By: Carrington Caul
New Orleans Saints (Record: 11-5) (Playoff Appearance: 1st Rd L vs. Seattle (36-41)
New Orleans didn’t have too many needs coming into the draft except for help on D-Line and adding depth at a few other positions. This is basically the same team that won the Super Bowl in the 09 season and was trying to make a run for it this past season.
1)Cameron Jordan (DE, California)
This could possibly be the 2nd biggest steal of the first round behind Prince Amukamara. Nobody expected Jordan to last past the top 15 picks of the draft but to fall the New Orleans at 24 was perfect for the Saints. Their biggest need was possible DE and they found a solid pro-bowl caliber with Jordan. He will work in their scheme and can be explosive off the line with his active hands and below pad level style of play. (Personal Grade: A-)
2)Mark Ingram (RB, Alabama)
The Saints made some trades and jumped back into the 1st round 4 picks after their first pick and grabbed Mark Ingram this was an excellent pick for the Saints and Ingram. The question with Ingram would be where he was going to go to, no team really had a priority RB need except for maybe Miami but they still have Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Even though the Saints are a balanced team they ranked 28th last season in rushing mostly because they never had a healthy back the whole season. Ingram is a powerful between the tackles type runner and pairing him with Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush can be deadly, compare them to the 2008 Giants. (Jacobs, Ward, and Bradshaw) (Personal Grade: A-)
3)Martez Wilson (LB, Illinois)
Wilson has tremendous talent and was once considered a last 1st to early 2nd round pick but dropped off into the 3rd round because he didn’t have a strong pro day, he has some medical concerns, and sometimes seems undisciplined. Giving the proper coaching and maturity he can become a solid starter on this defense, probably will contribute immediately. (Personal Grade: B)
4)Johnny Patrick (CB, Louisville)
The pick of Patrick was kind of a shock because this is a defense with enough depth at CB but you can never have too many WR’s and CB’s in this league. Patrick is a ball hawk and is very good at jumping routes; he needs work though on his consistency and aggression in the run defense. Expect to see him on special teams and maybe a little corner with the deep packages and if somebody goes down. (Personal Grade: B-)
5)Greg Romeus (DE, Pittsburg)
This is a pick that you love in the 7th round; Romeus was considered a late 1st early 2nd round pick before tearing his ACL. If he gets healthy and can play at his full potential he is a steal in the late rounds, if he doesn’t its ok because there wasn’t a big investment placed on him. He probably won’t play this season but he adds depths to a position they felt they needed to address. (Personal Grade: C)
6)Nate Bussey (LB, Illinois)
Bussey is a depth player who probably will be on practice squad this season unless he can work his way to special teams play. You can probably expect to see him on special teams for his whole career unless somebody gets injured. (Personal Grade: C-)
The Saints traded away a lot of their picks so thank god they had a great first four picks. That basically made their draft one if the best without a lot of picks, but then remember they had 11 wins and will be back into Super Bowl contention.
OVERALL GRADE: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment