2013 NFL Draft

NFL scouts on Vaccaro: "ball hawk," compare him to:
Rodney Harrison - 4x All-Pro S
Troy Polamalu - 7x Pro Bowl S

Chicago Tribune a couple days ago:

NFL draft preview: Safeties

1. Kenny Vaccaro, Texas, 6-0, 214. He is an athletic, energetic, physical safety who plays with an edge. He is an explosive hitter ... "He is an ultra-competitive ball hawk," one AFC scouting director said. "He reminds me a little of Rodney Harrison. He's a football player." Another high-ranking AFC exec said Vaccaro reminds him of Troy Polamalu. Vaccaro has proved he also can cover wide receivers and tight ends lined up in the slot. He has man-to-man cover skills.

 

Mayock:

“Vaccaro is the one that more tape I watched the more I liked him,” NFL Network's Mike Mayock said on a conference call this week. “They played him closer to the line of scrimmage this year. He covered a bunch of slots this year. Watching him cover Tavon Austin at West Virginia, that’s rare. In today’s world, that’s rare and it’s important.”

“He’s tough as nails. He tackles. He looks to me — I’ve never met him — but it looks on tape like he loves the game.

“I have trouble thinking he’s going to get past 15 or 20 even though safeties don’t go that high. I think he’ll be gone in the first 15 picks.”

 

That's what I thought they'd do (trade down) since they don't have a 2nd and the experts agree that most of the draft's value is in the 2nd-4th rounds.

 

i definitely could have understood us trading down. however, Vacarro could easily be considered the best available player and his position was one of our most needed positions (arguably our most-needed position), so getting him is a HUGE blessing. here's how the best available players were rated:


FORMER NFL SCOUT RUSS LANDE'S BIG BOARD FOR NATIONAL FOOTBALL POST
01 Ryan Nassib 8.6 D
02 Chance Warmack 8.5 I
03 Star Lotulelei 8.4 I
04 Dee Milliner 8.4 I
05 Bjoern Werner 8.31 D
06 Ezekiel Ansah 8.3 I
07 Dion Jordan 8.3 I
08 Kenny Vaccaro 8.3 I
09 Eric Fisher OT 8.21 I
10 Keenan Allen 8.2 I
11 Luke Joeckel 8.2 I
12 Sylvester Williams 8.15 I
13 Tyler Eifert 8.1 I
14 Barkevious Mingo 8.1 I
15 Sheldon Richardson 8.1 I
16 Tavon Austin 8.1 G
17 Sharrif Floyd 8.05 I
18 Gavin Escobar 8.05 I
19 Tank Carradine 8.0 J MEDICAL
20 Matt Barkley 8.0 I
21 Jonathan Cooper 8.0 I
22 DeAndre Hopkins 8.0 I
23 Lane Johnson 8.0 I
24 Datone Jones 8.0 I
25 Corey Lemonier 8.0 I
26 Alec Ogletree 8.0 I
27 Quinton Patton 8.0 I
28 Xavier Rhodes 8.0 I
29 Jesse Williams 8.0 I
30 Jonathan Cyprien 8.0 I
31 Jamar Taylor 8.0 I
32 Menelik Watson 8.0 I
33 Cordarrelle Patterson 7.9 M
34 Desmond Trufant 7.9 J
35 Giovani Bernard 7.9 I
36 E.J. Manuel 7.9 I
37 Justin Pugh 7.9 I
38 Arthur Brown 7.9 G
39 Sanders Commings 7.9 E
40 Tyler Wilson 7.8 M
41 Robert Woods 7.8 I
42 D.J. Hayden 7.7 M
43 D.J. Fluker 7.7 I
44 Johnathan Hankins 7.7 I
45 Sam Montgomery 7.7 I
46 Manti Te'o 7.7 I
47 Andre Ellington 7.7 G
48 Geno Smith 7.6 I
49 Johnthan Banks 7.5 J
50 Stedman Bailey 7.5 I
51 Montee Ball 7.5 I
52 Aaron Dobson 7.5 I
53 Jarvis Jones 7.5 I

ESPN/SCOUTS INC.'S TOP 32
Player Pos. School Grade
1. Luke Joeckel* OT Texas A&M 96
2. Eric Fisher OT C. Michigan 96
3. Star Lotulelei DT Utah 95
4. Dee Milliner* CB Alabama 95
5. Sharrif Floyd* DT Florida 95
6. Dion Jordan OLB Oregon 95
7. Lane Johnson OT Oklahoma 95
8. Ezekiel Ansah DE BYU 95
9. Chance Warmack G Alabama 95
10. Jonathan Cooper OG N. Carolina 94
11. Barkevious Mingo* DE LSU 93
12. Tavon Austin WR W. Virginia 93
13. Tyler Eifert TE Notre Dame 93
14. S. Richardson* DT Missouri 93
15. Kenny Vaccaro S Texas 93
16. D.J. Fluker* OT Alabama 92
17. D.J. Hayden DB Houston 92
18. Sylvester Williams DT N. Carolina 92
19. Alec Ogletree* ILB Georgia 92
20. Jarvis Jones* OLB Georgia 91
21. Manti Te'o ILB Notre Dame 91
22. Justin Pugh* OT Syracuse 91
23. Bjoern Werner* DE Florida St. 90
24. Datone Jones DE UCLA 90
25. Justin Hunter* WR Tennessee 90
26. Kyle Long OT Oregon 89
27. Desmond Trufant CB Washington 89
28. Matt Elam* S Florida 89
29. Geno Smith QB W. Virginia 89
30. C. Patterson* WR Tennessee 89
31. Menelik Watson* OT Florida St. 89
32. Cornellius Carradine DE Florida St. 88

SPORTING NEWS NFL DRAFT BIG BOARD by director of Scouting at Optimum Scouting, Eric Galko
1. Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan
2. Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M
3. Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia
4. Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri
5. Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah
6. Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State
7. Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida
8. Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon
9. Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas
10. Jonathan Cyprien, S, Florida International
11. Chance Warmack, G, Alabama
12. Jonathan Cooper, G, North Carolina
13. Keenan Allen, WR, California
14. Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU
15. Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse
16. Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama - Able to play in both man and zone coverage at a high level, Milliner finishes plays in the air and changes directions well downfield. He’s the clear-cut best cornerback in this class.
17. Quinton Patton, WR, Louisiana Tech
18. Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma - While his ceiling will likely make a team select him in the top 10, Johnson is still raw and needs to add strength and bulk before he’s a capable starter. Still, he shows athleticism in space and has experience at right and left tackle.
19. Corey Lemonier, DE/OLB, Auburn
20. Arthur Brown, ILB, Kansas State
21. Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
22. Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame
23. Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU - Ansah is one of the more intriguing prospects in this class thanks to his quick development at BYU. He has ideal length and body control and has a tremendous upside, but his limited experience worries us enough to move him out of the top 15.
24. Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State
25. Cordarelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee
26. Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State
27. Robert Woods, WR, USC
28. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson
29. Larry Warford, G, Kentucky
30. Barkevious Mingo, DE/OLB, LSU - Mingo could go anywhere from pick No. 2 to 26. His lack of finishing ability as a pass rusher and need for development worry us enough to drop him out of the top 20.
31. Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas
32. Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford
33. Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia - A dynamic playmaker possessing elite elusiveness, breakaway speed and change of direction, Austin needs an ideal scheme fit to allow for maximum use of his skills. He could be a Percy Harvin type or or the next Dexter McCluster.
34. Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama
35. John Jenkins, DT, Georgia
36. Matt Barkley, QB, USC
37. Terron Armstead, OT, Arkansas Pine-Bluff
38. D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama - A fast riser thanks to his mauling run ability and use of length as a run blocker, Fluker should be an immediate starter in a run-focused offense.
39. Eric Reid, S, LSU
40. Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
41. Darius Slay, CB, Mississippi State
42. D.J. Swearinger, S, South Carolina
43. Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M
44. Justin Pugh, G/OT, Syracuse
45. Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina
46. Alex Okafor, DE, Texas
47. Datone Jones, DE, UCLA
48. Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia
49. Da'Rick Rogers, WR, Tennessee Tech
50. Khaseem Greene, OLB
51. Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB, UConn
52. D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston
53. Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia - (didn't have a comment)

 

Sean Payton on Vaccaro:

"If he was available, we felt like we were getting an awfully good defensive player to help our team."

 

NBC Sports Pro Football Talk:

Vaccaro "should make an immediate difference, both on defense and on special teams. Last year, the Saints’ secondary was nothing short of pathetic."

 

top 5 picks of the 1st Round by Matt Miller of New Era Scouting (former football coach, his work has been featured by NFL.com, SI.com and USA Today ESPN radio, SiriusXM, as well as utilized by NFL teams)

Matt Miller ‏@nfldraftscout
2h
Best picks: Tavon Austin to Rams. Kenny Vaccaro to Saints. Star Lotulelei to Panthers. Datone Jones to Packers. Jarvis Jones to Steelers

 

Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com names Vaccaro-to-Saints as the 2nd-best pick of the 1st Round

It's impossible to know whether or not a pick was smart on NFL draft weekend. Only time on an NFL field will prove that.
Some picks, however, just make sense. They fit. They should work for a variety of reasons. Here were my picks for the best fits from Thursday night.

1. Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle
2. Kenny Vaccaro, New Orleans Saints safety - Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune called this one right. Don't worry about Kenny Vaccaro's position. (Or if Malcom Jenkins will play some cornerback.) Think about what Vaccaro will do in Rob Ryan's defense. He'll cover tight ends like Vernon Davis. He'll blitz. He'll do a little bit of everything. Ryan thrives on using versatile safties like this.
3. Ziggy Ansah, Detroit Lions defensive end
4. Star Lotulelei, Carolina Panthers defensive tackle
5. EJ Manuel, Buffalo Bills quarterback
6. Jarvis Jones, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker
7. Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals tight end
8. Alec Ogletree, St. Louis Rams linebacker

 

Vincent Frank owner of http://profootballnuts.com, head editor of http://www.edraft.com , writer for Pro Football Focus, and former front page writer for Niners Nation

Vincent Frank ‏@VincentFrankNFL 3h
#Saints got a steal in Kenny Vaccaro. Dramatically improves their pass defense, tremendous value. Game changer