overall: Joshua Garnett, G, Stanford
I’m not sure if Garnett will fall this low, but he did here. It’s hard to gauge where a guard falls because they are not viewed as a super important position in the draft. This is a huge boost to the 0-line depth, and Lelito will be challenged for a starting spot. Passing on Deion Jones was hard, but with Smith on board I could stomach it.
4th round, 109th overall: Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas
I can’t believe he fell this far. He’s the #2 rated player left on the board. With this position being a huge need and Henry being the best in the draft, this is a huge pull. I’ll be really surprised if he falls this low, though.
5th round, 140th overall: Jihad Ward, DT, Illinois
A versatile and physical defender that has nice size. Between he and Buckner I’m feeling a lot better about defensive line depth. I wanted Aguayo, the kicker, but that may be something I address in the 7th round.
7th round, 205th overall: Cyrus Jones, CB, Alabama
At this point it’s about finding a guy that will make the team, or at least have a decent shot at it. Bryce Williams was the BPA, TE out of ECU. I also considered kicker Brad Craddock. He’s Australian and he has a career 81.4% field goal conversion rate kicking in Maryland with a long of 57. If you remove his freshman year stats, he went 47 for 54 his last 3 seasons, good for an 87% conversion rate. Sounds better than Kai Forbath to me. I would like to see the Saints maybe target him in free agency if he goes undrafted. Ultimately I took Jones because he played very well at the Senior Bowl.
I know this class seems far fetched, a lot of these guys will likely go earlier than I took them here. But Fanspeak had them available, that’s how the board came to me. Would be a pretty nice haul if it played out this way. Your thoughts?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
