Hey guys, I realize it’s been a while but I have been swamped with work among other things. I just wanted to give my quick two cents on the whole Jimmy Graham trade and other things that have happened this offseason for the Saints.
First, let’s start off with the biggie – the Jimmy Graham blockbuster. As you all know, I have been calling for a tight end-needy team to offer something for the star player. However, with that being said; I did not ever think it would be the Seattle Seahawks for a couple of reasons:
- Why the Saints would trade their biggest weapon to possibly the ONLY team in the NFC (I say “only” because of what the Saints did to the Green Bay Packers this past year) that could stand in their way of achieving another Lombardi Trophy.
- Another reason is because the Seahawks are so cap-strapped from all of their big signings last year (Sherman, Thomas, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright) that signing Jimmy Graham seemed absolutely impossible to me with them still needing to sign their quarterback.
Now, onto what the Saints got in return: Arguably the best center in the game and a first-round pick (#31 overall in the 2015 draft). Not a bad haul, although I was hoping it’d be more along the lines of possibly a first and a third-round pick & maybe a player. That’s a lot to ask, but look at what Russell Wilson & the Seahawks are getting; taking everything into account, quite possibly the best pass-catcher in the NFC West by a respectable margin.
Max Unger is a great run-blocking center and I like the boldness of the Saints to go out and do this move. It says something about the front office, in the sense that they aren’t afraid to trade anyone (Not even Brees, but it would be dumb and reckless to trade your franchise quarterback, your biggest leader, and the face of New Orleans). The acquisition of Max Unger will definitely help the philosophy change that’s taking place in the Big Easy. The 31st overall pick on top of the 13th overall pick will be great and could go a long way to help the team if the Saints plan on trading up a few spots or using both of them, hopefully & most likely for defense.
Now onto my favorite move – the re-signing of Mark Ingram. Ingram is a player I love. Loved watching him in college, and last year, I got such a joy from seeing him do well. I’ve had him on my “Making the Leap” articles before, and I am so glad that it seems like he did in 2014. In my opinion, I feel like the Saints signed him for a value contract. 4 years, 16 million dollars is a steal considering he could have gone elsewhere and got more money (Dallas, New York Giants, and quite possibly New England, to name a few). The low contract puts my mind at ease in the sense that if he pulls a CJ2K, that’s not a whole lot of money on the Saints books & it won’t wreck their free agency for years to come.
With the previous being said, comes my absolute least-favorite move in a while – releasing Pierre Thomas. This one absolutely caught me off-guard. I thought for sure Pierre would have spent the rest of his career in the Superdome in a Saints uniform. I realize that the NFL is a business, but I don’t understand where the loyalty is. I don’t get how a team can just release such a team-player that wasn’t taking up hardly any of the salary cap to begin with. He fulfilled every part of every one of his contracts with the team, he was a hard-nosed runner, and he was one of the most underrated running backs in the NFL, in my opinion. I hope he does well elsewhere and that someone appreciates the value he brings to a locker room and a team as a player.
Thank you, Pierre Thomas. You are truly a Saints Great.
Onto the next move – the signing of C.J. Spiller. This will prove to be a good move on Mickey Loomis’ and Jeff Ireland’s part because he fits the system well. He’s a taller Darren Sproles that can run the ball better. Kudos to Jeff Ireland for no doubt having a say on this and possibly pushing this move until it happened. He catches the ball out of the backfield well, and he is still in the young stages of his career. The only concern that I have with this is that he has been hampered by injuries and those same injuries seem to have been nagging ones. The Saints have dealt with players with nagging injuries before though (Mark Ingram, Jimmy Graham, and Jon Vilma to name a couple recent ones), so they may know how to manage him and his play-time a little better than some teams.
To talk about the losses that the Saints have sustained (minus Pierre Thomas), I only have a couple words to say about them:
Curtis Lofton: The Raiders got a productive linebacker that’s aging. It might be clear that they are in more of a “win-now” mindset with the age that they are infusing into their team with the additions of Justin Tuck last year, Charles Woodson, James Jones, Carlos Rogers, and of course Curtis Lofton, amongst others. The loss of Lofton will more than likely be more of an addition for the team because it cleared up salary cap space & allowed the team to go after Spiller & re-sign Ingram.
Ben Grubbs: This loss will hurt New Orleans more than the Lofton loss, but not by much. Grubbs was a good lineman when the Saints acquired him, but left around the middle of the pack in my opinion. He’s more of a pass-blocking guard and when the Saints are changing their entire identity on the offensive side of the ball, this move seemed logical. The Saints got a 5th-round pick for the aging guard which could prove to be beneficial seeing as the team acquired Kenny Stills in the 5th round; I don’t see it as a huge loss.
Kenny Stills: Speaking of the speeding pony; Kenny Still will do really well in Miami. He’s a younger, poor-man’s version of Mike Wallace’s Pittsburgh days. This move is going to force Brandin Cooks into possibly the number 1 role, seeing as Marques is also aging. Saints acquired a third-round pick for the wideout, which is a higher pick than they used on him so kudos for that. I can only imagine Jeff Ireland sold him a little bit to his former team. Along with the third-round pick that the Saints received, they also received Danelle Ellerbe. I think Ellerbe could step in and be an above average player for the Saints. He was good with the Ravens the year they won their Super Bowl & then he went off to Miami and got a huge payday. Since he’s come to the Saints, he already has taken a paycut which was huge for the cap situation. I’ll be excited to see how Rob Ryan uses him.
All the moves that the Saints have made have me suspiciously excited for the 2015 season to start. Not only are we as fans going to be seeing a new facet to our beloved New Orleans Saints team, but we are also going to be seeing how the front office’s moves panned out, which will be exciting. New faces are always exciting to see on the team, as is a massively overhaul of the cap situation, which is the biggest thing for me. I was sick & tired of the team having to restructure players & let popular faces go in order to get under the cap that always rises anyway (which just proves how horribly the Saints’ cap woes have been; always an ever-rising salary cap).
Now, my favorite part of the offseason. Seeing as I love college football almost as much as I do NFL football, I always enjoy trying to guess who the Saints should and will take. So here we go:
With the 13th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select: Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson. I say Vic falls to the Saints miraculously and if I’m Rob Ryan, I’m absolutely pounding the table to get Beasley. This guy is a monster. Watching a few games of him in college, I could tell he was going to go in the first round. My stance was proven at the Combine where he proved to be a top performer in all major categories. Physically, he is fast enough to get around the edge and he is strong enough to bully running backs and even some tight ends that try to chip him at the line. He would fit in well with Rob Ryan’s scheme and having him in the box may allow for Kenny Vaccaro to go back to his natural position at safety.
With the 31st overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select: Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State. The departure of Curtis Lofton left a hole in the middle for a physical, tackling machine of an inside linebacker. This is where McKinney comes in. Seeing as I went to Mississippi State, I know how good he can be. Despite his less-than-stellar speed, he’s much rangier than a lot of ILBs and he loves to hit people. He’s always around the play and he is definitely a scheme-player. I believe the Saints would be getting a very good replacement to Curtis Lofton here if they went with McKinney. Furthermore, paired up with his love of causing pain to opposing players, he has a tenacious attitude that Rob Ryan would fall in love with.
With the 44th overall pick (Second round) in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select: Bryce Petty, Quarterback, Baylor. I know…I always say this in all of my Mock Drafts, but the team just won’t listen to me!!! This year, It’s time to get Drew Brees his heir apparent. I believe Bryce Petty is the best passer in this draft class, and I think he would flourish in New Orleans if given appropriate time to develop. He has all the physical tangibles you look for in a quarterback, and when he was in college, the Baylor Bears & Art Briles loved to throw the rock around. Pair him with a clipboard and front-row seats to a Hall of Fame quarterback, and I think the Saints have the quarterback of their future.
With the 75th overall pick (Third round) Pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Saints select Tony Lippett, Cornerback, Michigan State University. At first, you might be thinking “This guy’s a wide receiver”, and you’d be right. However, he tried out at Cornerback at his pro-day too and I have heard good things. He’s fast and rangy, both essential tools to make a good cornerback, also. I would be willing to take such a flier on a guy who could turn out to be a good corner or just turn back into a wide receiver (I watched the Oregon v.s. Michigan State game this year, and that wouldn’t be a bad second option) that could do well with a quarterback of Brees’ pedigree. This could turn out being a good move if he makes the transition to corner; just look at Richard Sherman; started as a wide receiver in college and now is arguably the best cornerback in the game.
With the 78th Pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select Senquez Golson, Cornerback, Ole Miss. Two cornerbacks in one round when the Saints signed Brandon Browner? You’ve got it. The Saints have struggled with depth at the cornerback position in recent years and there is no denying that Golson is one hell of a ball-hawk. Coming off an impressive season, leading the SEC in interceptions, Senquez Golson would be able to learn from 2 good cornerbacks and possibly earn himself a starting nickel role in Rob Ryan’s defense.
With the 148th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select Vince Mayle, Wide Receiver, Washington State. Vince Mayle is a big bodied receiver with good speed that absolutely flourished with the Cougars. Of course, WSU ran the Air Raid offense so many receivers could flourish in that system. However, with that being said, not all receivers are similar in size to an aging Marques Colston with better speed. He obviously knows how to run complex routes being from a system that had their quarterback throw it 89 times in one game and throw for 700 yards in another game (both true stories). Being in an NFL system that prides itself on being complex, I think this could be a good pick and you could very well see Mr. Mayle stepping into the #2 role in time.
With the 154th Pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select Dillon Day, Offensive Lineman, Mississippi State. Here’s the point where you think my credibility goes, and my bias floods in. Don’t stop reading, bear with me. I promise you it’s not all about my bias and my favoritism. I am doing this solely with the thought that he could help the team. Yes, he’s a center. Yes, he is from Miss. State. Yes, the Saints just got Unger. I realize all this. What the Saints would draft him for is to go to guard. He has the right size for the position, he’s an absolute mauler in the trenches and being from a run-first team in the SEC, I believe with every fiber of my being that he could make the transition and be a good guard in the NFL. He’s nasty (just look up the video of him going Ndamukong Suh on one of the LSU players. Twice), he was a team leader, and he knows what he’s doing. I believe that if the Saints could get him here, he’d be a value pick.
With the 187th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select: Ty Montgomery, Wide Receiver, Stanford. I’ve heard good things from this guy’s pro day that indicate to me that he will not be available here, but I’m hopeful. He’s a good receiver that could also be a good returner also. With the losses of Stills & Graham, the Saints need to find some kind of playmakers or mismatches to try and replace those guys.
With the 230th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select: A.J. Derby, Tight End, Arkansas. Now it’s time to try and pick someone up in the draft that can maybe turn into a Jimmy Graham type of player. Not saying this guy is the answer, but it couldn’t hurt to take a flier on a productive SEC tight end.
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