2012 NFL Draft: Final New Orleans Saints Mock Draft

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The NFL Draft is upon us. Can you feel the excitement? I know, I know, the New Orleans Saints haven't had much to get excited about since, oh, I don't know, Drew Brees broke Dan Marino's passing record in late December. That was so 2011.

Enter 2012.

The Saints are without their first two picks in the first couple of rounds and don't draft until the 89th pick in the third round. Myself and Jordan Grove of SaturdayNightSlant.com were chosen to man the Saints war room in Mock Four, the best interactive mock draft around. A few of our targets went off the board right before we picked a couple of times, but I think we came away with a solid group of competitors.

NOTE: We traded down from our first pick twice, once with the Buffalo Bills an again with theCleveland Browns early in the fourth. In doing so, we went from five picks to eight picks, including four fifth-rounders.

Fourth Round (Pick 122): Tyrone Crawford, DE, Boise State

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Thoughts from the War Room:

"Will Smith is facing a suspension with Bounty Gate, and there is very little depth behind him. Crawford oozes potential and could become something special in Spagnuolo's defense."

Fifth Round (Pick 139): Rishard Matthews, WR, Nevada

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Thoughts from the War Room:

"Extremely underrated player that was extremely productive in college. Should immediately step in and provide depth at wide receiver for the Saints."

Fifth Round (Pick 147): Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin

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Thoughts from the War Room:

"Chase Daniel is the only backup to Drew Brees, and Wilson is the type of QB that the Saints' coaching staff could fall in love with, including scrambling ability, coachability, leadership, solid arm."

Fifth Round (Pick 160): Shaun Prater, CB, Iowa

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Thoughts from the War Room:

"The Saints only have three cornerbacks on the roster, after the loss of Tracy Porter and Leigh Torrence through free agency. Prater is the type of fundamentally sound cornerback who can contribute on special teams while learning the sub-packages and has the potential to develop into a nickel corner after a few years."

Fifth Round (Pick 162): Asa Jackson, CB, Cal Poly

Thoughts from the War Room:

"Asa has a ton of potential that he flashed at the Senior Bowl. After a few years in the NFL it wouldn't be surprising to see him start or be an impactful nickel corner. Right off the bat, he will be a key special teams contributor and return man while learning the sub-packages in the secondary."

Sixth Round (Pick 179): Janzen Jackson, S, McNeese St.

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Thoughts from the War Room:

"Janzen has had his problems (at Tennessee), but the talent is definitely there. With Roman Harper facing a suspension for Bounty Gate, Malcom Jenkins could be slid over to strong safety, and Janzen inserted at free safety if he wins the starting job. Right now he will go in competing with Abdul-Quddus and Jonathan Amaya for the backup safety spots."

Seventh Round (Pick 211): Shawn Loiseau, ILB, Merrimack

Thoughts from the War Room:

"Vilma looks to miss most, if not all, of the season, and with JoLonn Dunbar signing with St. Louis, the Saints need a backup inside linebacker to Curtis Lofton. Loiseau is an intimidating presence at linebacker and hits like a brick wall. He has the mentality to be a stud special teams player while spelling Lofton some."

Seventh Round (Pick 234): James Hanna, TE, Oklahoma

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Thoughts from the War Room:

"James Hanna blew up the combine, and while he's not the most polished tight end to come out, he has the skills to develop into a nice compliment to Jimmy Graham."