As I covered in part 1 the Saints like most teams tried to use the off-season to fill the holes on their roster, re-sign their own players, and acquire good football players in the draft. I gave them a B- for the first part of the off-season because I thought they did about as well as I could have expected, but they lost points for not signing a veteran (read NFL starting caliber) guard, and also for not retaining the services of Rafael Bush creating yet another hole going into the draft. The Saints entered the 2016 draft 1 player short of the usually allotted 7 picks because they traded this year’s 6th round pick to Washington to draft Damian Swann last year (a very good move in my opinion).
considering the number of holes on the roster (as well as the areas where they could get better….some people confuse the two) the Saints really couldn’t afford to gamble too much with this year’s picks. There was a very large and very vocal part of Saints twitter (and really Saints fans in general) who desperately wanted the team to trade down from the 12th pick and get more “lottery tickets” in what was believed to be a very deep draft. The Saints being themselves of course did exactly the opposite and traded up in the draft….TWICE!!
Only time will tell if the team made the right decision or not, but to be fair to the Saints it would appear that they got great value for trading up into the second, and really only burned a 5th round pick to draft David Onyemata a defensive tackle out of Canada whose only played football for 4 years. Are they insane? We’ll get into that in a shortly, but the short answer is, maybe, but they could be crazy like a fox. Obviously no real conclusions can be drawn until the players actually hit the field, and as many of you know by now I’m a firm believer in the ‘3-year-rule’ with draft picks except in the cases of stars and huge busts so the verdict is far from done on these players. With that said though here are my thoughts on the Saints biggest additions through the draft and then the following UDFA period.
Draft:
ROUND ONE: DT, Sheldon Rankins
Saints Nation’s own Andrew Juge predicted this one and for once all the pundits pretty much had the pick right. The Saints decided it was time to add one of the key components to a great defense,and one that they haven’t had in a VERY long time, an interior pass rusher. All you have to know to understand why Rankins is potentially such a fantastic pick for the Saints is to look at the two teams who played in the Super Bowl last year. Both teams possessed a player on the interior defensive line who had the rare ability to get pressure from the interior which impacts both the running and passing games, and also improves the pass rush from the edges as well.
Now comparing a rookie like Rankins to a Malik Jackson, a Kawann Short, or an Aaron Donald, would be just a little ridiculous. However, Rankins has the potential to be that kind of player, and IF he is he could have an enormous impact on the Saints defense. Rankins is a natural penetrator who uses his violent hands, explosive lower body, and intelligence to get into the backfield and reak havoc on offenses. If he is able to bring a similar level of play to the NFL level as he did in College it would be reasonable to expect the Saints to be a significantly improved defense this year. The effect of an interior rusher is actually that great.
ROUND TWO: WR, Michael Thomas
Michael Thomas (who I’m now nicknaming “Bloodline”) is the nephew of former NFL great Keyshawn Johnson, and was arguably the best receiver in this draft class. At one point I actually said that I thought Thomas was the best possible pick for the Saints, and after speaking with Nick Underhill, Scott Alexander, and Barry Hirstius (to name a few of the Saints media members I stalk on twitter) I was convinced of it. It would appear that the Saints thought so as well seeing as they drafted him.
What makes Thomas such a perfect fit for the Saints isn’t just his size (6’3″, 215 lbs), nor is it his deceptive speed, his crisp routes, or his great hands and toughness. It’s that he possesses ALL of those attributes, and has used them in ways that fit well into the Saints offense. It’s one thing to have the attributes that a team is looking for, it is an entirely different matter to have the measurables AND the skillset necessary to be a plug and play player. The Saints very likely got that in both of their first two picks. Thomas should be a dynamic threat in the red zone early, but don’t be surprised if by season’s end Thomas forms one of the league’s deadliest duos with Brandin Cooks. His ability to work the entirety of the field combined with his knack for double moves makes him the perfect complement to the Saints speedster.
ROUND TWO: S, Vonn Bell
Bell was considered by many to be the best safety in this class, and with the loss of Rafael Bush in the early parts of the off-season the Saints had a suddenly very pressing need for safety depth. While some may cringe at the fact the Saints traded up to get him, Bell may be the key (alongside Rankins) to unlocking the Saints defense. They didn’t get all the depth in the front 7 that they would have liked, but 3 safety sets with Bell, Byrd, and Vacarro could be incredibly interesting and if Rankins can help improve the pass rush the Saints MIGHT just not be awful next year on D.
The elephant in the room must also be addressed. Jairus Byrd was signed to a MASSIVE contract a few years ago and has failed to deliver on that promise. To be fair to him some of that is due to injuries and some due to the mediocre play up front, however the reality of the business is that if you aren’t producing up to your contract you will be let go. Bell is a very similar player to Byrd in his intelligence, patience, and ball skills. I LOVE the idea of having both of them in two high safety sets, but if the Saints decide to move on from Jairus at the end of the year it will likely be because Bell is living up to his potential.
ROUND FOUR: DT/DE, David Onyemata
It probably isn’t an understatement to say that Ralph Malbrough is the most degenerate gambler among Saints fans on twitter or otherwise (or at least of those who I know), but Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis are REALLY intent on taking a shot at the throne. Onyemata has only played 4 years of football PERIOD, and what’s more he played in Canada where the competition level wasn’t anywhere near what it would have been even at the FCS level. If your response to seeing the Saints fourth round pick scroll across the screen was some variation of “WHO?!!”, you are not alone. No one other than the Saints brass knew that he was on thier board.
What’s more the Saints decided to trade up for him which made the pick even more perplexing (although multiple reports after the draft suggested that if the Saints didn’t take him there he wouldn’t be available later). The question then is why did the Saints think it was worth it to trade up for this relative unkown, and what did/do they know that the rest of us don’t?
Only time will be able to tell for sure, but with the limited film and the reports on his athletic benchmarks Onyemata could either become great depth on the interior line, or he could potentially develop into a clone of Saints pro-bowl defensive end Cam Jordan. Obviously the possibility also exists that he is a total bust and another Saints draft pick is wasted, however if you have a chance to get a player who I personally think is very similar to Cam in the 4th round…you take him.
ROUND SEVEN: RB, Daniel Lasco
Barry Hirstius of Big Easy Believer did a great write up on Lasco already, and I strongly recommend it here. There was a VERY heartfelt, and in my opinion correct, outrage from the majority of fans at this selection. Not because Lasco was a bad prospect (like anyone knows how most of the players in the 7th round are anyway), but because he wasn’t a guard. There were multiple players on the board available at that time and the Saints single most important need going into the draft still hadn’t been addressed after 7 rounds. When once again Sean Payton simply couldn’t help himself and he took yet another running back in the draft (second year in a row taking one in the 7th round) we all lost our collective minds.
Taking Lasco over a player like Landon Turner who was widely considered a 3rd round prospect was insane…right? And yes, at that point in time it was. However, as it would turn out the Saints ended up getting the best of both worlds. But here is the reason that Lasco was a good pick for the Saints. After watching his tape and speaking with some locals (I live right by Berkeley) I’ve discovered that the Saints might have just gotten the steal of the draft. Lasco has out of this world athleticism, character, and is a perfect fit for the Saints offense. Lasco absolutely destroyed the combine, and more importantly when healthy his film reflects that (more than just a guy who looks good in shorts). He’s a special teams ace, a team captain, and an excellent pass protector.
Now to be clear here I am NOT comparing the players, but looking ONLY at skillset Lasco is very much a halfway point between Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas. He’s a high character player with excellent balance, surprising strength, great intelligence, and tremendous burst. He also has soft hands and a proven ability in the passing game as well. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that by his third year (remember folks…3 year rule) Lasco will at worst be the Saints 3rd down back and could have those duties as soon as this year if Spiller gets hurt/never comes back to form.
UDFA’s
As we approach the 2000 word mark I have come to the realization that if I want to do it any kind of justice I will need to cover the Saints UDFA class in their own article (coming soon). However, before I give the Saints their final off-season grade I do need to point out that the player I just mentioned above: Landon Turner, just so happens to be one of them. Turner is certainly the gem of this class (and being realistic if I told you that the Saints drafted him in the 5th round most of the draft pundits would be talking about what a steal it was). It really doesn’t matter when they got him or if they got lucky nobody took him (they did), the fact is that the Saints got a player with extreme upside in Lasco and still managed to get a very high quality guard prospect. That’s a win-win in my book….so what’s the grade?
FINAL GRADE: A-
The Saints filled nearly every need they had to one degree or another, improved some of their strengths, and brought in a few players who have the potential to help push this team back into contention both this year and going forward. You can’t do much better than that. They are also being graded on using the resources available to them to the best of their ability (they didn’t have the cap-space of the Raiders for instance and so they aren’t compared to them). The fact is that the Saints at least gave themselves a chance to be ‘back’ and that is all you can ask for. It will still take some good fortune, but 2009 was a very lucky year and that turned out well enough. I’m making NO predictions at this point in time, but considering what the Saints had to work with I can’t think of too many scenarios that could have played out better than the one they have now.
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