“SEC! SEC! SEC!”
It’s a chant that opposing teams in college playing a Southeastern Conference game dread hearing as much as visiting teams to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome hate hearing “Who Dat?” or “Stand Up And Get Crunk”.
Actually “Crunk” lost it’s charm with a portion of the New Orleans Saints fanbase but that’s different issue…
The football teams in the SEC especially have been known to play old school, smash mouth football on both sides of the ball and in the last ten drafts have accounted for an average of nine(a little over a quarter) of the first round selections alone.
Two teams in the SEC that garner a fair amount of attention during draft time are Alabama and Louisiana State University, with Alabama holding the edge the last several years.
Of the aforementioned average of SEC selections in the past ten drafts, at least a third of those first round selections are from both schools.
The 2016 NFL Draft only saw one player from Alabama selected in the first round(center Ryan Kelly) and none from L.S.U..
That will likely change though heading into the 2017 NFL Draft as not only these two schools, but the SEC in general has some erroneous talent in draft prospects.
In fact there are several that have recently been associated with the Saints, mainly on he defensive side of the ball.
Marlon Humphrey/Alabama/Cornerback
Humphrey was mocked to the Saints by Todd McShay last month, albeit when they had the eight overall pick, and it was met with mixed reviews.
There is no doubt that the Saints need to improve their secondary after running into the wall of reality where we saw what injuries can leave them with.
Sure the injuries to Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams were flukey but never the less raised eyebrows and even before that they tried to go all in when Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman became available.
ProFootball Focus had nothing but astronomical praise for the 6’1″, 196 pound corner heading into the 2016 college football season calling him “one of the best CB’s” in the nation.
What a difference a season makes because PFF’s own Steve Palazzolo didn’t even have Humphrey in his Top 32 prospects for the draft with Clemson’s Cordrea Tankersley(ranked #4), Florida’s Jalen Tabor(ranked #8), and Iowa’s Desmond King(ranked #10) as the top three corners.
I’ll admit that this pick would scare me a bit just because corners from Alabama really have never panned out with Dee Milliner being at the forefront of my memory, who the New York Jets took in the first round with the ninth pick overall in 2013.
If you don’t remember Milliner or you’re scrambling to look him up right now I’ll save you the time: He spent three years with the Jets, seeing more time on injured reserve and the bench than the field before he was released this past September.
Maybe I’m just being super paranoid when it comes to the Saints and corners but Humphrey seems like a huge gamble with the 11th overall selection.
Reuben Foster/Alabama/Linebacker
Foster has been linked to the Saints in some mocks with the latest being from CBSSports.com’s Rob Rang who has the Saints going with the 6’1″, 236 pound linebacker.
PFF has labeled Foster as one of the most “complete” linebackers in this draft class and CBSSports has him ranked as their #1 inside linebacker prospect.
No doubt he turned the eyes of plenty of Saints fans even in Alabama’s loss in the National Championship to Clemson as he sniffed out plays and was quick running sideline to sideline as well as invading the backfield with fellow linebacker Ryan Anderson.
Draft Wire probably gave him the best endorsement and caused not only the Who Dat Nation to salivate, but other teams as well saying this about Foster:
Foster is a playmaking force who is impossible to avoid. He’s an intelligent player with a well-rounded skill set who can be inserted into any NFL defense and immediately upgrade the entire unit significantly.
Dare we dream Saints fans that the entire linebacking corps for the Saints much less the defense gets an upgrade from someone who is good in coverage, plays the run, AND can blitz with shifty speed?
While I don’t want to write 2015 first round pick Stephone Anthony off after he was asked to change positions and didn’t fair well, he wasn’t given glowing endorsements on his football intelligence from head coach Sean Payton or defensive coordinator Dennis Allen this season.
In fact Anthony actually confirmed his coaches evaluation and we’ll have to see if he is even able to remain on the roster after once being thought to be the answer at middle linebacker.
Foster could be just that and more if he falls to the Saints in the first round.
Derek Barnett/Tennessee/Defensive End
Barnett is by far out of the above mentioned prospects the favorite of recent mock drafts, and Saints fans, to land in New Orleans including Bleacher Report draft analyst Matt Miller mainly due to what is the glaring need for a pass rusher opposite Cameron Jordan on the defensive line.
New Orleans has tried to upgrade their pass rush with the addition of players like Hau’oli Kikaha but a third ACL injury has placed his durability in question for the future.
When the Saints are on the clock, players like Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett and Alabama’s Jonathan Allen will surely be gone and the 6’3″ 260 pound Barnett’s could see come out on stage donning a black and gold cap.
Breaking Hall of Famer Reggie White’s collegiate sack record with 13, Barnett plays with an effort and motor that should be something that would help increase the pressure the Saints will need to face quarterbacks like the Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan who is able to get rid of the ball quickly.
One thing I love about Barnett is he can be seen many times with a scowl on his face and barking at the opposing offense that speaks to a combination of nasty attitude and confidence that we’ve only seen from players on the Saints defensive line like Cameron Jordan and recently Nick Fairley.
Speaking of Jordan, The Saints Nation editor and writer Andrew Juge even mentioned in a recent article that Barnett is comparable to Jordan and called the first round prospect a “tailor-made Sean Payton guy on/off the field.”
Tim Williams/Alabama/Outside Linebacker
I saved Williams for last on this list and didn’t put him with his fellow Crimson Tide teammates due to a concern that was brought up the past few days.
Not so much in the production wise department which saw the 6’4″ 252 pound linebacker have 20 sacks and 30 tackles for a loss in his time with Alabama, but more in the character realm.
A few days ago Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com cited “team sources” saying that Williams has failed multiple drug tests and has an issue with marijuana that is comparable to Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory when he was entering the draft.
Gregory of course was considered a first round talent but fell to the second round of the 2015 NFL draft before the Cowboys took a chance on him.
The Saints actually brought Gregory in for a pre-draft visit but it was rumored to not go well and he wasn’t well received when he called New Orleans “boring” while he was there.
Scott Polacek, one of Bleacher Report’s featured columnists, just posted his mock draft which has the Saints selecting Williams and bypassing pass rushers like Tennessee’s Derek Barnett and UCLA’s Takkarist McKinley who is climbing draft boards especially after his claim that he will run a 4.4 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
I don’t know Williams entire situation and but if the report by Campbell is accurate, then it’s highly unlikely that the Saints will spend a high draft pick on someone with major character concerns.
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