What makes Ryan Shazier the perfect pick at 27? Find out here.

Every great defense in NFL history has two things: an identity and a corny nickname that fans love. After the incredible defensive turn around witnessed in the 2013 season the New Orleans Saints certainly have the first one. The Saints defense is based on being versatile and unpredictable, in other words Rob Ryan has forged a defense that thrives on multifaceted playmakers who allow him to exercise all of his glorious mad genius. A great defense combines elite playmakers with role players who complement them and when they are put under the right coach they achieve that ‘all time’ level…and the Saints are very very close.

The Saints have an elite playmaker in their front four in Cam Jordan who can be dominant as both a pass rusher and a run stopper, as well as having a player in Akiem Hicks on the other side who may have an even higher ceiling at the end of the day. The secondary has its own dynamic duo in young dynamo Kenny Vaccaro and proven ball-hawk Jairus Byrd (we love you Mickey!!!). There is only one hole remaining in the defense, one area that while solid, lacks the kind of playmaking potential that would allow the Saints defense to enter the realm of the all time greats… they don’t have a great linebacker. More specifically they don’t have an EXPLOSIVE one, Curtis Lofton is many things and chief among them is one hell of a player…but he has never been what you would call an explosive player. That is why I believe that if the Saints have the opportunity to draft Ryan Shazier, the stud linebacker out of Ohio State, they absolutely cannot let him get away.

Let’s be clear here; I am not comparing Shazier to any all time greats or even a proven young stud like Cam Jordan, but what I am saying is that his potential is so spectacular in THIS defense…that he is a can’t miss prospect.  All draft picks are nothing but potential until they get into the league, and fortunately for us the Saints have done such a great job building this team that they could enter the season right now and still be a top 5 team in the league. That’s nice but I am greedy, I don’t want top 5, I want the top and the Saints have a realistic chance to get there if they fill the one hole that their defense has.

Shazier is an athletic freak who ran an (unofficial) forty time of 4.36 and racked up an insane 144 tackles last year at Ohio State. That’s a number that would be highly impressive in an NFL season, but even more impressive in the shorter college season.  Shazier has relatively loose hips for a linebacker and can be excellent in coverage at times as well as having the ability to lay the wood on ball carriers when he needs to. Shazier is the true definition of a boom-or-bust player with his other-worldly athleticism. What makes him a potential bust player (compared to his potential at least) is the fact that at times he has trouble shedding blocks and can be over-aggressive pursuing the ball. If football was played in a vacuum that might be enough to scare me away from him, but because of what the Saints already have on the team his weaknesses are almost a moot point. His frame leaves him room to put on some more muscle and honestly even though he at times doesn’t shed blocks his playmaking more than evens it out. On top of that, Curtis Lofton is the perfect complement to a player like Shazier because he is just as sure as a tackler, but an even better ‘clean-up guy’.  Even if Lofton and Shazier both miss on a single play, which is unlikely, the Saints have two excellent tacklers at the safety position whose job definition is to be the last line of defense. (Three if you count Rafael Bush, who by the way didn’t miss a single tackle last year!)

That does leave the question though; is just the ability to cover for a player’s weaknesses enough to warrant making them the teams first round pick? Of course not! But it is, if those weaknesses are the only reason NOT to pick the player. The reason that the Saints should pick Ryan Shazier if he is available at the 27^th overall pick is that he is the perfect component to complete Rob Ryan’s masterpiece. The Saints defense is built on versatility and putting its playmakers in positions to make great plays and Ryan Shazier’s  greatest attribute is the versatility that his incredible athleticism affords him. He can cover, tackle, blitz, and also create opportunities for others by demanding the attention of an offense. This draft is deep at both corner and receiver, the two positions, that the Saints have the biggest need at, but Shazier might be the biggest playmaker at the linebacker position in the draft and I believe that plugging him into the defense will make it virtually unstoppable.