Overall I think the Saints did an admirable job adding talent on draft weekend. The greatest impact of course were the additions of Sheldon Rankins, Michael Thomas and Von Bell. Beyond that, it’s a crapshoot that will take some time to suss out. The main gripe I have is the strategy to move up in an attempt to secure specific players. In my opinion, the number of roster needs were too high by volume to justify giving up assets. The Saints started the draft with 6 picks and left with 5, while also sacrificing a pick in the 2017. What they gave up wasn’t that scandalous, though. A 3rd and a 4th for a 2nd, and two 5th’s for a 4th are fine value wise. To me it was more about giving up bodies when that’s exactly what you need. The strategy of “quality over quantity” has really backfired on the Saints for a while now, but perhaps the old scouting staff was the only thing that needed fixing. Clearly that’s what Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis believe.
Overall it’s hard to complain much about the first three players. Rankins, Thomas and Bell are all excellent prospects that fill clear needs. Rankins immediately improves the interior, but more importantly the pass rush. I would argue that the Saints’ edge pressure is the best thing they have going in terms of their pass rush. Cam Jordan is a fringe double digit guy, Kikaha is a nice prospect, and Edebali, Gwacham and Tull are developing players on the roster with potential. By no means do these players collectively strike terror into the hearts of opposing tackles, but the cupboard isn’t completely bare. The biggest hole in the Saints’ pass rush, or lack thereof, is the pocket pushing ability. How many times did we see Kikaha or Jordan beat their blocker only to see a quarterback easily step into a clean pocket to buy time? Watching an old and slow Carson Palmer in week 1 evade the Saints’ attempts to bring him down made it clear what was in store for 2016. John Jenkins, Kevin Williams, Bobby Richardson and Tyeler Davison collectively just weren’t good enough. Rankins is a big deal because he helps the pass rush more than an edge prospect could. The Saints already have edge prospects. It’s not about him posting double digit sacks, either. It’s about re-directing passers into sacks. Rankins hopefully develops into a 6-8 sack a year guy, which would be massive from the interior, but his role in helping the Saints get sacks will be aiding the edge rushers to finish their rush. That’s already what he does best.
Thomas has the measurables of a #1 receiver. Pairing him with Brandin Cooks is a really exciting prospect. We’ll see what he can do this year but I don’t think you can rule out Thomas moving ahead of Snead and Coleman on the depth chart as a starter. Developing chemistry with Brees is essential.
As Ralph Malbrough eloquently put, the Saints were one injury away from trotting out Jamarca Sanford or Erik Harris in a full time capacity. Further, Jairus Byrd’s enormous cap figure makes him candidate for being a cap casualty as soon as 2017. The Saints needed a replacement for Rafael Bush and a possible heir to Byrd. Bell accomplishes both.
What happened afterwards is where it gets a little less exciting in my eyes. First, the Saints traded up and gave up a 2017 5th round pick to make sure they got a guy that’s been playing football for 4 years. From Nigeria. In Canada. As a hobby to pass time because he was bored. What position does he play? The same as Rankins. At face value, you add all that up and it’s really alarming considering the number of needs. The more I read about David Onyemata the more I like. I want to believe Loomis that he’s in the team’s immediate plans and they figure to have him contribute this year. The realist in me thinks he’s getting a “medical redshirt”. And after a year learning from the sidelines, will he ever seen the field in a regular season game? I’m getting ahead of myself. Secondly, they drafted a running back in the 7th round. Now I get it, in the 7th round the odds of a guy making any impact are minuscule. You’ve got to stay true to your board. But the Saints are six deep at running back.
I have a hard time seeing Daniel Lasco beat out three of Mark Ingram, C. J. Spiller, Tim Hightower, Travaris Cadet, Marcus Murphy and Vick Ballard. Right now Lasco is the 7th back on the team. I realize he’s a receiving and special teams guy, which suggests he’s probably more in competition with Cadet and Murphy (maybe Spiller) than anyone else. But still, at some point you have to be realistic about your needs and the odds of a player making your team based on the depth you have. Sean Payton mentioned at one point in his presser that the 7th round is about special teams. I don’t buy that. The best two 7th rounders the Saints ever took were Marques Colston and Zach Strief in 2006. Neither were ever part of special team’s plans and neither would make even a remote impact in that phase of the game.
The puzzling third day of the draft was easier to digest when the Saints added an impressive undrafted rookie free agent class that included G Landon Turner and C Jack Allen. Both players received good pre draft grades and were considered two of the best undrafted linemen out there. Guard was a major need for this team which went ignored in the draft and I’m glad the Saints took it seriously afterwards. Turner received more bonus money than any other undrafted rookie on the team. So clearly the Saints were serious about landing him. If that was the case, though, and they also recognized the importance of adding a guy at his position – why not draft him in the 7th round over Lasco? Why risk losing out on a guy you were prepared to offer the highest bonus to of your undrafted class (at a position of major need) so you could draft a running back that would sit as 7th on your current depth chart? Again, puzzling.
It’s hard to call this draft a home run based on some of the things I mention above but it’s easy to leave the exercise satisfied. The Saints got what I hope will be an elite defensive tackle, a receiver, a safety, two decent interior offensive line prospects for competition, and a handful of random guys they really like that might surprise us. I can live with that entering camp, especially if a couple veterans are signed post draft to improve the roster quality.
So where are the biggest holes on the roster?
The Saints ignored cornerback, despite making a run at Josh Norman and putting the word out they likely would have taken Vernon Hargreaves had he fallen to them. They didn’t have to add a cornerback but it’s clear they weren’t against it. The Saints maybe didn’t get enough at guard. Turner, Allen, Kelemete, Lelito and I guess Peat are 5 guys that will battle for two spots. Hopefully it’ll be a good enough battle that two good players emerge. I wouldn’t mind adding a veteran to the mix there. They also ignored edge pass rush and linebacker (where they added a lot of players in free agency). Those were other positions I would have been interested in adding talent. But we knew going into this draft they wouldn’t fill every hole and we were going to have to be ok with them addressing some needs while leaving other spots exposed to the necessity for an unknown to step up. Right now, that’s probably at nickel, edge pass rusher (not named Jordan) and guard.
Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds this season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
