After 3 rounds, I think it’s fair to say the Saints are passing this “draft” exercise with flying colors. LSU blogger Kris Brauner of Saturday Night Slant turned me on to Bloguin‘s NFL draft guru who runs Optimum Scouting. Optimum Scouting, among other things, ranks the top 400 prospects in order of potential/talent. Who might recognize three of the names that appear in the top 33. That’s right, Optimum Sports has Cameron Jordan ranked 9th, Mark Ingram ranked 12th, and Martez Wilson ranked 33rd overall in this year’s class. Johnny Patrick, on the other hand, is ranked 148th, so that pick may be considered a bit of a stretch. Still, for the Saints to walk away from this draft with 2 players ranked in the top 12 and 3 players ranked in the top 33 is about as monumental of a pull as any fan could hope for. Simply put, the Saints made themselves significantly better after two days of drafting. Any way you cut it, I don’t see how you can say that the Saints haven’t outdone every other team in the NFL to this point in the draft. To me, the Saints come out of this draft with an A. You might think I’m biased, and that’s fine, but this is first time I’ve ever said that. In fact, I gave the Saints a C- for their drafting efforts last year, so just because I’m a fan first and a biased blogger second, it doesn’t mean I can’t be a harsh critic.
The bottom line is the Saints have landed three top notch prospects that I fully expect to develop into starters. Whether they become full time starters this year or 2-3 years from now remains to be seen, but I’ll be shocked if these three guys aren’t consistent difference makers very soon.
Other News:
the 8th District court of appeals is considering the NFL’s appeal on Judge Nelson’s ruling, and they’ve granted the NFL a stay while they review the decision. That means the lockout is officially back in effect. The appeal could either be rejected, which would uphold Judge Nelson’s decision in favor of the players, or it could overturn her ruling therefore solidifying a lockout… until things are decided, though, the lockout is back and all the previous rules of the lockout are back in place
Tampa has drafted two superstar prospect defensive ends, improving their pass rush, but both have serious injury concerns. Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers are both headed to the Bucs with very high grades, but there are serious concerns abotu Clayborn’s shoulder and Bowers’ knee. The Bucs could have bolstered their edge d-line significantly, or they could have made a huge medical mistake. We’ll see. They also draft a fantastic linebacker prospect in Mason Foster. Their defense is getting younger and better.
Based on Tampa’s draft, which I think overall is very solid, and the fact that Atlanta got Julio Jones and Carolina got Cam Newton – I think it’s safe to say that the NFC South, by far, is blowing away the rest of the league with how they are drafting. Any more questions about why this is clearly the best division in football? They have smart people that draft well and set their franchises up for success.
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