I caught up with the SB Nation site California Golden Blogs to discuss the Saints’ 7th round draft choice, running back Daniel Lasco. Many thanks to their writer “boomtho” for taking the time to answer some of these questions below. Here’s what they had to say about the Saints rookie:
The Saints Nation: Not going to lie, I was pretty shocked to see the Saints draft a running back. They have 6 guys (Mark Ingram, C. J. Spiller, Tim Hightower, Marcus Murphy and Travaris Cadet) who have all had their moments for the Saints. This definitely wasn’t a need. I kind of view Daniel Lasco as battling for the 4th back and returner/special teamer with Murphy and Cadet who have a proven similar skillset. Do you think Lasco has a shot of making the team over those two? If so, why was he a 7th round pick?
boomtho from CBB: I’ll be honest – between the fantasy impact of NO’s backs, I don’t know much about them. However, I agree that Lasco would face an uphill battle making the team solely as an RB. Like you hinted at, Lasco’s value comes from a combination of his skills/athleticism as an RB as well as his ability as a special teamer.However, Lasco was not a returner at Cal – instead, he was on the coverage teams, all during his four years at Cal. Given his size and strength, he was pretty good at it, and it feels like that could give him the edge to make the roster beyond just being an RB.
Am I correct in assuming that his primary value, at least at first, will be on special teams? If so, how explosive is he as a returner?
Like I said above, Lasco has some value as a special teamer, though as a guy in coverage, not a returner.
Can he run effectively between the tackles in the NFL, or do you feel like his niche is more the Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles, Spiller role that exists in the Saints offense?
I think Lasco is a well-rounded RB. He’s not a pure pass-catcher/home-run hitter like Bush or Spiller. He has a good blend of between-the-tackles running ability, pass catching ability, and pass blocking. However, I would say he’s not elite at either of them.
If you can’t protect the QB, you won’t play much for Sean Payton. How is his pass blocking?
To my uneducated eyes, his pass blocking is pretty good but not great.Cal did play in a pass-happy offense (though the national media probably overblows it – Cal was like a 55/45-ish), so he’s gotten a lot of experience on both the route-running side and the pass-blocking side.
I read he was banged up a lot last season. Are those injuries behind him?
Given his Combine experience, I’d say they are. Cal fans all knew that he was athletic – however, his performance at the Combine, especially given the uncertainty of his injuries, was super eye-opening. He definitely struggled when he came back towards the end of last season (you can check his performance vs Muhammad/Watson), but I’d guess he’s 100% healthy – otherwise given the Saints’ RB depth, they probably wouldn’t have drafted him.
Anything else we should know about Lasco?
I’d expect him to be a great locker room presence. Lasco was a captain as a junior and a senior, and as a junior received the team’s MVP award (over a pretty decent prospect named Jared Goff!). By all accounts he has been your prototypical great teammate and leader. The reports coming out of the media at the beginning of this last season were that he was working to become a more vocal leader, though there were never any question marks about his overall leadership competence. Personally, I did get a behind the scenes tour of the Cal facilities before a game, and Lasco certainly was a vocal leader in that setting.
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