Will the Saints go for speed again?

Sorry, no blogcast this week. Brian and I had no topics to talk about. I really do not envy those guys that do a podcast every week. The only thing to really talk about has already been talked about so many times. So instead of a blogcast, I am gonna talk about it some more!

Last year I posted a blog talking about how the Saints would go for speed. I actually called Stephone Anthony and I think I was the first on the blog to do so.

This year I will do the same. I do not have the time to study all the guys and I will leave that to the other writers on this blog.

To recap, the history of fast players drafted or signed: Joe Morgan (2011), Terron Armstead & Kenney Stills (2013), Brandin Cooks (2014) and Stephone Anthony and arguably Marcus Murphy (2015). So who will it be in 2016? I will go by this on positions of need.

• WR: Josh Doctson, TCU. Excluding the typo Brian Pavek mentioned him a couple of days ago and I agree. Is he fast? 4.5 in the combine is fast sure but there were a good number of guys faster then him on the 40. I think he would like to have that back. Doctson also has a 41 inch vertical and is the top guy in the combine. But why mention him when looking at speed in this post? Does he have speed? Hell yes he does. He had the #3 time on both the 20 yard and the 60 yard shuttle. And oh yeah, this guy has a 10.03s time on the 100 yards dash in track. He is rated the #4 WR in the draft and could very well be there at #47
• G: Jake Brendel, UCLA. “Really speed in a Guard?” Oh yes! The Saints love to run screens. “But his guy is a Center!” True. But he is expected to go in the 7th round so he is no starter immediately but a backup. You can train him to do the Guard things he might not have down to start with. Besides being the absolute top performer in speed in the combine (40 yard dash, 3 cone drill and obliterating the competition in the 20 yard shuttle) he is also a natural leader and a very smart guy. The ideal guy to fit in Sean Paytons team. If he is there in the 7th, he is a Saint. I even see the Saints trade next years 7th go go up in the 6th to get him.
• DE: Shaq Lawson. Enough said about him. If he is not picked at 11, as I assume will happen he is a Saint. (I am leaving the pass-rushers at OLB out of this post since that is kinda what Tull and Kikaha are there for).
• DT: Man these guys are all slow! I do not think the Saints will look at any of them and think speed is important here. Besides this draft is so deep on DT they could get Matt Ioannidis, Temple in the 5th and have a really good player still.
• CB: Jonathan Jones, Auburn. Saints love to play man with their CBs, that is why Browner was such a bad fit. This guy is the fastest in the 40 of all prospects and he is strong. The most important thing is, he could be available in the 4th. Most important reason, he is small and has an injury history. Still, if he is there in the 4th I like to see him in Black and Gold next year.
• S: TJ Mills, Clemson. The fastest Safety in the combine. I choose to only look at the FS position. That is what Bush played and Sanford is the only guy behind Byrd, who I expect to be injured somewhere this season, so we need on. Lets see. This is the 6th position of need and I did not contribute any draft at the #3 position. It could be Kicker, which I would like, but guess what, TJ Mills is a 3rd round prospect. Wow that fitted like a glove.

So to recap; if the Saints draft looks like this it is the fastest team in the history of the NFL:

• Round 1: DE, Shaq Lawson
• Round 2: WR, Josh Doctson
• Round 3: S, TJ Mills
• Round 4: CB, Johnathan Jones
• Round 5: DT, Matt Ioannidis
• Round 7: C, Jake Brendel

Would you be happy if this were the Saints Draft Class of 2016? Remember to hit me up on twitter @Monedula_, or here in the comment section and ask me a question you would like to have answered in our next BlogCast.