I have been on a little bit of a personal crusade as of late to build hype for the Saints to draft Shaq Thompson, the versatile linebacker out of Washington. So as to re-establish my sanity I want to explain why I would not only be happy if the Saints got him… but I just might prefer it. I don’t actually think it is a for sure thing that he will make it to 13, but assuming he does I think there is a good chance that at 13 the Saints have a choice between 3 players: Trae Waynes, Vic Beasley, Shaq Thompson. There are a number of other options, but in my mind those are the top 3.
Before I get into why I am so high on him to be the Saints draft choice I first want to acknowledge that he is without a doubt a ‘gamble’, whereas Beasley is as close to a sure thing as you will get at his position. If it comes down to those two guys I am 100% ok with either pick. However before anyone tries to yell at me for pushing Shaq, let us take a look at the Saints history in the first round under SP. There are 4 hits, 1 ok player, and 3 guys who based on their play as pros we should have gotten in the third round or beyond. Of the ‘hits’, only Reggie and Cam Jordan have really shown themselves to be worth a first round pick and Brandin and Kenny both show a ton of potential but have to prove themselves. Of all 8 first round picks in the SP era (9 technically including Ingram) the only player who would be qualified as a ‘star’ was Reggie Bush, other than him we haven’t gotten anything more than competent role players at best (Brandin and Kenny both have star upside, but are not yet). We as fans treat first round picks as a sort of ‘Holy Grail’ each year, but under Sean we have yet to really get a true difference maker. That is in large part due to the fact that we have gotten most of those out of FA and so have gone BPA or need in the first round… the Saints almost never ‘gamble’ on a potential difference maker.
So why Shaq Thompson?
I have harped on the Saints lack of anything even close to resembling a playmaker at linebacker ad nauseam so far, and perhaps more than any player at his position in the draft he brings that. Thompson has a little room to put on weight (probably about 10 pounds) without losing his speed. But its not just his straight line speed which is valued to me. First off the guy literally jumps off the screen on tape and he could very well be the most talented runningback on this team if drafted… as a linebacker. That isn’t it either though. Its not just that he is explosive (he is), not that he is a playmaker on defense (4 defensive TD’s just last year), nor is it that he has a ton of diversity in his game (so much so that they aren’t sure where to put him). It is ALL of those factors rolled into a single player that makes me want him. Thompson is great in coverage, to the point some have him as a safety, yet he is also solid in the box, an excellent and sure tackler, and a decent blitzer. Usually when a player has his kind of versatility you get the ‘jack of all trades master of none’ moniker, but Thompson is very good at almost all of those things. It isn’t that his game doesn’t have flaws or that he doesn’t need development, but he comes with the reputation of a hard worker and a tenacious and passionate player that makes you think he will put in the work. How often have we seen will get a player places that talent hasn’t… Thompson has the will and the talent.
Ok…but does he fit?
If I was to point to one thing from a scheme perspective that defined the 13′ defensive revival it was the variance of Rob Ryan’s scheme. Guys were used all over the place and conventional wisdom be damned…it was a ‘whatever works’ type approach and I think the Saints would be best served returning to that next year. The thing is that in order to truly run a variable scheme like that you need guys who can play multiple positions. Imagine playing multiple sets and multiple schemes within the same defense… without having to substitute. THAT will be the strength of the Saints defense going forward in my opinion, and if I am right in that regard…Shaq Thompson is the best fit for the Saints in this ENTIRE DRAFT! To be clear that is only in the scenario that the Saints fill their hole at Corner in FA and get at least one O-lineman in FA as well. Since that is fairly likely I get to at least acknowledge the possibility of Thompson being a perfect fit. We have a safety who often plays like a linebacker (and is best either in the box or covering the slot) in Kenny Vaccaro, a defensive end in Cam Jordan with position flexibility, and if we add Thompson you get a linebacker who can cover as well as a safety but is also a great tackler. That allows RR to blitz creatively, mix up coverages, and without needing to change out players he would be able to play entirely difference schemes from play to play…even Peyton’s head would explode. The Saints have a great sideline to sideline run stopper in Lofton, but the one thing they don’t have is a versatile and athletic linebacker who can cover backs/tight ends, clean up ‘stretch plays’ (which KILL the Saints), and most importantly who can rely on his athleticism and instincts in an emergency to make ‘something out of nothing. Some think Thompson isn’t a great scheme fit for the Saints because he isn’t a traditional 3-4 linebacker… but there is basically nothing ‘traditional’ about our defense in the first place. The guy is a proven playmaker and has played against more dynamic offenses and against better offensive talent than almost any defender in this draft (the Pac-12 has almost nothing BUT good offenses).
Why him over Beasley or Waynes?
To me this is a simple point. I don’t want a Corner in the first round because I can think of a few guys we could get either later in the draft or (preferably) in FA that would fill the role we need our number 2 corner to play…. be the farthest possible thing from Corey White you can be. It is also the position with the hardest learning curve for the league and Waynes isn’t enough of a sure thing to me to be worth the risk he takes time to develop. The Saints are in a win now mode, and corner is such a hard transition I don’t trust it in the first round. It then comes down to Beasley and I will reiterate that NEITHER guy is a poor choice in my mind, but this draft is actually probably 3 rounds deep at pass rusher (few of HIS caliber, but deep nonetheless). However I don’t think there is another player at the linebacker position in this draft who brings what Thompson does. If we are looking at roles and value to the defense as a whole; Shelton and Williams are the best possible picks for the Saints, but both are likely to be gone. Without one of those two guys I prefer to take the guy who fills a desperately needed role that we have a far lesser chance of acquiring later in the draft. Just for example we could get both Danielle Hunter out of LSU and Oregon Corner Ifo Ekpre-Olomu in the second and/or third rounds with a good amount of reasonability. I don’t think we could get anything close to Thompson that late.
To be clear it isn’t necessarily that I want him more than I want Beasley (who would be a monster for us), but I probably want him just as much. I don’t think Thompson would be a perfect player for the Saints, and like anyone he has his flaws (light in the pads, somewhat of a tweener, raw in some aspects), but the potential upside he could bring to our defense is incredible. Thompson in my opinion could be a total game changer for the Saints defense not just because of his own production, but because of what his unique skillet allows the defense to do as a whole. We have to remember that a defense truly is 11 men moving in concert and the abilities of each guy is blended together into a ‘unit’. Thompson’s versatility is his greatest attribute and it fits into the theme of both Rob’s defensive scheme and the talent we have already. In my opinion gambling on his upside would at worst give the Saints a decent but limited player (what we have already but cheaper) and at best he would give us a dynamic player who could make a significant difference for the defense. In this case I think the Gamble is worth it… what do you guys think?
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