The Saints had one of the lower grades in last years draft, D- by most that I know. The best in the draft last year, easy, NY Giants. A+ by most, one write-up I saw said, they could have stopped after picking OBJ and they still would have had a great draft.
My take on the Saints draft, if La'el would have been here, they would have looked at drafting him. Peat was one that was projected a little higher. Andrus Peat is 6'7" 315#'s, a tackle size. Long arms, like La'el, played as a True Freshman. Some had him real close to La'el in draft position. Started at LOT the past two season for Stanford. Earned All-American honors along with the Morris Trophy (Top Lineman in the Pac-12, voted by the players). A real talent, very athletic, good balance, gets to the second level quickly. Light on his feet. I like this pick, I said the Saints needs to protect Drew Brees, this is a great start. With the 31st pick, they picked an LB, this is also a need, inside and outside positions. Stephone Anthony, 6'2" 245#'s, his speed is in the upper 4.5's. Drops well in pass coverage, moves well, can cause turnovers, can blitz with the best of them. A tough player that has great size. Had 281 tackles in three seasons(Soph, Jr and Sr seasons) at Clemson. As a True Freshman started 3 games and played in 13. I like both these picks, we will see how good these come into play this year. Last years draft was bad, real bad. This looks to be in the right direction. Look for a CB and WR pick to come up next, they also need help at LB. We'll see.
T Bob Hebert said that now the Saints have solidified the O Line for now and into the future when Drew Brees is gone and the next QB is in place.
Titans pick may have been dictated by the owners, Bud Adam's heirs who want to make the team more attractive to a buyer. I don't think Whisenhunt would have made that pick if he were free to choose. Mettenberger can't run the offense they will have to install for Marota and MM is now way ready to become a dropback passer. He only threw 55 passes on third and long at Oregon (completing 35) . He is athletic enough to learn the position but it will take him more than one season. Titans have lots of other needs even more pressing than QB and I can understand not wanting to roll the dice with Mett as your only hole card but drafting MM was a bad football decision for Tennessee. They could have gotten a lot of value for the pick and still picked up a veteran backup QB for insurance.
I said this a while back, the Cowboys figured out, you must protect your QB. This is a step in the right direction.
The Titans problems are way more than QB, they too have holes, too many. Lets see how they finish up this draft.
They could have gotten a lot for that pick. Wouldn't have solved all of their problems but they could have addressed a few glaring needs. They are a badly run franchise. Whisenhunt is a good coach but he will get fired before anything good happens unless he takes another job.
This is what I just don't get about the NFL and the decision makers, I sort of get the "you take the best player on the board" thing but then again, no, I don't at all. It may be the dumbest shit I have ever heard. I'm going to do what is best for my team. If I have a pro bowl QB I'm not taking some other hot shit QB just because he is available. I'm pretty sure the teams that win a lot don't utilize that "take the best player" strategy.
The 49ers of the 80s were built by drawing down on draft day and acquiring lots of picks. Patriots are always picking up quality players with mid round picks that they stockpile.
