Grade the Saints Draft

Discussion in 'New Orleans Saints Forum' started by Cajun Sensation, Apr 24, 2010.

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How would you grade the Saints draft?

  1. A

    5 vote(s)
    13.5%
  2. B

    13 vote(s)
    35.1%
  3. C

    15 vote(s)
    40.5%
  4. D

    4 vote(s)
    10.8%
  5. F

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Cajun Sensation

    Cajun Sensation I'm kind of a big deal Staff Member

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    Where do you rank the Saints Draft?

    So far we have

    Patrick Robinson CB
    Charles Brown OT
    Jimmy Graham TE
    Al Woods DT
    Matt Tennant C
    Sean Canfield QB
     
  2. DarkHornet

    DarkHornet Louisiana Sports Fan

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    I'll refrain from voting until the end of the day. Right now I'm sitting at a B
     
  3. arizonafan

    arizonafan Veteran Member

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    I voted a C but that may be generous. We addressed none of our defensive needs and I don't consider Al Woods addressing them. We drafted a lot of offensive depth which is OK if you don't have defensive problems but unfortunately we do. Our run defense stinks and it will be hard to get back to the SB with that hole since our opponents will start running it hard every week which scores points and keeps Drew off the field. This stuff about drafting the BPA is weird. Suppose the BPA when it's your turn is OT's for 5 straight rounds? So now you have 12 OT's and no DT? Doesn't make sense. I think you draft the BPA at YOUR position of need at the time.
     
  4. fanatic

    fanatic Habitual Line Stepper

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    I don't understand why they thought they had to move up to get Woods. He more then likely would've still been there when it was their turn to pick. Hard to understand that move, but have to trust that Payton and Loomis know what the eff their doing.
     
  5. Cajun Sensation

    Cajun Sensation I'm kind of a big deal Staff Member

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    I should have added WTF? as a 6th choice.
     
  6. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    You know, i roasted Sean Payton last draft when he moved up to take Morestead the punter, thought it was idiotic, but Morestead ended up being the guy that kicked the onside kick in the super bowl, and pinned Indy deep a few times, so i guess that paid off, i graded this draft a C, because the 2 positions that were needed the most really weren't upgraded. Im ok with the Robinson pick because of what happened last year when Porter and Greer both went down, but i can't for the life of me understand why DT and OLB weren't upgraded. The only thing i can think of is now Jamal Brown will be trade fodder to address the OLB and maybe DT positions. Jimmy Graham, is another story, this is a complete shot in the dark pick trying to find that next Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzales type player who was primarily a basketball power forward. Honestly i don't think Payton and Loomis would rather build a team through solid team oriented players in free agency, rather than the draft, which to me, is viewed by Loomis and Payton as a crap shoot. Its also been said Al Woods has the physical tools, but i tell you one thing, the Miles detractors are going to come out in droves if Al Woods is turned into a great NFL defensive tackle, because he is one of the bigger busts i can remember at LSU.
     
  7. DarkHornet

    DarkHornet Louisiana Sports Fan

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    Gave the draft a B.

    I wasn't thrilled with the Robinson pick. However, I believe we have the best scouting department in the league, and if they like him, I'll defer to them. As for picking a CB, I like that. Allows Jenkins to slide over to FS and lock down our defensive backfield for several years.

    Love the Charles Brown pick. We got a first round talent at the bottom of the second round, and this will allow us to trade away Jammal Brown before he walks for a big contract next season.

    Jimmy Graham: like this pick, but don't know much about him. From the talks, he's got huge upside, but is inexperienced. Everything I hear about him reminds me of Antonio Gates. We know how much Drew Brees loved Gates in San Diego. He'll be eased in because of us having Shockey and Dave Thomas holding down the fort right now.

    Al Woods: Thought it was a bit of a reach to trade up to get him, but they apparently felt a couple of teams were getting ready to take him. I assume they saw something they loved about him in the predraft workouts, because they spent a lot of time with him. I think in a couple of years, he could be the starter at NT. Hope we find some other answer short term.

    Matt Tennant: One of the top 3 centers in the draft fell all the way to the 5th. He should be starting for Goodwin when his contract is up. Great selection.

    Sean Canfield: Don't know much about him, but this seems like a throwaway pick to me.

    We didn't specifically address OLB or NT early in the draft, but I'm at the point of giving this front office the benefit of the doubt if they think we're okay there. I still see us making a move for an experienced NT, but they are apparently happy with what we have on the roster at OLB.
     
  8. islstl

    islstl Playoff committee is a group of great football men Staff Member

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    I gave it a grade of A-. The only reason it isn't an A+ is that it didn't address the immediate needs of the team. But for long term justification, the Saints hit it out the park.

    The first 5 guys selected will all likely be starters on this team in 3 years.

    That's the only true mark of a draft and how well you did.

    The only question mark is Al Woods, but I think we will find out that LSU doesn't know phuck about coaching up players and he will be the big body in the middle stopping the run.

    Robinson was rated in their top 20 picks on their big board, so they thought of him as a mini-steal.

    Charles Brown was clearly one of the top 5 steals in the draft, no matter who you are or what your needs were. This guy starts at LT for the next 10-12 years most likely. He just needs a little work with the strength and conditioning coach. He technically sound and very very athletic for a LT (used to be a TE).

    Tennant was a mini-steal as he was rated in the 3rd round or early 4th at worst and arguably the 2nd best center in the draft (a Remington finalist in 2009) and the Saints got him in the 5th.

    Graham is the most intriguing pick as the Saints could have been safer and gone with Pitta or Hernandez, but love the tremendous upside. He has all the potential of being a stud just like Jermaine Gresham, just doesn't have the experience. I think the Saints can coach him up and he will be the next Jeremy Shockey.

    Canfield could develop as the 3rd QB in the depth chart.
     
  9. bhelmLSU

    bhelmLSU Founding Member Staff Member

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    Al Woods will never be considered a big body at DT. He is a gap DT/slasher.

    Not saying that is a bad thing because the NFL has more slashers than quality big body DTs. Just hard to come by DTs with run plugging ability that last in the NFL. Most are just not good enough, eat their way out of the league, or their knees just give out.
     
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  10. islstl

    islstl Playoff committee is a group of great football men Staff Member

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    We'll have to see how it goes.

    Like I said, he is the one question mark I have out of the first 5.

    Even if the Saints end up with only 4 starters in this draft, it's still a grade of A in any draft expert's book.
     

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